MOSCOW, Aug. 6 Plans for regime change in Bangladesh, where protests have taken place, may have been developed in London and with the participation of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), India Today newspaper claims, citing sources and intelligence reports from Bangladesh.
Unnamed sources told the newspaper that they have evidence that Bangladesh Nationalist Party Vice Chairman Tariq Rahman met with the son of former Prime Minister and head of the opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP) Khaleda Zia and Pakistani intelligence officials in Saudi Arabia.
«The Pakistani army and ISI sought to destabilise the Hasina government (retired Bangladeshi Prime Minister — ed.) and restore the opposition BNP party, which… is pro-Pakistan. China, through the ISI, also played a role in escalating the protests that eventually forced Hasina to flee to India,» sources told the newspaper.
India Today adds, citing intelligence sources, that the student protests in Bangladesh were «ignited» by the Pakistani intelligence-backed Islamist outfit Islami Chhatra Shibir. According to the publication, the intelligence sources point to meticulous planning by members of Islami Chhatra Shibir over several months. Intelligence sources told the publication that a significant portion of this funding «was believed to have come from Chinese companies» operating in Pakistan.
«An analysis of social media activity during the protests in Bangladesh has found that most of the posts against the ruling Awami League, videos of violence against protesters and posts against Sheikh Hasina were created by the BNP and its affiliated accounts. Most of them were shared by US-based accounts,» India Today adds.
On Monday, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her sister fled their official residence in the capital Dhaka for safety amid unrest. News18 reported that Hasina had resigned and flown to the Indian city of Agartala. The Hindu reported that she was seeking asylum in the UK. Thousands of protesters also reportedly stormed the palace of Hasina, who fled Bangladesh.
Protests and demonstrations began in Dhaka and across the country after the Student Movement Against Discrimination announced a multi-day «non-cooperation action» with the authorities on August 4. Clashes between anti-government students and police and government supporters turned into riots.
On August 6, Bangladesh President Mohammad Shahbuddin dissolved the country's parliament.