Bangladesh’s security landscape is witnessing renewed turbulence with intelligence agencies flagging the growing influence of Brigadier (retd) Abdullahil Aman Azmi, son of the late Jamaat-e-Islami amir Golam Azam, and his alleged engagement with Pakistani intelligence operatives in Dhaka’s Banani Officers’ Housing Scheme (DOHS).
According to sources in the intelligence establishment, Brig Azmi met Pakistan’s Deputy High Commissioner, Mohammad Wasif, at his Banani DOHS apartment on December 23 at around 2 pm. The meeting has triggered speculation within regional security circles that Islamabad may be backing Azmi for a key role in Bangladesh’s security architecture, particularly the post of Home Ministry Adviser, expected to be vacated by Lieutenant General (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury.
Bangladeshi security service reports indicate that this was not an isolated interaction. Brig Azmi is said to have held a series of meetings with Pakistani diplomats stationed in Dhaka, as well as with both retired and serving officers of the Bangladesh Army.
These engagements have drawn the attention of Indian security agencies, which are closely monitoring what they describe as Azmi’s “associations” with Islamist political and militant forces that have found renewed operational space in Bangladesh in recent months.
Sources within Bangladesh’s military and security establishments allege that Brig Azmi has emerged as a “parallel centre of influence” within sections of the Army. Intelligence assessments also claim that an influential right-wing ideological grouping sympathetic to Jamaat-e-Islami’s politics has taken root among certain officers, with Azmi described as its ideological nucleus. Reports further suggest that army chief, General Waker-uz-Zaman, has, at times, shown a deferential approach towards the retired brigadier, adding to concerns within the security community.
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More alarmingly, classified documents accessed by security agencies point to clandestine meetings between radicalised retired Bangladeshi military officers and operatives of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). These meetings, reportedly held in residential apartments within Banani DOHS, are believed to be aimed at establishing an Islamist militia under the guise of a “National Armed Reserve”.
Security reports state that at least four apartments located on two specific roads in the Banani DOHS are routinely used by Brig Azmi, a retired major general and a former major for meetings with Pakistani handlers. These locations are allegedly being used to coordinate strategy, recruitment and operational planning.
Beyond retired personnel, Brig Azmi is also said to maintain contact with senior serving officers across key branches of Bangladesh’s security apparatus, including the Armed Forces Division, the Military Secretary’s branch, the Navy, and intelligence agencies such as the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and the National Security Intelligence (NSI). Intelligence officials warn that such outreach raises the risk of ideological infiltration within elite security institutions.
The proposed National Armed Reserve is estimated to involve nearly 8,800 radicalised Muslim youth. According to intelligence documents, the plan emerged after prolonged consultations between Pakistani officials and Jamaat-e-Islami, along with its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir.
“While publicly framed as a reserve force, the initiative envisages weapons training, field tactics and semi-military drills, alongside integration into existing terror networks. The documents further reveal plans to induct recruits into banned extremist outfits such as Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (HUJI) and the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT). The latter’s leader, Jashimuddin Rahamani, who was released from prison in August 2024, is believed to continue playing a covert role in the radicalisation process. A number of ABT operatives were arrested from Assam and states in south India during a massive crackdown by Indian intelligence agencies and recovered hand-grenades and foreign-made firearms from their possession,” said an official of intelligence agency.
Brig Azmi’s own trajectory has been controversial. Commissioned into the Bangladesh Army in 1981 as part of the Fifth Bangladesh Military Academy long course, he was assigned to the 14th East Bengal Regiment. He was dismissed from service in 2009 under circumstances that remain unclear. In August 2016, he was taken into custody and allegedly held in a secret detention centre for several years. Following his reappearance in Dhaka after August 6, 2024, his pay and benefits were reportedly restored by defence authorities, indicating that the Army leadership viewed his earlier incarceration as wrongful.
Since his release, Azmi has emerged as a vocal critic of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Awami League, and India, which he accuses of propping up the previous regime.
Security officials warn that the alleged collaboration between Pakistani intelligence operatives and radicalised elements within Bangladesh could have far-reaching consequences. The documents point to a broader strategy that includes infiltration of Bangladesh’s top intelligence agencies, posing what analysts describe as a serious internal security challenge with regional implications.
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