Shillong, Sept. 8: With a boundary of over 600km with Assam and 443km with Bangladesh, Meghalaya is not taking the recent al Qaida video lightly, although there is no specific input about the presence of al Qaida in the state.
In a 55-minute video posted online, the terror group leader Ayman al-Zawahiri announced the formation of the “al Qaida wing for the Indian subcontinent” and described it as glad tidings for Muslims in “Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and Kashmir”.
He also said the entity Qaidat al-Jihad in the Indian subcontinent would defend the “vulnerable in…Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Ahmedabad and Kashmir...”
Today, state chief secretary P.B.O. Warjri and senior police officials led by director-general of police Peter James Pyngrope Hanaman held a review meeting at the state secretariat here.
During the meeting, Hanaman was directed to make plans to tackle the threat which may arise from this organisation being active in the state, an official communiqué issued by the state political department stated.
The government assured it was taking steps to deal with the “threat”, and will adopt all measures to ensure that there is no danger to the citizens, and that “all tribes and communities live in peace and security”.
“Though there is no specific input about the presence of such elements (al Qaida), we are not taking lightly any perceived threat threatening peace and security of the citizens,” home minister Roshan Warjri told reporters.
Warjri also said the security agency in the state was working in tandem with those in other states as well as national security agencies to arrest this perceived threat.
Asked if there is serious threat to the state, the chief secretary said, “When we prepare ourselves to deal against any perceived threat, we have to take measures by looking into all possibilities.”
The hill state is bounded on the north by Goalpara, Kamrup and Nagaon districts of Assam, on the east by Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao (formerly North Cachar Hills) districts, also in Assam, and on the south and west by Bangladesh. Meghalaya comprises 11 administrative districts, and of these, West Jaintia Hills, East Jaintia Hills, Ri Bhoi, North Garo Hills, and West Garo Hills share a boundary with Assam.
The international boundary with Bangladesh is proximate to districts in the Jaintia hills region, East Khasi Hills, South West Garo Hills and South Garo Hills.
The Northeast has been seen as a vulnerable zone with the presence of countries allegedly used by militant groups from the region, to perpetrate violence in the Northeast. In March this year, the BSF had submitted a list of 66 militant camps, including that of Ulfa (anti-talks), NDFB (Songbijit faction), Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), operating from Bangladeshi soil to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). According to the BSF, the groups, which are operating from Bangladesh, include the Ulfa (anti-talk), NDFB (Songbijit faction), HNLC, ANVC (B), NLFT (Biswamohan Debbarma faction), and KYKL. The camps are believed to be located in areas under Mymensing, Moulvibazar, Netrakona, Khagrachari, Rangamati and the Kasalong reserve forest, the BSF said.
The HNLC and the ANVC (B) are said to be having camps in Moulvibazar and Netrakona districts respectively.
However, the BSF had also maintained that compared to earlier years, the number of militant camps in Bangladesh have dwindled after Bangladeshi forces initiated action against them. At the same time, the BSF said the militant groups keep changing their camps, and most are now located in Myanmar.
As per the Union home ministry, a total of 6,387km, which represents 99 per cent of the borders of this region, borders Bangladesh (2,700km), Myanmar (1,643km), China (1,345km) and Bhutan (699km).
