Interviewed by: Ashique Rahman
Written by: Fabia Shahzadi

The mass killing by the militants is actually directed towards the general people although it is referred to as “target killing”. Whether the upsurge of the militant group will continue, actually depend on a lot of factors- Says the security analyst (Retd) Major General Mohammad Ali Shikhdar in an interview at Daily Amader Orthoneeti.
He says the police department has started the combing operation to find out the miscreants. He believes if the police officials can execute this project cautiously then the activities of the militants will significantly drop. However, if they fail a disastrous consequence will fall upon Bangladesh. He further tells there are actually certain processes to shun the fearsome deeds of the militants; short, medium and long term methods. We have had numerous discussions about these prospects but now it is high time for the implementation. The police need to take stern decision and be rigid with actions against the militants. No more concessions should be allowed or compromises should be spared. The government needs to take full control of the situation and should not permit any flexibility for the militants if they want to eradicate this group.
To a particular question Mohammad Ali Shikhdar replies, there are a number of militant groups registered under different names. It has been proven through court procedures and legal investigation that the root of their dirty politics has originated from these fragmentized militant groups. The involvement of JMB has been verified in the recent bloodshed. The few of many arrested people were militants who although had links with the foreign militant groups but yet showed no connection with them in these ‘target killing’ cases whatsoever. These attacks on individual targets are not instigated by the IS. The IS deals will mass killing rather than pin pointing on an individual target.
Are these killings related to the trial of the war criminals? To this question Ali Shikhdar answered in an affirmative tone. People bound by all religion, innocent wife of a police officer- everyone is being killed. Why are individuals being the target? What is the expected outcome of this? Different governments have the same complain that Bangladesh’s government cannot provide security to the civilians. Mohammad Ali Shikhdar also said these target killings might or might not be related to the trial of the war criminals. He believes proper investigation and with appropriate measure, the activities of the militant group will come to a halt.