Indian security agencies are closely monitoring three Pakistan-linked terror outfits operating out of Bangladesh — the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), and its splinter faction Neo-JMB — amid growing fears of a violent spillover into West Bengal and India's northeastern states. Officials say these groups, reportedly backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), have sharply escalated activities spanning radicalisation drives and weapons smuggling.

The Threat Landscape

According to an Intelligence Bureau official, the ISI has been bankrolling these outfits to orchestrate violent incidents inside Bangladesh with the twin aim of destabilising that country and creating a security crisis that bleeds into India. The official described the strategy as a deliberate effort to keep multiple borders simultaneously under stress — mirroring ISI's alleged approach along Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.

Radicalisation camps are reportedly concentrated in large numbers in Bangladesh's border areas, raising alarm that indoctrinated operatives could cross into Indian territory. Agencies fear that if the spillover materialises, the impact on communal harmony and law enforcement capacity in the northeastern states could be severe.

Weapons Smuggling and Armoury Raids

Beyond radicalisation, officials have flagged a specific operational threat: these groups are allegedly planning to loot armouries inside Bangladesh so that the seized weapons can be smuggled into India's northeast. The proliferation of illicit arms in the region would compound existing security challenges, officials warned. This is not a new concern — arms smuggling across the India-Bangladesh border has been documented in prior years — but the scale and ISI coordination reportedly represent an escalation.

Former Bangladesh Minister Seeks UN Intervention

The alarm is not confined to Indian agencies. Former Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. A K Abdul Momen has urged the United Nations to intervene, warning that radicalisation in Bangladesh is rising and that the country's security situation is deteriorating. Momen also raised concerns about weapons proliferation and called for a UN audit into alleged human rights violations, overcrowded prisons, and custodial deaths in Bangladesh. He alleged that nearly 4 lakh detainees are being held without formal charges — a claim that has not been independently verified.

Disinformation and Communal Targeting

Indian officials say the ISI's playbook extends beyond physical violence. Groups such as Neo-JMB are reportedly being tasked with running disinformation campaigns specifically targeting West Bengal and the northeastern states. The broader objective, according to officials, is to fuel communal tensions, systematically target minorities — and Hindus in particular — in Bangladesh, and generate unrest that destabilises India's border states. Bangladesh watchers cited by officials say human rights violations against minorities are already under way in the country.

The Bigger Strategic Picture

Officials describe this as a classic ISI strategy: prop up non-state actors across multiple frontiers simultaneously so that Indian security agencies are stretched thin. The Bangladesh vector, they argue, is now as operationally significant as the western borders. With the India-Bangladesh relationship under strain, agencies say the ISI sees an opening to widen the rift while embedding destabilising elements on both sides of the border. How New Delhi and Dhaka coordinate a joint response will be closely watched in the weeks ahead.