Influential retired military officers in Bangladesh are reportedly orchestrating a coordinated legal campaign to suspend the convictions of Syed Ziaul Haque — a dismissed army major, US-designated terror fugitive, and convicted conspirator in the 2015 machete killing of American citizen Avijit Roy — despite a $5 million reward still being offered by the US State Department for information leading to his arrest or conviction. The development, detailed in a report published in The Jerusalem Post, has raised fresh alarm over Bangladesh's counterterrorism commitments to Washington.

Background: The Avijit Roy Killing

In February 2015, Avijit Roy and his wife, Rafida Bonya Ahmed — both Bangladesh-born US citizens — were attacked by assailants wielding machetes while attending a book fair in Dhaka. Roy was killed; Ahmed sustained critical injuries but survived. A total of six individuals were charged, tried, and convicted in Bangladesh. Two convicted conspirators — Ziaul Haque (also known as Major Zia) and Akram Hussain — were tried in absentia and remain at large.

Ansarullah Bangla Team, an Al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist organisation based in Bangladesh, claimed responsibility for the attack shortly after it occurred. Subsequently, Asim Umar, the now-deceased leader of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), released a widely circulated video also claiming AQIS followers were responsible for the assault on Roy and Ahmed, according to the report.

The Campaign to Rehabilitate Major Zia

According to the report authored by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, Editor of Bangladeshi newspaper Blitz, the campaign is being spearheaded by members of Bangladesh's Armed Forces Retired Officers Welfare Association (RAWA). The initiative reportedly involves appeals to government ministries, applications seeking suspension of death sentences, and efforts to withdraw pending criminal cases against Haque.

Citing documents and statements from RAWA leaders, Choudhury wrote that the organisation has been coordinating with relevant government authorities to establish a legal pathway that could eventually enable Ziaul Haque to return to Bangladesh, challenge his convictions, and seek reinstatement in military service. Authorities have previously named Haque as a key figure within terror group Ansar al-Islam.

What It Means for US-Bangladesh Relations

'If successful, the campaign would raise uncomfortable questions about Bangladesh's commitment to counterterrorism cooperation with Washington and about the future of one of America's most prominent terrorism cases in South Asia,' Choudhury wrote. He noted that for Washington, the issue is 'likely to be viewed not merely through the prism of Bangladesh's internal legal processes but also as a measure of whether a key regional partner remains committed to the principles that have underpinned global counterterrorism efforts since the attacks of September 11, 2001.'

UNSC Warning and the Broader AQIS Threat

The report comes days after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) warned that AQIS has been attempting to use Bangladesh as a base to establish terrorist cells. The finding appeared in the 38th report of the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, submitted to the Security Council committee dealing with the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, and associated groups.

The same UN report linked the November 2025 Red Fort attack in Delhi to AQIS and flagged the group's efforts to build terrorist networks using Bangladesh as a staging ground. Recent recoveries of bombs and explosives from areas in and around Dhaka have prompted authorities to intensify security measures, including placing field police on heightened alert and strengthening intelligence surveillance.

With a US-designated fugitive potentially on the path to legal rehabilitation, and a UN body simultaneously flagging Bangladesh as an AQIS operational base, the pressure on Dhaka's civilian and military leadership to demonstrate counterterrorism credibility is set to intensify in the weeks ahead.