From Sitakunda to Maheshkhali: How ISI and Lashkar-e-Taiba are waging war on Hindu temples in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is facing one of the gravest threats to its sovereignty and communal harmony in decades. Since the “Jihadist Coup” of 2024, the country’s fragile minority population – particularly Hindus – has been subjected to systematic intimidation, desecration of sacred sites, and targeted persecution. At the center of this sinister campaign is Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which, through its longtime terror proxy Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has expanded operations inside Bangladesh with the goal of erasing Hindu religious heritage and turning the country into a forward base for jihad against India.

Since last year’s coup, Hindus and other religious minorities in Bangladesh are enduring relentless persecution. According to credible intelligence sources, Pakistan’s ISI is deploying Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) – a designated global terrorist entity – to orchestrate plots against ancient Hindu temples and sacred sites across the country. Disturbingly, members of LeT and allied jihadist groups have been brazenly declaring these intentions in public, generating widespread fear and anger among Bangladesh’s Hindu community.

On August 16, 2025, an Islamist named MM Saiful Islam posted on his verified Facebook account under the title “Mosque on the top of Sitakunda mountain 90% confirmed”.

According to his post, to advance the project he traveled with three associates to Hathazari madrasa in Chittagong – headquarters of the pro-Caliphate Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) – where he met Mufti Harun Izhar, a senior figure tied to Lashkar-e-Taiba and Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI-B). Harun Izhar, son of the late Mufti Izharul Islam, was arrested multiple times during Awami League rule for his involvement in militancy during the wave of jihadist attacks from 2013 to 2019, which included the targeted killings of secularists, foreigners, and police officers.

Since the coup, Izhar has intensified his campaign to impose Sharia law in Bangladesh, drawing active support from Islamist forces including Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB), and Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI). He also remains a close associate of Jashimuddin Rahmani, the kingpin of Al Qaeda–linked Ansar al-Islam.

The immediate target of this Islamist conspiracy is the 11th-century Sitakunda Chandranath Dham, one of the holiest pilgrimage sites for Hindus and Buddhists in South Asia. Every February, tens of thousands gather here for Shiva Chaturdashi. The Chandranath Temple, a revered Shakta pitha, sits atop a hill more than 1,000 feet above sea level, believed to be the site where the right arm of Goddess Sati fell according to Hindu mythology.

The site has already faced multiple threats. In 2023, Islamist activists openly declared on social media that they would “capture” Chandranath Hill “with the grace of Allah” and build a mosque on its summit. One Islamist, Muhammad Shibbir bin Nazir, even claimed to have performed adhan and offered prayers on the hilltop, sharing photos on Facebook as a warning to Hindus.

Beyond religious encroachment, Islamists have staged grotesque provocations: planning “beef barbeque parties” within temple premises, pelting Hindu pilgrims with beef-biryani packets, and harassing Hindu women. These actions are deliberately designed to humiliate Hindus and desecrate their sacred traditions.

Pakistani ISI’s designs go beyond Sitakunda. Other targets include Medhas Muni Ashram in Chittagong, the Golden Temple in Bandarban district, and the Adinath Temple in Maheshkhali, Cox’s Bazar – all ancient and sacred Hindu sites deeply embedded in South Asia’s spiritual heritage.

According to a senior intelligence source, since 2022, ISI has been aggressively recruiting Rohingyas and Biharis (Stranded Pakistanis) to form militant brigades: the “Arakan Army” (composed of Rohingyas) and the “Mohajir Regiment” (composed of Biharis). These recruits are then dispatched to training camps in Nepal and Pakistan for guerilla warfare under Al Qaeda’s supervision.

The situation worsened after the coup. The Yunus regime lifted mandatory post-landing customs inspections on consignments arriving from Karachi, allowing ISI to flood Bangladesh with weapons, explosives, and narcotics. The proceeds from these illegal trades are funneled into terror operations.

On December 7, 2024, during a televised debate on Zee News, Pakistani politician Irshad Ahmed Khan (PML-N) openly admitted that Pakistan was sending weapons to Bangladesh to “liberate it from Indian influence”. This shocking confession validated long-standing allegations of Islamabad’s covert subversion in Bangladesh, emboldened by the pro-Islamist policies of the Yunus regime.

Pakistan is globally recognized as a terror-patron state, with countries like the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia maintaining strict visa restrictions against its citizens due to security risks. In stark contrast, Bangladesh under Muhammad Yunus has reversed safeguards that once curbed Pakistani infiltration.

On December 2, 2024, the Yunus regime scrapped mandatory security clearance for Pakistani citizens seeking Bangladeshi visas. A classified communiqué later revealed that Bangladeshi missions worldwide had been instructed to follow suit, nullifying a 2019 order meant to mitigate terrorism risks.

Worse still, on September 29, 2024, the regime issued a gazette exempting Pakistani shipments from mandatory customs inspections under the “National Selectivity Criteria”. This loophole opened the floodgates for ISI to smuggle weapons, explosives, and narcotics.

These drugs, routed through Bangladesh, not only endanger India’s youth but can also be re-exported through Indian networks to the West, implicating India in narcotics trafficking and straining its global trade credibility.

The ongoing assault on Bangladesh’s Hindu temples is not just an attack on a religious community – it is part of Pakistan’s grand design to destabilize India’s eastern frontier by turning Bangladesh into a jihadist stronghold. With the Yunus regime enabling ISI infiltration by dismantling long-standing security barriers, Bangladesh is becoming a launchpad for radical Islamist and terrorist forces. Unless this dangerous alliance between Pakistan’s ISI, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Dhaka’s ruling Islamists is confronted head-on, Bangladesh risks losing not only its pluralistic identity but also becoming the newest battlefield in Pakistan’s endless jihad against Hindu dharma and Indian civilization.

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