[Bangla Daily Star] The number of active militant organisations in the country might be much higher than 12, which was earlier mentioned in a home ministry report, home ministry sources said.
Sources in the ministry said intelligence officials have already gathered information on the active militant organisations following directives from the ministry. "The agencies are now analysing the information they gathered," State Minister for Home Affairs Tanjim Ahmed Sohel Taj told The Daily Star yesterday. He said the list would be updated.
Sources in Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) say that there are at least 33 organisations still conducting militant activities in the country. A top law enforcer involved in preparing the report said the number of militant organisations active in the country might be much higher than 12 as mentioned in the home ministry's earlier report which was placed before the cabinet meeting on March 16.
The cabinet had rejected the report saying it was incomplete and asked the ministry to submit a fresh report mentioning how the militants are funded, information about their networks, process of recruitment, their patrons and local and international links. The report was prepared during the caretaker government's rule.
Sources said the intelligence officials are now working to prepare the report and they have identified five NGOs, which are either funding militancy or are active in militancy. The source, however, did not disclose the names of the NGOs.
Sohel Taj said it might take a couple of weeks more to table the report before the cabinet. The report will have complete information about the patrons of militants, their funding, present activities, their organogram, their operations, recruitment system, international connections and training.
The names of the 12 outfits mentioned in the earlier report are: Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Harkat-ul Jihad al Islami (Huji), Hizbut Towhid, Ulama Anjuman al Baiyenat, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, Islami Democratic Party, Islami Samaj, Touhid Trust, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), Shahadat-e-al-Hikma, Tamira ud-Din Bangladesh (Hizb-e-Abu Omar) and Allahr Dal. Of those, JMB, Huji, JMJB and Shahadat-e-al-Hikma are banned.
Even though JMB launched its vigilante operation in Rajshahi regions with the name JMJB, the report enlisted the JMJB as a separate active militant outfit.
The home ministry has formed a 17-member committee headed by Sohel Taj to tackle militancy. Representatives from different ministries concerned are in the committee. The main objective of the committee would be to mobilise public opinion against militancy and create awareness so that there could be a social resistance against militant activities. 
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