“The unfortunate persecution, killing, and abuse of religious minorities such as Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and others have long been a major area of concern for the US government and President Trump and his administration,” said US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard.
New Delhi: US intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard today spoke to NDTV World about the persecution of religious minorities, saying that the United States is deeply concerned by the situation in Bangladesh. She said the Trump administration is focused and committed to defeating “Islamist terrorism” globally.
In an exclusive interview with NDTV World, Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence of the United States, said, “The unfortunate persecution, killing, and abuse of religious minorities such as Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and others has long been a major area of concern for the US government and President Trump and his administration.”
She said the new cabinet led by Donald Trump has begun talks with the interim government in Bangladesh. Speaking about the rise of Islamic extremism and terrorist elements in Bangladesh, she said, “Conversations between President Trump’s new cabinet and the Bangladesh government have just begun, but this remains a central focus area of concern.”
In her remarks, she talked about the ideology of the “Islamic Caliphate” and how extremist elements and terrorist groups aim for such an outcome globally. “The threat of Islamic terrorists and the global efforts of various terrorist groups are rooted in the same ideology and objective – to rule or be ruled with an Islamist Caliphate,” she said. “This affects people of any other faith, other than what they find acceptable, and they chose to carry it out through terror and very violent means and methods,” she added. Ms Gabbard further said that Donald Trump is committed to identifying and defeating such ideology and ending the rise of what she calls “radical Islamic terrorism.”
“President Trump is committed to identifying the ideology that drives Islamic terrorism, and working to defeat this ideology and its ability to unleash terror on people,” Ms Gabbard said.
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Apart from the violence and religious persecution in Bangladesh, its growing synergy with Pakistan’s notorious ISI has become a major cause of concern in the last two months.
Last month, Indian Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi said he was concerned about the presence of ISI officers in Bangladesh border areas of India, especially near the Siliguri Corridor. Speaking to news agency ANI, Gen Dwivedi said they have to ensure that anti-India elements are not able to use that soil to send terrorists into India.
Gen Dwivedi said, “I used the term ‘hotbed of terrorism’ for a particular country (Pakistan). Now those countrymen, if they go to some other place and they happen to be our neighbors, as far as I am concerned, I should be concerned. They should not be able to use that land to send terrorists to India.” When PM Modi and Donald Trump met in Washington in February, the US President had said that he would let PM Modi handle the situation in Bangladesh. “This is something that the Prime Minister has been working on for a long time. To be honest, I have been reading about it. I will leave Bangladesh to the Prime Minister,” President Trump said at a joint press briefing.