Pak terror groups LeT, JeM target Bangladesh campuses to radicalise Indian students: Report

LeT founder Hafiz Saeed

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed, two of Pakistan’s most wanted terror groups, have reportedly forged operational links with radical organisations in Bangladesh to open a new front aimed at radicalising Indian students, top intelligence sources told CNN-News18.

The development comes just days after India launched Operation Sindoor to strike terror facilities associated with LeT and JeM, the two Pakistan-based terror groups, in response to the Pahalgam attack.

Saifullah Kasuri, the LeT terrorist who was behind the deadly Pahalgam attack, mentioned the "division of Bengal" in a recent speech in Lahore in May. The speech, which is circulating on social media, is being used in the radical circles to spread anti-India messaging, the report said.

Sources said Bangladesh-based groups have facilitated LeT and Jaish operatives to gain “legitimate access” to university campuses, where they engage with Indian students through Islamic study groups.

The growing alliance between these groups and Jamaat-e-Islami has reportedly created a robust ideological network operating across borders.

The development signals the expansion of the jihadist recruitment system beyond countries like Pakistan, with Bangladesh-based groups now allegedly offering logistical and ideological support to target young Indian Muslims studying in Bangladeshi universities.

CNN-News18 reported that LeT's influence in Bangladeshi universities is rooted in three key pillars: "ideological alignment with local radicals, institutional decay, and cross-border impunity.”

With backing from Pakistan’s ISI, the group employs “multi-layered strategies combining ideological networks, institutional vulnerabilities, and cross-border operational logistics,” the report said.

Coordination with Jamaat’s student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, provides LeT access to campus networks and hostels. “Shibir grants access to student networks, hostels, and Islamic study circles, which are then used for recruitment,” CNN-News18 reported, adding that the group’s access has become more streamlined following the restoration of Jamaat-e-Islami’s legitimacy after the 2024 elections.

Other radical groups such as Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) have also been linked to LeT.

These groups reportedly operate madrasas near university campuses, where students are indoctrinated with Wahhabi-Salafi ideologies, framing jihad as a tool for Islamic revival.

UK-based front organisations have also funded radical madrasas that later recruit university students, the report added.

Shibir members are drawing Indian students into study groups mixing theology with LeT propaganda. “Events at the University of Dhaka have glorified Kashmir terrorists killed as martyrs,” CNN-News18 reports. LeT attack videos, including from Pahalgam, are shared via Telegram and Signal “to incite anti-India sentiments.”

Radical outfits exploit economic hardship. “Following the 2024 floods, Jamaat distributed aid along with radical literature,” the report says. Students are offered scholarships, while “senior student ‘mentors’ isolate Indian youth, presenting radicalisation as identity preservation,” enforcing conservative norms to build loyalty.

LeT is using Bangladesh as a “transit hub,” moving radicalised students to Pakistan via Nepal and Myanmar under academic cover. Recruits are told “India is oppressing Muslims,” citing the CAA and 2023 temple vandalism to justify jihadist activities.

Post-2024, Bangladesh lifted bans on Jamaat-e-Islami and allied groups. A Hizb-ut-Tahrir founder now serves as Home Secretary. ABT is “operating openly on campuses,” and Islamic education reforms have “normalised extremist norms,” the report says.

LeT funding flows through NGOs posing as charities. “LeT receives funds via NGOs from the Middle East, Gulf, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, under the pretext of reviving Islamic heritage and campus charities.”

Radicalised Indians are sent back as operatives. HuJI-B, JMB, and LeT reportedly run 40 sleeper cells in Assam and Nagaland. The 2025 Pahalgam attacker had “met a Bangladeshi official prior to the operation.”

Bangladesh’s “nearly 2,200 Hindu-targeted incidents” in 2024 have fueled Hindu-Muslim tensions in India, aiding jihadist recruitment.