Dhaka: Indian newspaper The Tribune report headlined “ISI, Bangladesh operatives teaming up to revive ULFA camps near Assam border” was a fake one, the Chief Adviser’s Press Wing has said. The Tribune newspaper in New Delhi has run the front-page story claiming that ISI and Bangladesh operatives are teaming up to revive ULFA camps.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the press wing stated in a statement posted on its verified Facebook page – CA Press Wing Facts – that there was no evidence provided and no named sources endorsed the plotline. The statement criticized the report as being part of a genre of stories that have surfaced since the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina’s regime, branding it as unsubstantiated.
The press wing further clarified that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the only source quoted in the report, expressed disbelief that the leader of the ULFA, Paresh Baruah, has any intention to resume militant activities. Contrary to The Tribune story’s claim that intelligence agencies suspect Baruah may soon be released, the press wing noted that he is already at large and believed to reside in China.
The Tribune’s report also alleged that communications in Bangladesh had been intercepted in Arabic, Urdu, and Bengali. However, the press wing dismissed this as fiction, asserting that the story remains ‘exclusive’ to The Tribune as it exists solely in the imagination of its staff.