Questions surround Yunus administration as Hamas expands footprint in Bangladesh

The emergence of Hamas-linked activity in Bangladesh has become a matter of growing international concern, particularly following public statements by Israeli officials and the documented visit of senior Hamas figures to the country. While much of the world’s attention remained focused on the Middle East after the October 7 attacks, questions have increasingly arisen about Hamas’s efforts to expand its network beyond Gaza and establish contacts in South Asia. The role played by Bangladesh’s interim administration under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus in permitting the entry and activities of senior Hamas leaders has therefore become a subject of intense scrutiny and debate.

When most leaders in the Western world, including then-US President Joe Biden, George Soros, as well as Bill and Hillary Clinton, were cheering the regime change in Bangladesh and the installation of their “dear friend” and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as the Chief Advisor of an interim regime, many of them, along with top counterterrorism and intelligence agencies and global media outlets, were overlooking alarming information about the Gaza-based mega-terror outfit Hamas establishing its footprint in Bangladesh and beyond—with the covert cooperation of Muhammad Yunus and his administration.

Yunus has been extremely vocal against the State of Israel and has repeatedly echoed his opinions in favor of the “Palestinian cause”. He was also among the leading individuals supporting the so-called “Gaza Flotilla Mission”.

Hamas is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the United States. The US State Department officially placed the group on its FTO list in October 1997, and it also maintains Hamas’s designation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity. More than 20 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Israel, and the 27 member states of the European Union, designate this Iranian proxy in its entirety as a terrorist organization.

Despite this documented fact, several key figures of the Yunus regime, including Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, Law Advisor Asif Nazrul, Home Advisor Brig Gen (Retd) M. Sakhawat Hussain, and other senior officials, including the Home Secretary, Inspector General of Police, Director General of DGFI, Director General of NSI, Chief of the Special Branch (SB), and others, allowed a large Hamas delegation led by Khaled Mashal to enter Bangladesh on September 17, 2024, and participate in several “religious events”.

In my opinion, the key reason behind the covert visit of senior Hamas figures, including Sheikh Khaled Quddumi and Khaled Mashal, was to recruit Bangladeshi nationals as members and later deploy them in the Gaza Strip as well as in other countries—including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, EU nations, and the United States—to implement terrorist plots. Yunus and his administration, including top brass in the law enforcement and intelligence agencies, are at risk of punitive measures from the US and other Western countries for hosting Khaled Mashal and other key Hamas figures. Particularly in the United States, harboring and hosting Hamas is viewed as a serious offense.

Under US law, providing “material support or resources” to a designated FTO is a federal crime. This encompasses harboring, sheltering, or facilitating safe havens for its leadership.

The US actively pressures allies and partner nations to sever ties with and expel Hamas leaders. For instance, the US State Department has actively warned countries—such as Turkey—against hosting Hamas leadership, emphasizing that there can be “no more business as usual” with the group.

Entities, individuals, or states that harbor, fund, or assist Hamas leaders and operatives are subject to heavy financial sanctions imposed by the US Department of the Treasury.

US legislation bars anyone affiliated with Hamas from receiving immigration benefits or entering the United States. Furthermore, many Hamas leaders are under US indictment, and Washington demands that they be turned over to the United States to face justice.

The US Department of the Treasury designated Khaled Mashal as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in 2003.

Furthermore, in 2024, the US Department of Justice unsealed federal terrorism charges against Mashal and other senior Hamas leaders for their roles in orchestrating the October 7, 2023, attacks against Israel.

In February 2024, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a sealed criminal indictment charging Khaled Mashal and other senior Hamas leaders with terrorism-related offenses tied to the October 7, 2023, attacks. These charges were officially unsealed in September 2024 and include:

• Conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death;
• Conspiracy to murder US nationals;
• Conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction resulting in death; and
• Conspiracy to bomb a place of public use resulting in death.

Because Hamas is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the United States, Washington views any state hosting and facilitating its leadership as a major security threat. The US can deploy several mechanisms against host countries, including:

Secondary sanctions: The US can penalize foreign individuals, entities, or governments that provide material support, financial services, or safe harbor to designated Hamas leaders.

Material support laws: Providing safe haven and logistical support to a designated FTO can be interpreted by the US as providing “material support” to terrorism.

Aid reductions: Harboring Hamas can result in reductions in aid.

Hamas in Bangladesh

Recently, Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar, in an interview with NDTV, alleged that Hamas-linked activity is taking place in Pakistan and Bangladesh, raising concerns about the spread of extremist influence beyond the Middle East.

According to Ambassador Azar, Israel has been monitoring what it believes to be Hamas activity in Pakistan and Bangladesh since the October 7 attacks carried out by the Palestinian group against Israel. While acknowledging that some reports are based on publicly available information, he suggested that there could be additional activities that remain outside public view.

Within hours of the Israeli ambassador’s interview, Al Qaeda-, ISIS-, and Hamas-affiliated Islamist and jihadist groups in Bangladesh began flexing their muscles by waving jihadist flags in a number of locations across Dhaka and holding processions. They chanted slogans denouncing democracy and calling for the transformation of Bangladesh into a Caliphate.

Earlier, on February 6, 2026, while replying to a question about the presence of Hamas in Bangladesh, Ambassador Reuven Azar told Blitz:

“From Israel’s security perspective, Hamas’s engagement in countries like Bangladesh is part of a broader strategy to expand its regional and global network. By establishing contacts and operations beyond Gaza, including through senior Hamas leaders such as Sheikh Khaled Quddumi and Khaled Mashal, Hamas aims to secure funding, ideological support, and logistical channels for its activities. This expansion also allows it to cultivate alliances with local Islamist groups, increasing its influence and operational reach across South Asia.

“For regional security, this development is concerning. It creates new avenues for radicalization, cross-border coordination, and the movement of resources, which could directly or indirectly affect various countries.”

The establishment of a Hamas footprint in Bangladesh, along with visits by its prominent leaders and their participation in recruitment activities under the guise of attending religious events, has already exposed the country to serious security threats. As Pakistan has maintained decades-old relations with Hamas due to its anti-Israel policy, it is not unlikely that Pakistan’s notorious spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), may use Hamas operatives in Bangladesh, as well as in Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Myanmar, to implement subversive activities inside India.

Whether viewed through the lens of counterterrorism, regional security, or international diplomacy, the reported expansion of Hamas-linked activities into Bangladesh deserves serious attention. Statements from Israeli officials, the documented presence of senior Hamas figures in the country, and the growing visibility of extremist groups collectively raise questions that Bangladesh’s authorities cannot afford to ignore. Failure to address these concerns transparently and decisively risks damaging Bangladesh’s international standing while creating new security challenges for South Asia and beyond.

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