In January 2009, when the Awami League came to power through a landslide victory in December’s general elections, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina saw terrorism and militancy as key factors threatening the security of the entire region. During the 2001-2006 rule of the Al Qaeda-connected Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its coalition partner—the pro-Islamist and pro-Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) – the country had become a safe haven for terrorists and jihadists.

Within a couple of weeks of assuming office, Sheikh Hasina declared an all-out war against terrorism and militancy, where the country’s law enforcement and security agencies, including the elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), played a sincere role in successfully eliminating hideouts of these notorious elements, thus saving Bangladesh from becoming another Afghanistan. Sheikh Hasina’s success in fighting terrorism has been applauded by the international community, including the United States.

However, at a later stage, Washington, alongside some dubious NGOs accused of operating as mere mercenaries for their funders in implementing secret blueprints, began an orchestrated campaign especially targeting RAB, branding it a violator of human rights. On December 10, 2021, the US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on several officers of RAB for “widespread allegations of serious human rights abuse”, which went against Bangladesh’s determination and commitment to fighting terrorism for the sake of national, regional, and international security. At this juncture, several NGOs accused of being used by Western nations to destabilize targeted countries began a well-orchestrated propaganda campaign favoring these sanctions.

Although these shocking sanctions........

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