Faisal Hossain told his family he had found work in Dubai. In reality, the 22-year-old from Madaripur, some 100 kilometres to the south of Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, was fighting for the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — a banned militant group waging insurgency against the Pakistani state in order to establish their own interpretation of Sharia law.

On September 26, 2025, Pakistani security forces killed Hossain during an operation in Karak district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. His brother, Arman, identified him from photos of bodies circulated in the media.

Hossain is one of at least four Bangladeshis confirmed killed while fighting for the TTP, referred to as the Fitna al-Khawarij by the Pakistan state. Bangladesh’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit adds that another two dozen or so Bangladeshi nationals are currently in Pakistan, fighting for the TTP and other militant organisations — a trend that experts say first emerged in 2023 and has alarmed authorities in Dhaka.

A second Bangladeshi, Zubair Ahmed, 22, is believed to have been killed in April 2025. “At the end of April, I received a call from an unknown number, informing me that my son is no more,” his mother, Aleya Akter, tells Eos.

Dozens of young Bangladeshi men are said to be fighting for extremist Pakistani outfits such as the Tehreek-i-Taliban. Their recruitment marks a dangerous new export for Bangladesh and a perplexing shift in South Asian militancy…

THE FATE OF RATAN DHALI

The fate of a third man, Ratan Dhali, 29, remains unclear. In early November, the CTTC informed his family he had been killed in the September 26 operation. But on December 1, a video surfaced on Bangladeshi social media, showing someone identified as Dhali and claiming to be alive.

CTTC Superintendent of Police (SP) Rawshan Sadia Afroz tells Eos that officers have investigated the video and found it to be fake and will not be conducting a forensic analysis. A TTP spokesperson in Pakistan, Imran Haider, who initially told Eos that Dhali was dead has now retracted the statement, saying Dhali was only presumed dead because he had been missing.

For Dhali’s family, the uncertainty is agonising. “A few days ago, the police informed me that my son had been killed in Pakistan,” his father Anwar Dhali tells Eos. “Now, God only knows whether my son is alive or not.

Ratan Dhali last spoke to his family on April 11, 2024 — Eid day. He made a video call to his mother, exchanged Eid greetings, and told her he was in Delhi and would soon travel to Dubai. “That was our last conversation. I never spoke to my son again,” says Selina Begum, Ratan’s mother, as she broke down in tears.

RECRUITMENT METHOD

In March 2024, Hossain told his father that he wanted to go to Dubai. But his family did not agree, as they could not afford it. A few days later, Hossain told them that he had found a way to get there. “An elder brother will take me there and pay all the expenses. My salary will be 35,000 takas [$285]. After arriving in Dubai, I will have to repay him from my salary,” he told them.

When Hossain was about to leave home for Dubai, his elder brother Arman asked him if he had obtained a visa. Faisal replied that his visa would be from India. “I was surprised when I heard that,” Arman tells........

© Dawn (Magazines)