Dhaka: Security analyst Brig Gen (retd) Sakhawat Hossain on Monday said 150-200 Bangladeshi young people who are reported missing are now in the Middle East, apparently hinting at the ISIS and al-Qaeda.

‘We don’t know how many children went missing from our villages and towns. As far as I know from my own study, 150-200 children are now missing and they are somewhere in the Middle East. This is very alarming,’ he said.

Sakhawat was addressing a rally at Gulshan Lake Park to mourn the death of 20 people, including 17 foreigners, in the grisly militant attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka’s Gulshan.

Gulshan Society arranged the rally with the slogan ‘united against brutality in the name of religion’.   

Gulshan Society president Dr ATM Shamsul Huda presided over the event moderated by its secretary general Barrister Omar Sadat.

Sakhawat underscored the need for forging a social movement to resist extremism. ‘Look at our neighbours. Let us look at my own family first and then go to neighbours.’  

In this global era, there is no scope for denying the presence of international militant groups in the country, he said adding, ‘The more you deny, the more you give them (militants) a space.’

Observing that he is least bothered about whether there exists ISIS or al-Qaeda in Bangladesh, the security expert said, ‘I see that ideology is working with my children here. None came here from Syria and Iraq.’

Raising a question about the delay in launching the operation to rescue the hostages from the restaurant, he said the attackers came here knowing it very well that they would not return live. ‘There was nothing to negotiate because they did not come to negotiate… they came to kill and propagate it to the whole world,’ he said.

Sakhawat also stressed the importance of introspecting as to why the six young attackers who came from the middle or higher middle class families chose this path.

Describing militancy as a global menace, Dr ATM Shamsul Huda said it cannot be contained only by police and RAB. ‘Local and international steps are needed to resist it.’

Noting that no one of the attackers except one was madrasah students, Dr Huda said they were educated from English medium. ‘A study must be conducted on the changing trend of society, and aspirations, grievances and complaints of children.’  

Mentioning that Gulshan Society has so far installed 750 CCTVs at its own initiative, he said they want to appoint some 300 community police members if they get permission from the authorities concerned.

At the rally, a one-minute silence was observed in memory of those killed in the attack and a prayer was offered seeking salvation of the departed souls.

Besides, wreaths were placed at the portraits of 20 victims of the attack to pay tributes to them.