Asifur Rahman

"If I die in a battle zone, Box me up and send me home. Put my medals on my chest, Tell my mom I did my best. Tell my mom not to cry, I'm a soldier born to die"
   In 2018, Tahsif Souri shared on social media the above poem once recited by soldiers during the Second World War. It expressed a willingness to sacrifice one’s life for the motherland on the battlefield. On Wednesday, the body of the 28-year-old former Flight Lieutenant of the Bangladesh Air Force was recovered from a river in Dhaka, #Bangladesh.   The circumstances surrounding his death raise serious questions. Neither suicide nor accidental death appears convincing, and his family shares this view. His cousin has explicitly alleged that Tahsif was murdered.   Six years ago, Tahsif spoke of sacrificing his life for his country in battle. No one could have imagined that his life would end prematurely—not on a battlefield, but in a far more unequal and heart-breaking struggle. His desire to serve his motherland has now become a tragic reality in circumstances he could never have anticipated.   In August 2024, following the #JulyRevolution, Tahsif shared a video showing Sheikh Hasina fleeing Bangladesh. The video went viral, attracting attention both at home and abroad. Soon afterward, the Bangladesh Air Force announced his removal, citing disciplinary grounds.   In July this year, in a YouTube podcast, Tahsif himself suggested that his dismissal might have been linked to his role in circulating the video of Hasina’s escape.   It is difficult to believe Tahsif’s death was a suicide or an accident. His death demands a credible, impartial, and transparent investigation.   The police may eventually claim that he was killed over a personal dispute. But given the circumstances, such a conclusion will not automatically command public confidence. Many Bangladeshis, including members of Tahsif’s own family, suspect that he was deliberately targeted by pro-Awami League elements in retaliation for sharing the video of Hasina’s escape. This possibility warrants serious investigation rather than convenient dismissal.   If Tahsif was murdered for circulating that video, exposing powerful interests, or speaking out against pro-India or pro-Awami League elements within the military, then those responsible are not merely criminals. They are enemies of Bangladesh and its sovereignty. But these allegations must be established through evidence, not political rhetoric or speculation.   My research over the past two days suggests that Tahsif supported the July Revolution and regarded himself as a patriotic officer. I have found no credible evidence that he acted against Bangladesh’s national interests. Yet, even after his death, allegations persist that he was an agent of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).   The allegation that Tahsif was a RAW agent is nothing short of absurd. After leaving the Air Force, he worked with Netra News, a credible media outlet that supported the July Revolution. Does anyone seriously expect us to believe that an organisation of Netra News’s standing would have maintained a professional relationship with him if there had been any credible evidence of his alleged links to RAW?   Bangladesh has already witnessed the government’s apparent reluctance to ensure accountability in the investigation into Osman Hadi’s murder. There is now a legitimate fear that Tahsif’s case could suffer the same fate—delayed action, an inadequate investigation, and an eventual conclusion that leaves the most important questions unanswered.

Professor #MuhammadYunus is far more than the chief adviser of #Bangladesh’s last interim government. He is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist, an internationally celebrated figure, and the first Bangladeshi to bring that highest global honour to our nation. Every patriotic Bangladeshi takes pride in his achievement and loves him. Yet at JFK Airport in New York, a gang of #AwamiLeague goons launched a vicious verbal assault on this 86-year-old statesman. They hurled abuse, branded him a “terrorist,” and tried to intimidate a man whose lifelong work has earned worldwide respect. They probably lacked the guts to launch a physical assault on him inside the airport, knowing full well that security personnel would have caught and arrested them on the spot. Targeting a frail octogenarian celebrity in a foreign airport is not protest—it is pure, gutless political hooliganism. Hochemin Islam, a self-styled Bangladeshi “transgender activist,” sunk to a new depth of vulgarity by branding Nobel laureate Professor Yunus a “Haramzada”—a ba*tard— and openly calling for him to be kicked out of his wheelchair.   This is not activism. This is the filthy rhetoric of an #AwamiLeague terrorist. Stop dignifying her with the title of a rights campaigner; name her for what she is. Certain Western embassies and high commissions in Dhaka still roll out the red carpet for her at their so-called rights gatherings. Are these missions aware of how she publicly vilified a national icon and Nobel Prize winner? Continuing to treat this terrorist as a legitimate activist is a disgrace to every mission that hosts her. Extending diplomatic recognition and a prestigious platform to someone accused of such reprehensible conduct raises serious questions about their commitment to the very values they claim to uphold. Such shameful, cowardly thuggery directed at a national icon is utterly disgraceful and indefensible. It has no place in a civilised society. The government in Bangladesh has to take action against Islam for terrorising Prof Yunus.   It is welcome that the Bangladesh government has labelled the attackers of Professor Yunus “Awami terrorists” and pledged that they will face the full force of the law. Such thugs who disgrace Bangladesh’s name abroad must be held accountable without delay or leniency. @usembassydhaka
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