A former White House official said there were serious concerns in the US about rising extremism in Bangladesh, observing that deposed former Prime Minister Sheikh had done a good job in controlling it.

Lisa Curtis, who served as President-elect Donald Trump’s South Asia representative in his first term, said there are concerns about the future and what it might bring to Bangladesh.

“We are at a critical point in Bangladesh. There is a lot of hope due to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina and efforts to reform the political system. People are hopeful that the democratic process will strengthen,” he said. The Awami League regime led by Hasian was toppled on August 5 in the face of a massive upsurge resulting from the Student Anti-Apartheid Movement’s quota reform campaign. Three days later, Nobel laureate Mohammed took office as chief advisor to the interim government.

“But there are also a lot of concerns. Some Islamic extremists have been released from prisons. “There have been some attacks on minorities, Hindus, Christians,” Curtis, who served as the National Security Council’s senior director for South and Central Asia from 2017 to 2021, told PTI in an interview. “We have seen a history of terrorism in Bangladesh. You experienced the Holy Furnace attack in 2016. It’s a very serious incident. There were some ISIS (Islamic State) elements in Bangladesh. Curtis said Sheikh Hasina has done a good job of controlling the problem of extremism in Bangladesh. He said there was understandably some concern about the return of these elements to the political scene and that this would not benefit Bangladesh.

“This does not help the region, the United States or anyone else. We are going through a sensitive period in Bangladesh. “So, even though it’s not (President-elect) Trump’s number one priority, I think his team, his national security team, needs to pay attention to what’s going on (there),” he said.

Curtis also said the new administration should work with India, which has concerns about the future of Bangladesh and is more directly affected by what is happening due to its proximity.