However, Bangladesh is the most successful South Asian country in countering terrorism
Bangladesh has ranked 33rd out of 163 countries in the Global Terrorism Index 2020, while it was 30th in 2019, a leading think tank said Wednesday. The country was ranked 30 last year, while it was 25th the year before, according to the Global Terrorism Index 2020.
For the second year in a row, South Asia was the hardest hit by terrorism. However, Bangladesh is the most successful South Asian country in countering terrorism.
When asked about this success, Head of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Unit (CTTC) Monirul Islam told Dhaka Tribune, “Government’s zero tolerance policy against terrorism, citizen's spontaneous cooperation and our whole of society approach and relentless efforts have made it possible.”
“No room for complacency, we need to continue the efforts to improve further,” he said.
The Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) Global Terrorism Index-2020 has come up with this information. IEP, an independent, and non-profit organization, works to bring peace to the world as a positive and achievable step towards the well-being and progress of the people.
The IEP has compiled the Global Terrorism Index-2020 based on the situation in 163 countries around the world on the basis of 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators. The report states that the population of these countries comprises 99.7% of the total population of the world.
The report lists the countries between zero and 10 scores. Countries with scores ranging from 8 to 10 are most affected by terrorism, the report said. Countries with a score between 6 and 8 are at high risk of terrorism. Countries with scores ranging from 4 to 6 have moderate levels of terrorism. Countries with scores ranging from 2 to 4 have a lower presence of terrorism. Countries with scores ranging from zero to two have very low levels of terrorism.
According to the report, Bangladesh's score is 4.909. In other words, the impact of terrorism in the country is moderate. In 2018, Bangladesh was ranked 25th in the index. In 2017, Bangladesh was 21st.
According to the report on the terrorism situation in South Asia, Bangladesh ranks second among the seven countries in the region. Only Bhutan (138th in the global rank) is ahead of Bangladesh.
Like last year, this time Afghanistan is at the top position globally. Besides, Pakistan has moved up two places to seventh, India is eighth and Nepal is 27th.
Global situation
The number of people killed in terror attacks worldwide fell for the fifth consecutive year, with conflict still the main driver of terror, an increase of "far-right terrorism" is seen in the West, the report said.
Deaths from terrorism fell last year to 13,826, a 15% fall from the year before and a further annual decline from a peak in 2014.
IEP warned that in North America, Western Europe and Oceania, deaths attributed to far-right terror have increased by 250% since 2014, with 89 killings in 2019.
"They are higher now than at any time in the last 50 years," it said.
It said the largest decreases in deaths occurred in Afghanistan and Nigeria but they remained "the only two countries to have experienced more than 1,000 deaths from terrorism."
"As we enter a new decade we are seeing new threats of terrorism emerge. The rise of the far-right in the West and the deteriorations in the Sahel are prime examples," said Steve Killelea, Executive Chairman of IEP.
The Taliban was still "the world's deadliest terrorist group" in 2019, it said, adding that the strength of the Islamic State extremist group continued to decline while its affiliates remained active, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
