Dr Zahed Ur Rahman, adviser to the prime minister on information and broadcasting, has said that militancy existed before and continues to exist in the country.

He also noted that while some have attempted to use the "militancy card" to prolong autocratic rule, other governments have denied the reality by claiming no militants exist.

"We do not want to deny reality; we want to combat it," he said. "However, the risk regarding militancy in the country is not at an alarming level."

He was speaking at a weekly press conference at the Information Department's conference room in the Secretariat.

“I want to tell the public this much -- the risk is not such that one needs to be afraid. But as the old saying goes, if we don't acknowledge a crisis or a disease, it can't be treated. So, it is there, and we are working to bring it down to zero,” he said.

In response to questions from journalists, the adviser said, “Militancy exists in Bangladesh. During the Awami League government, the issue of militancy was presented on a massive scale; they used it as a narrative to stay in power. Their message was, 'There are militants in Bangladesh, they will take over everything, so don't worry about whether I hold a fair election -- just keep me in power.' That was a narrative. It was exaggerated during that government's time.”

He also said, “During the term of the interim government, some people have tried to claim that there are no militants in Bangladesh at all. That is another extreme (position), and it is also false.”

In response to another question, the adviser said, “Being cautious now is necessary because we’ve noticed that during the interim government’s time, people with these (militant) tendencies have shown a trend of becoming more organised and appearing more openly in public. We could say this is an impact of that. This government will combat these activities.”

“We should not generalise the word militant too much. In the past, we clearly saw stories where a house would be surrounded, claims would be made that bombs were being built there, and then Rab would kill people in ‘crossfires.’ So, we will be very careful with how we use this term,” said the adviser.