Another Bangladeshi youth who had been fighting for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was killed, intelligence sources and family members of the deceased confirmed to The Dissent.

The young man, identified as Ratan Dhali, 24, hailed from Harirchar village in Muksudpur upazila of Gopalganj district. The Special Branch (SB) of the Bangladesh Police has confirmed his death to his family.

Rawshan Sadia Afroze, Special Superintendent of Police of the Counterterrorism and Transnational Intelligence Unit under the SB, told The Dissent that information about Ratan’s death had reached them 15–20 days earlier, conveyed directly by the Pakistani counterpart.

“We have confirmed his death,” she said. “However, we have not received any details regarding exactly when or where he was killed. But we know that Ratan Dhali was killed before Madaripur’s Faisal.”

The Dissent had earlier, on September 28, first reported in Bangladesh the death of Faisal of Madaripur, who was killed in a Pakistani security operation in Karak district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on September 26.

Imran Haidar, another Bangladeshi youth fighting for the TTP, also confirmed Ratan’s death when contacted by The Dissent.

Imran claimed that Ratan had been in Pakistani custody and that TTP sources inside the army had informed them of his death. However, he said he had no information about when or how Ratan was killed.

Ratan Entered Pakistan Through India

According to SP Rawshan Sadia, both Ratan Dhali and Faisal of Madaripur left Bangladesh together for Pakistan via Kolkata, India. “We have obtained their documents showing entry into India,” she said, “but they did not enter Pakistan legally.”

Family sources said that, while in Bangladesh, Ratan worked at a hijama (cupping therapy) center in Dhaka. Later, claiming he was going to Dubai, he left the country during Ramadan in 2023.

Ratan’s father, Anwar Dhali, told The Dissent that he had learned of his son’s death from the police on Wednesday.

“Two months ago,” he said, “local police had informed us that my son was fighting for a militant group in Pakistan. Before that, we believed he was in Dubai.”

Anwar recounted, “Three or four days before Eid, he came home from Dhaka. He told us he was going to Dubai. On Eid day, he called and said he was in New Delhi. He showed us on video call—he was eating, there were two or three others with him. They said they too were going to Dubai.”

Ratan’s father added that his son had said he would work at a hijama center in Dubai, and that the owner of that center was arranging his visa. After Faisal’s death, Faisal’s elder brother Arman had also told The Dissent that Faisal left home saying he would work at a hijama center in Dubai.

“I was so happy,” Anwar said, “thinking my son had finally found a path in life. But never could I imagine this would happen.” He broke down in tears.

Choking back emotion, he continued, “If it is true that my son has died, I want the government to bring his body home. Even if I have to sell my property, I will.”

Anwar said that as of Wednesday night, his wife Selina Begum had not yet been told of their son’s death.

Unaware of the news, Selina told The Dissent, “After he went to Dubai, he would call only occasionally. He said he had lost his phone and was calling from someone else’s. Once, when he heard I was sick, he sent 10,000 taka. He said he didn’t have work.”

“Then, a month and a half or two months ago, police told us he was working for a Pakistani militant organization,” she added. “I have a daughter who is of marriageable age. If police or journalists come to our house about my son, how will I ever marry her off? In the village, people find fault with girls for everything.”

Anwar Dhali, an auto-rickshaw driver by profession, previously worked for years as a bus driver and security guard.
“I tried so hard to educate him,” he said. “I spent so much money—first I enrolled him in a Rajuk school, then moved him to Nadda Kalachandpur School. But he studied only up to class seven. Then he went astray. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t bring him back.”

A few years ago, the family moved from Dhaka back to their village, but Ratan stayed behind. “At first he worked in mobile phone servicing,” Anwar said. “Then he learned hijama and started working at a hijama center in Khilgaon.”

Growing Evidence of Bangladeshis Fighting for TTP

On May 15, The Dissent first reported that Bangladeshi youths were fighting for the TTP in Pakistan. Following that report, the Special Branch began investigating. So far, at least five Bangladeshis have been killed fighting against the Pakistani army, and a child daughter of a Bangladeshi TTP member has reportedly been killed in a drone strike.

Police said that Faisal and Ratan Dhali went to Pakistan through a TTP member known as Saifullah Guraba. While in Bangladesh, both men worked at Saifullah’s hijama center.

Investigations by The Dissent have found that Saifullah Guraba’s real name is Yasin Rafi Siam. Together with a man named Sadi Bhuiyan, he operated a hijama center called Rafraf Hijama Center in Road No. 10, Tilpapara, Khilgaon. Yasin Rafi Siam—also known as Saifullah Guraba—was originally from Koroitoli in Faridganj, under Chandpur district. His younger brother Sanaf Hasan has been charged by the Anti-Terrorism Unit in a counterterrorism case.

When contacted, their father Shamsul Alam, a businessman, confirmed that his son’s name was indeed Yasin Rafi Siam.
He said his son had left the country with his wife, claiming he was going to Morocco. “Later he said he had been injured in a car accident and that his daughter had died,” Shamsul Alam recalled.

Asked whether he knew that his elder son had joined a militant group, Shamsul Alam cursed his son, saying, “If I’d known, would I have let that bastard leave the house?”

Repeated attempts to meet Shamsul Alam were unsuccessful. The Dissent’s reporter went to his residence but was denied entry. He also refused to allow his younger son Sanaf Hasan to speak. When asked whether the younger son had been influenced by the TTP, he replied, “He’s just a kid. He could be influenced by anyone.”

When confronted with information regarding his real identity, Yasin Rafi Siam alias Saifullah Guraba denied all of it.