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Home > Open Access Journals > JSS > Vol. 19 > No. 3 (2026)

 

Author Biography

Masrur Mahmud Khan is a lecturer in the Department of International Relations at the Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP), Dhaka, Bangladesh. His research interests encompass the security affairs of small South Asian states and regional power competition and intelligence studies.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5038/1944.0472.19.3.2632

Subject Area Keywords

Gangs and criminal organizations, Homeland security, Irregular warfare, National security, Nonstate actors, Terrorism / counterterrorism

Abstract

The emergence of the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) within the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) has engendered considerable concern within the domains of domestic and national security. Although the group’s political objectives have evolved from secessionist ambitions towards demands for regional autonomy, KNF has simultaneously engaged in profit-driven criminal activities. Thus, KNF exemplifies a hybrid organization, embodying both political and economic imperatives and operating at the intersection of insurgency, terrorism, and organized crime. In this context, the present qualitative study adopts the ‘crime-terror nexus’ as its analytical framework, positing that KNF represents a hybrid entity defined by its dual political aspirations and profit-seeking behaviors. While many terrorist organizations engage in criminal activity predominantly to acquire material resources (such as funds, weaponry, and logistical support), KNF’s engagement in criminality is likewise motivated by its objective to consolidate territorial authority and exert influence within the CHT. Furthermore, this article interrogates the various modalities through which KNF challenges the national security architecture of Bangladesh. It concludes that, given the transnational nature of the Kuki-Chin identity, which spans Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar, maintaining peace and political stability along Bangladesh’s borders is imperative for counteracting the crime-terror nexus in the borderlands.

Disclaimer

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest concerning the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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