REPORTS of an attempted coup in Bangladesh by serving and retired military officials in connivance with a banned Islamist group, Hizbut Tahrir, having been foiled by Bangladeshi authorities over the weekend is a reminder of the potentially catastrophic nexus between radical Islam and the armed forces in Pakistan too.
The details about the plot to overthrow the government of Sheikh Hasina Wajed are still very sketchy but it has many plausible elements: disgruntled religious conservatives in and around the military; a banned Islamist group; and the demand for the creation of a radical Islamic state.