The eastern half of what used to be Pakistan narrowly escaped a military coup last month. Brig. Masud Razzak, spokesman for the Bangladeshi Army, announced Jan. 19 that "a band of fanatic officers has been trying to oust the politically established government. Their attempt has been foiled."
They had "extreme religious views," he said, and revealed that some of the 16 conspirators, all of them current or former military officers, will soon appear before a military court.
For a country with a dismal history of military coups, some of them very violent, it was a heartening outcome. But it was also a reminder of where the real danger lies in the subcontinent.