Assistant Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and Head of the Central Publicity and Media Department Advocate Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair issued a statement on 22 November condemning and protesting the remark made today in Dhaka by BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, in which he claimed that “in the last ten years, Jamaat-e-Islami has played no role in the movement against Sheikh Hasina.”

In his statement, he said: “BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is one of the most senior politicians of the country. The nation does not expect such false and fabricated remarks from him about Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. Regarding his comment that ‘Jamaat-e-Islami has shown no visible participation in movements over the last ten years,’ our clear response is this: On 19 September 2011, when the authoritarian Sheikh Hasina government unleashed its hired goons to brutally suppress the protesting masses, Jamaat-e-Islami, along with the people, mounted a strong resistance within minutes and freed the streets. At that time, DMP Commissioner Benazir Ahmed carried out a horrific and barbaric attack on the innocent student protesters on the streets of Dhaka. Jamaat-e-Islami, together with the people, built a fierce resistance against Sheikh Hasina’s tyrannical regime.”

He further said: “Jamaat-e-Islami has never compromised with anyone in its struggle against the fascist Sheikh Hasina government. Jamaat-e-Islami has always been vocal and uncompromising against injustice. The despotic Sheikh Hasina regime executed five top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami through fabricated and politically motivated cases, and kept another five senior leaders imprisoned under the guise of ‘trial,’ slowly killing them behind bars.

“Meanwhile, the then Acting Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami, ATM Azharul Islam, was detained in prison for almost fourteen years under a fabricated and false case in the name of crimes against humanity. After enduring long imprisonment, he has now returned to the people following a legal battle and the intervention of the country’s highest court.

“At a time when the people of this nation have shed their blood and driven out fascism through a long struggle, the creation of division through misleading statements — instead of fostering national unity — is unacceptable to anyone.”