Akhtaruzzaman warned people to beware of Jamaat, later joined the party himself

About six months before the 12th parliamentary election held on 7 January 2024, Major (retd) Akhtaruzzaman met then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has since been ousted from power.

At the time, he had been expelled from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for the fifth time. He nevertheless contested the election as an independent candidate from the Kishoreganj-2 constituency.

During his campaign, Akhtaruzzaman said, “Even if I sleep at home, I will win. That is the political reality.” He ultimately lost his deposit in the election. The election, widely described as a “dummy” election, was boycotted by the BNP and other opposition parties at the time.

Before the 2024 election, in an interview with local journalists in Kishoreganj, Major (retd) Akhtaruzzaman described Jamaat-e-Islami as a “party that cuts tendons” and warned party activists to be cautious about the organisation.

At various times, he has also described Jamaat as “Razakars” and “war criminals” over its controversial role in 1971. Yet, before the 13th parliamentary election, he joined Jamaat on 13 December. He did not contest the election.

During the July mass uprising of 2024, Akhtaruzzaman appeared on a social-media-based talk show on 15 July and said, “All the Razakars, war criminals and Jamaat are involved in this [the movement].”

He also called all the protesters “children of Razakars” and said in an agitated tone, “They are against the Liberation War. One hundred times. I am saying this categorically. Look at their family backgrounds.”

Yet in the post-uprising political landscape, he joined Jamaat, which has been vocal about the July uprising in its rallies, speeches and statements.

Such contradictions have made Major (retd) Akhtaruzzaman a frequently discussed figure throughout his political career.

He was arrested on Friday in a case over creating disorder at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka amid a shortage of luggage trolleys, obstructing government duties and physically assaulting a security official on duty. A Dhaka court granted him one day’s remand on Saturday.

During the incident on 1 October, he also publicly threatened the airport’s executive director, Group Captain SM Ragib Samad, saying, “I’ll beat you up and drag you out” and “I’ll drag you out by the neck.” After a video of the incident spread on social media, criticism intensified. He was subsequently arrested.

A 71-member delegation comprising Jamaat lawmakers, their family members and party leaders had visited several countries. Akhtaruzzaman was also part of the delegation. The incident occurred on the day of their return.

There have, however, been various complaints about mismanagement at Shahjalal International Airport. Following the incident, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat visited the airport on Friday night, spoke to passengers and instructed officials to improve services.

Akhtaruzzaman has attracted attention for his remarks since the beginning of his political career. He has been a regular participant in various television and social-media-based talk shows. At times, he has been seen behaving aggressively towards fellow panellists during heated discussions.

Before the 13th parliamentary election, Akhtaruzzaman got into an argument with senior journalist Mahbub Kamal during a talk show. Angry with Mahbub Kamal, he said, “Why are you speaking so rudely? Why are you challenging me? Don’t do this.” Mahbub Kamal apologised, but Akhtaruzzaman did not stop.

In another talk show in March, Akhtaruzzaman became involved in a heated debate with Tarek Rahman, member secretary of the Amjanatar Dal. During the argument, Akhtaruzzaman told him, “Your tongue needs to be torn out.”

At one point, he said, “The practice of enforced disappearances and killings comes for politicians like Tarek Rahman.” Referring to Tarek’s past experience of being a victim of enforced disappearance, he also told him, “If someone like you is not going to disappear, then who will?”

Earlier this year, Akhtaruzzaman got into an argument with Joban magazine editor Rezaul Karim Rony over Jamaat’s historical responsibilities, including its role in 1971.

Akhtaruzzaman said, “Jamaat was on Pakistan’s side until 16 December, but they did not commit genocide.” Rony, himself a freedom fighter, urged him not to make such a claim and said Jamaat had participated in the genocide. Akhtaruzzaman replied, “I will say it a hundred times, a thousand times. There is evidence.”

Akhtaruzzaman contested the 2018 11th parliamentary election from Kishoreganj-2 on a BNP ticket but lost. Although he was expelled from the party for the fifth time in 2022, he continued to appear regularly on various talk shows.

About six months before the 12th parliamentary election, on 8 June 2023, Akhtaruzzaman visited Ganabhaban and met then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina. On behalf of “Kishoreganj Green Power”, he handed Sheikh Hasina a written application seeking permission to establish a 70MW solar power plant. The initiative was being led by his son, Sabbir Zaman.

After that meeting, Akhtaruzzaman became highly complimentary of Sheikh Hasina in various statements. At the same time, he strongly criticised Tarique Rahman, then acting chairman of the BNP and now its chairman and prime minister, during various talk shows.

In one talk show at the time, he said, “Our leader, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is like the ten-armed goddess. She is handling everything on her own.”

Major (retd) Akhtaruzzaman was born in 1951 in Katiadi upazila of Kishoreganj. His nickname is Ranjan. He was serving in the Bangladesh Army during the 7 November 1975 Sipahi–Janata Revolution. Akhtaruzzaman joined the BNP when the party was founded.

He was elected to parliament twice in a row, in 1991 and 1996, from Kishoreganj-2 on a BNP ticket. At the time, the constituency comprised only Katiadi upazila. Pakundia upazila was later added to the constituency. He also served at one point as president of the Kishoreganj district BNP.

He has frequently remained in the spotlight over various statements criticising the party and its leaders, and the BNP has taken organisational action against him.

Akhtaruzzaman was first expelled from the BNP in 1996. At the time, the opposition Awami League was leading a movement demanding the introduction of a caretaker government system.

The BNP, then in government, initially refused to accept the demand. Akhtaruzzaman told the media that the demand for a caretaker government came from the people and that the BNP should accept it. Following those remarks, he was expelled from the BNP for the first time.

In 2000, the then-opposition BNP decided to boycott a session of parliament. Akhtaruzzaman defied the party decision and attended the session. As a result, his parliamentary seat became vacant under Article 70 of the Constitution.

Although he challenged the decision in court, the seat remained vacant until the dissolution of the seventh parliament in July 2001. He was expelled from the BNP for the second time over the incident.

In 2014, Major Akhtaruzzaman was expelled from the party for the third time after making indecent remarks about current BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. He was expelled for the fourth time after criticising senior BNP leaders. On each of those four occasions, however, his expulsion was later revoked.

Most recently, in February 2022, Akhtaruzzaman appeared on a private television talk show and said, “The BNP has no shame, no vision. Their leaders will feel ashamed when the activists beat them with shoes.” He was expelled from the party for the fifth time on 20 February that year. He has not returned to the party since.

Before the 13th parliamentary election, however, he formally announced in November that he would work in support of the BNP-nominated candidate in Kishoreganj-2. This once again sparked speculation that he might return to the BNP.

After his final expulsion, Akhtaruzzaman did not join any political party for nearly four years. He remained active, however, through television talk shows and other platforms.

On 13 December, before the last parliamentary election, Akhtaruzzaman visited Jamaat’s central office in Moghbazar, Dhaka, met the party’s ameer Shafiqur Rahman, the current opposition leader in parliament, and formally joined the organisation by filling out a preliminary associate membership form.

The move generated considerable discussion at the time because Akhtaruzzaman had a long history of opposition to Jamaat. In 1991, when the BNP formed the government with Jamaat’s support, he was among those who opposed the arrangement.

Most recently, in an interview as an independent candidate during the 2024 parliamentary election, Akhtaruzzaman said, “It doesn’t matter if Jamaat-e-Islami is a terrorist organisation. They are a party that cuts tendons. I would urge BNP leaders and activists, particularly those in Katiadi and Pakundia, to be cautious. Beware of Jamaat, and beware of those within my party who are secretly aligned with Jamaat.”

Regarding the controversial election, he said, “This election is going well, it is fair, and efforts are being made to make it free. The Election Commission is doing a good job. However, Jamaat-e-Islami is trying to boycott and obstruct the election and is placing the responsibility for this on the BNP.”

After joining Jamaat in December, however, Akhtaruzzaman told this correspondent on 18 December that he had joined the organisation consciously and after observing its activities closely. “There have been many changes in Jamaat’s activities and statements,” he said.

Former student coordinator Abdul Kader, who came into prominence during the July uprising after announcing a nine-point demand, has questioned whether Jamaat provided Akhtaruzzaman with “shelter” after the uprising.

On Saturday afternoon, Kader wrote on Facebook, “Why was Akhtaruzzaman not brought to justice after the uprising? Yet this man went to the media and opposed the movement, legitimised the government’s attacks and cases against students by labelling them in various ways, openly defended the killer Hasina, and even took to the streets against students during July!”