Jamaat's ‘national rally’ today, leaders-activists throng Suhrawardy Udyan

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is holding a ‘national rally’ this afternoon at the capital’s Suhrawardy Udyan. The rally is scheduled to begin at 2:00pm, with the party's ameer Shafiqur Rahman in the chair.

Leaders and activists of Jamaat started gathering at the rally venue from Friday evening. This morning, many were seen marching from different parts of Dhaka toward Suhrawardy Udyan, chanting slogans for the success of the rally. Jamaat members were also seen crowding the metro rail.

At a press conference on Thursday, Jamaat-e-Islami announced that it had invited leaders from other political parties, including the BNP, NCP, and Islami Andolan, to attend and speak at the rally.

According to Jamaat leaders, this is the first time the party is holding a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan since the country's independence. The rally is taking place amid political unrest, triggered by disagreements among political parties over the upcoming national election and the recent attack on an NCP rally in Gopalganj by Awami League and its banned student wing Chhatra League.

The party said their main demands at the rally will include ensuring free, fair, and peaceful elections with a level playing field, fundamental political reforms, introduction of the July charter, and adopting proportional representation (PR) system in national elections.