Contacts with Jamaat should be viewed in same way as others

India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, has said that contacts with Jamaat-e-Islami should be viewed in the same context as the Indian High Commission’s regular engagement with various stakeholders in Bangladesh.

He made the remarks on Friday while responding to a journalist’s question at the Ministry’s weekly briefing in New Delhi.

Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Shafiqur Rahman stated in an interview with the Reuters news agency on 31 December that he had met an Indian diplomat following his bypass surgery last year.

He added that the Indian official had requested that the meeting be kept confidential.

At Friday’s briefing, a journalist asked Randhir Jaiswal about comments made by the ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh.

The journalist noted that, in an interview with an international news agency, he had said that two Indian diplomats had met him, and that India maintains contact with many political parties in Bangladesh.

The question was, as India is reaching out to many parties, whether India is also reaching out to Jamaat-e-Islami?

In response, Randhir Jaiswal said, “We have close bilateral ties with Bangladesh as you are well aware. Our High Commission officials routinely meet with several interlocutors. Our interaction with... with the entity that you just mentioned should be viewed in that context.”