Jamaat demands interrogation and trial of Rizwana Hasan and Khalilur Rahman

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has demanded that former advisers Syeda Rizwana Hasan and Khalilur Rahman be brought under the law, interrogated, and tried.

The party has accused the two former advisers of engaging in “election engineering.”

These allegations and demands were raised today, Thursday afternoon, at a press conference organised by Jamaat on the country’s current overall situation. The press conference was addressed by opposition deputy leader and Jamaat naib-e-ameer Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher. It was held at Jamaat’s central office in Moghbazar.

At the press conference, Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said, “Yesterday we found a ‘state witness’. The name of that witness is former adviser Advocate Rizwana. She told journalists that those who—according to her—failed to ensure appropriate rights for women, even if they are in the opposition, were not allowed by us to become part of the mainstream or the main political force. From this it becomes clear that the issue of election engineering has been acknowledged by her, and she herself has become a witness.”

The Jamaat leader said they want to know what kind of “engineering” had been used to prevent Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami from gaining a majority and becoming a mainstream or major political party.

“Who else was involved in this engineering along with her? Was it the entire government or just a part of it that influenced the election? According to their design, officials such as DCs, SPs, UNOs, OCs and presiding officers were appointed, and members of law enforcement agencies were deployed to ensure that a particular party would win with their desired number of seats. This must be made clear to the nation.”

Taher said, “I would urge this government to bring Rizwana Hasan under interrogation and find out clearly what situation she created. They should inform us and clarify it to the people of the country.”

The opposition deputy leader also said Jamaat had raised concerns about some advisers of the interim government before the election. The interim government had described itself as neutral, similar to a caretaker government, and had stated as a matter of principle that none of its advisers would join a party-led government as ministers. However, security adviser Khalilur Rahman later took oath as foreign minister, which Taher alleged was contrary to that earlier commitment.

Taher described Khalilur Rahman as the “mastermind of the London conspiracy.” He said, “From there he motivated the government and conspired to continuously work for the benefit of those who are currently in power. As a reward for that role, he received the post of foreign minister.”

Taher also noted that Salahuddin Ahmed of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party had earlier made statements against Khalilur Rahman and called for his removal from the government. Despite that, the Jamaat leader expressed surprise that a “controversial person” had been appointed as foreign minister. He alleged that Khalilur Rahman had likely entered into a secret agreement with the BNP and had openly worked to protect BNP’s interests, which is why he later became a BNP-backed minister.

Taher said the alleged conspiracies carried out by government advisers to ensure BNP’s victory should be brought to light.

“Jamaat had wanted a free and fair election but that the nation had been deprived of such an election. Those who sabotaged a fair election are Mir Jafars,” he said.

Also present at the press conference were Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar, opposition whip Rafiqul Islam Khan, Dhaka-12 MP Saiful Alam Khan, and Jamaat central executive council members lawyers Shishir Monir and Jahidur Rahman.