Meeting with army chief: What Jamaat leaders say

Amid growing discussions over the resignation of chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, the ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Shafiqur Rahman, and its nayeb-e-ameer, Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, held a meeting with the army chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, on Saturday night.

Prior to the meeting at the Dhaka cantonment, the two senior Jamaat leaders met with the chief adviser at his official residence, Jamuna. After leaving Jamuna, they directly went to the cantonment to meet the army chief.

Syed Abdulah Mohammad Taher confirmed the meeting, saying that it took place due to the interest of his party. In response to a query on the motive, He told Prothom Alo that it was not a formal meeting but rather a courtesy call, and there were some informal discussions.

Regarding the topics discussed, he said, “We want a fair election. Jamaat took various initiatives to facilitate a negotiation amid the current situation.” He mentioned the meeting with the army chief is part of such efforts.

According to sources, Jamaat held the meeting in an effort to ease tensions between the interim government and the military leadership.

It was also learned that the army chief met with leaders of another major political party before meeting the Jamaat delegation. However, this information could not be confirmed by any of the involved parties.