No change in Awami League’s policy on Jamaat: Home minister

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Sunday said there has been no change in the policy of Awami League regarding Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.

The minister made this remark in reply to queries from newspersons after attending an event marking the 18th anniversary of the highway police at Bangladesh Police Auditorium in capital’s Rajarbag.

Jamaat-e-Islami held a rally in Dhaka on Saturday upon getting verbal permission of the police after more than a decade, giving rise to speculations in the political arena, especially because the party could secure the government’s permission with just six months to go before the next (12th) parliamentary election.

Replying to a query from journalists on whether it is a change in the policy of Awami League as Jamaat was allowed to hold a rally in Dhaka after 10 year, Asaduzzaman Khan said Jamaat is an unregistered party and it sometimes holds programmes indoor and at the north gate of Baitul Mukarram Mosque.

Jamaat sought permission to hold an indoor meeting and they didn’t grant it. Later, the commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police gave a verbal permission. That has changed nothing in Awami League’s policy, the minister added.