Fact-checking body Rumor Scanner in an investigation debunked a widely circulated claim saying that Dr. Asif Nazrul, law adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh, met with Hefazat-e-Islam leader Mufti Harun Izhar following the deadly armed attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.
In a report published on its website on Thursday, it was claimed that the meeting between Dr. Nazrul and Mufti Harun Izhar actually took place on April 21, a day before the Kashmir attack and the discussion primarily revolved around the withdrawal of "harassment cases" filed against Islamists and Hefazat leaders, reports BSS.
This evidence conclusively proves that the meeting between Dr. Asif Nazrul and Mufti Harun Izhar took place before the Kashmir attack, contrary to claims made on social media and by some Indian media outlets.
At least 26 tourists were killed and over 20 others injured in a deadly armed assault in Pahalgam, located in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22. In the aftermath of the attack, a photograph began circulating online, purportedly showing Dr. Nazrul and Mufti Harun in a meeting, with claims that the meeting took place after the Kashmir incident.
The claim was notably shared by Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on his official Facebook page, and was echoed by several Indian media outlets.
However, according to an investigation by the Rumor Scanner team, the meeting in question actually took place on April 21—one day prior to the attack in Pahalgam.
The fact-check reported that the discussion during the meeting centered on the withdrawal of allegedly politically motivated and harassing legal cases filed against Islamic scholars and Hefazat leaders.
Mufti Harun Izhar, in a post published on his Facebook page on April 23, stated, “Driven by our longstanding commitment to legal humanitarian support for the oppressed, we have held multiple rounds of dialogue with the relevant authorities. As part of this process, we held a private meeting with the law adviser last Monday.”
This confirms that the widely shared photograph was indeed taken during the April 21 meeting.
Further corroborating the timeline, Dr. Asif Nazrul, in a Facebook post dated April 23, wrote, “During the anti-Islamic regime of Hasina, scholars and religious leaders have been subjected to various forms of persecution, including the filing of false cases. A list of such cases was recently submitted by Hefazat leaders, and steps are being taken to withdraw politically motivated charges.”
His statement implies that the meeting with Hefazat leaders occurred “a few days ago.”
To verify the exact date and time of the meeting, the Rumor Scanner team collected the original files of several photographs taken during the meeting, including the one that went viral. Metadata analysis confirmed that the images were captured at 10:49 am on April 21.
Bd-pratidin English/FNC
