Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman has said that they do not want to see elections like those held in the past.
“We do not want any negotiated or pre-arranged election,” he said.
He made these remarks on Monday night at an exchange-of-views meeting with retired armed forces officers at the China Friendship Conference Center in the capital.
At the event, the Jamaat Ameer said, “Because of the responsible role played by the army during the complex days of ’24, it is my and my party’s perception that the nation was saved from a civil war. If you had not played the role you did on August 3, 4, and 5, I would not be standing here in Bangladesh today speaking.”
He added, “So far, we as a party have not claimed any credit for this change, revolution, or mass uprising—whatever term one uses. Rather, our head of government, while abroad, called someone a ‘mastermind’ of the revolution. I was the first person to say that we do not accept any single individual as the mastermind here. If one person is made the mastermind, then everyone else is reduced to being ‘undermined’—we do not accept that. Here, the revolutionary people of Bangladesh—all together—are the masterminds.”
Dr. Shafiqur Rahman also mentioned that at that time West Pakistan did not treat the people of this country with justice. He said, “This moment is extremely important for the nation. After breaking the chains of 190 years of servitude, the subcontinent achieved independence. Within a few minutes or hours, two separate states—Pakistan and India—were born. The land that was East Pakistan that day, over time, is today Bangladesh. For 23 years, we moved forward together as a province of Pakistan. During that time, those in West Pakistan did not treat the people of East Pakistan justly. The election of 1970 was a silent protest against this discrimination. Subsequently, that election led to our Liberation War, countless sacrifices, immense loss, and ultimately a second independence—the birth of Bangladesh.”
We Will Cooperate If People Choose Another Party: Jamaat Ameer
Shafiqur Rahman said, “In the upcoming election, the people of the country will ensure good governance. We have complete trust in the people. The mothers and sisters of the country will also choose Jamaat in the election. We only want the election to be fair and neutral.”
Emphasizing that the election must be fair, he said, “If through a fair election the people choose another party, we will cooperate with them. We will stand with those who oppose corruption, support judicial independence, and favor reforms.”
He made these remarks yesterday after a meeting in Bashundhara, Dhaka, with the Chief Observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission and Member of the European Parliament, Evariste L. Ijabs (Evers Ijabs).
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI
