Jamaat-e-Islami has been banned multiple times in the country’s history. Following its re-emergence after Sheikh Hasina’s fall, the Jamaat is expected to finish second after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the upcoming Bangladesh elections.
Photo : AP
The United States reportedly wants to be “friends” with Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh’s most prominent Islamist party, ahead of the crucial national elections. Notably, the Jamaat-e-Islami has historically had an anti-India stance and even opposed Bangladesh’s liberation in 1971.
According to audio recordings obtained by The Washington Post, the US is seeking to engage with Jamaat. The report mentions a closed-door meeting between a US official and a Bangladeshi journalist held in Dhaka on December 1. According to the report, the US wanted Jamaat leaders to be “friends”.
“We want them to be our friend,” the report cited the US diplomat as saying. The diplomat said that the country has “shifted Islamic” and predicted Jamaat-e-Islami would “do better than it’s ever done before” in the Feb. 12 election, according to the audio recordings.
The US official had reportedly asked the local journalist to bring members of the party’s influential student wing, the Islami Chhatra Shibir, onto their television programmes.
US Embassy Dismisses Claim
The US embassy, however, has dismissed the claim that Washington supported any “particular party” in Dhaka.
“The conversation that took place in December was a routine gathering, off-the-record discussion between US Embassy officials and local journalists. Numerous political parties were discussed. The United States does not favour one political party over another and plans to work with whichever government is elected by the Bangladeshi people,” the Post cited a spokesperson for the US Embassy in Dhaka, Monica Shie, saying.
US Backing Jamaat – What it Means for India?
The development appears critical for India. The American outreach to Jamaat-e-Islami could “potentially drive another wedge between the US and India,” WaPo quoted Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council. Noting Jamaat’s allegiance with Pakistan, he highlighted that Delhi views it as a threat to regional security.
Notably, the report regarding the US looking to back Jamaat comes at a time when ties between India and the US are witnessing an unprecedented estrangement.
Jamaat’s Rise in Bangladesh
Jamaat-e-Islami, which has been banned multiple times in the country’s history, most recently under deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, seeks to govern Bangladesh by imposing Sharia.
The Jamaat has previously governed in coalition with the BNP between 2001 and 2006 and has reemerged after the deposition of Hasina. The Jamaat had recently won the student wing elections in Dhaka University. According to the US-based poll, the Jamaat-e-Islami is expected to finish second after the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the upcoming elections.
Bangladesh Will Not Become Iran, Pakistan: Jamaat’s Latest Pitch
In his latest pitch ahead of elections, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Ameer Shafiqur Rahman said that if his party comes to power, Bangladesh will remain Bangladesh and will not turn into Pakistan, Afghanistan, or Iran, according to Daily Star.