Moves have begun to form a new political alliance of seven Qawmi-oriented Islamic parties. At a first meeting called by Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh Amir Shah Muhibbullah Babunagari, the parties agreed to move forward together, and will now propose an outline for the new alliance. The sudden move has sparked discussion in political circles; it is understood to aim at uniting parties split between the BNP and Jamaat coalitions before the last parliamentary election to build an independent position, raising uncertainty over the allied Islamic parties’ place in the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance.
Sources said leaders of seven registered Qawmi-oriented Islamic parties gathered on Thursday at the Jamia Islamia Azizul Uloom Babunagar madrasa in Fatikchhari, Chattogram, at Babunagari’s call. Alongside Hefazat’s top leaders, senior leaders of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, Khelafat Majlish, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Islami Andolan, Islami Oikya Jote and Nezam-e-Islam Party were present. Of these, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam contested the 12 February election in an arrangement with the BNP, while five parties other than Islami Oikya Jote were part of the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance, though Islami Andolan left it before the election.
After the meeting, a press release signed by Hefazat joint secretary general Azizul Haque Islamabadi said the seven parties’ leaders had agreed to move forward together. Azizul Haque Islamabadi told Amar Desh that initial discussions on forming an alliance had taken place but it would take time to materialise, adding that such a move had existed before the election but had not been possible because of the split into two coalitions; now the seven parties had agreed to unite as a separate force preserving the Islamic parties’ distinct identity, though whether to stay in another coalition had not yet been discussed. Another leader present said the parties had been asked to send proposals on the new alliance’s shape by 3 August, after which a seven-member committee including Hefazat secretary general Allama Sajidur Rahman would call a further meeting; he said the alliance’s main aim was to unite the seven registered Qawmi parties in a distinct stream, and that joining it would leave no scope to remain in another coalition. Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish secretary general Maulana Jalaluddin Ahmad said Thursday’s meeting aimed to bring the Qawmi parties closer and that they had agreed in principle to move forward together, though the path had not been decided and there had been no discussion on staying in the 11-party alliance.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report