Jamaat-e-Islami’s position during the 1971 Liberation War was against Indian aggression rather than against Bangladesh, party executive committee member Matiur Rahman Akand has said.
He made the remarks as chief guest at a representative conference held at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka on Friday (August 14).
“The surrender after the war was made to the Indian forces rather than to the independent country’s own forces, which was the implementation of a conspiracy blueprint. For this reason, Jamaat was not prepared to fight under the Indian military,” Akand said.
He added that Jamaat is “ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for the country.”
Akand called on party leaders and activists to work in unity for the nation’s interests.
Criticizing BNP at the conference, Akand said: “The BNP that kept Khaleda Zia in jail and wanted to contest elections in Dr. Kamal Hossain’s alliance is now calling Jamaat ‘covert.'”
“Those who call Jamaat ‘covert’ will themselves vanish,” he said, adding that “the Islamic movement cannot be bid farewell.”
He urged Jamaat leaders and activists to build strong center-based organizations and warned everyone to remain vigilant against potential vote rigging in the upcoming elections.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report