Jamaat, which opposed the Liberation War, has emerged with new views: Major (Retd.) Hafiz

BNP Standing Committee Member Major (Retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed has commented that Jamaat-e-Islami, which opposed the Liberation War, has come up with new views.

Jamaat, which opposed the Liberation War, has emerged with new views: Major (Retd.) Hafiz

Hafiz Uddin Ahmed made this comment as the chief guest at a meeting organized at the Zahur Hossain Chowdhury Auditorium of the National Press Club on Friday. He said, “The party Jamaat-e-Islami said that the establishment of Pakistan was not presented with great pride in the National Declaration. They thought that the memory of the people of Bangladesh is very weak. They opposed the Liberation War in 1971. Now they have come up with new views.” Agnisena Social Foundation and Our New Bangladesh organized a discussion meeting titled ‘Swift Trial, Fundamental Reforms and National Parliament Elections on the Anniversary of the July 24 Mass Uprising’.

Stating that it is not desirable to create an environment where elections are delayed or not held, Hafiz Uddin Ahmed said, “But the onus of judgment lies with the people. Everyone has the right to have their say in a democracy.’

Hafiz Uddin Ahmed commented that those who come to power in the upcoming parliamentary elections will play an effective role in reform. He said, ‘The people of Bangladesh have not been able to vote for so long. But some parties have assumed that if the elections are held, their deposits will be confiscated, they talk about the PR system to delay the elections. I think the next elections should be organized in the existing system, so that people can vote for their preferred candidate.’

Regarding EVM, Hafiz Uddin Ahmed said, the people of the country are not yet familiar with EVMs. The people are not yet aware. The political parties have not yet shown such maturity that voting for a symbol will change their situation. Rather, people still come to the local parliament member with all their joys and sorrows.

Stating that reform of the police force was one of the aspirations of the current government, Hafiz Uddin Ahmed said, in the past, the police force in the country had become a corrupt force. Bangladesh had become a police state. But even after a year, no reform of the police force has been carried out. The public has considerable doubts about whether this force can conduct an election properly. The Home Affairs Advisor has already said that RAB cannot be used in elections, so why was this force kept?

At the meeting, Jonayed Saki, the chief coordinator of the Mass Solidarity Movement, said that the existing system in Bangladesh is itself an authoritarian system. Whoever comes to power in this system makes him an authoritarian.

Mentioning the 24th uprising as a major event, Jonayed Saki said that those who cannot change themselves in Bangladesh after the mass uprising will no longer be relevant in the future. The birth of a new system is now an inevitable event. It has to happen. Therefore, those who can change themselves with the new system will be relevant in the future.

Nurul Haque, the president of the Mass Rights Council, said that even after the mass uprising, the police and administration have not changed much. Rather, the accused people are being rehabilitated in the administration by using different parties.

BNP Central Executive Committee member Kazi Moniruzzaman said, “It is expected to take a maximum of six months for the interim government to complete its reforms. But we have seen that various issues are being brought forward. Reforms before or before elections, local government before elections or before national elections. Justice before or before elections. Different issues are being brought forward at different times.”

Agnisena Social Foundation President Zahirul Haque presided over the meeting. Among others, BNP’s former Information and Research Secretary Rezabuddaula Chowdhury, Nationalist Lawyers Forum Vice President Golam Mohammad Chowdhury, National Citizens Forum Chairman Faruk Ahmed and others spoke at the discussion meeting.