A delegation of Jamaat-e-Islami on Tuesday demanded that authorities disclose the progress of an investigation within 24 hours into the alleged hacking of the party ameer’s X (formerly Twitter) account, which the party claims was carried out using a Bangabhaban email address.
The demand followed a nearly 45-minute meeting between Jamaat representatives and the President’s Military Secretary, Major General Mohammad Adil Chowdhury, at Bangabhaban on Tuesday evening.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Engineer Sirajul Islam, a member of Jamaat’s Central Election Management Committee, said the delegation expressed serious concern over the incident and sought a speedy and transparent investigation. He added that the President’s Office assured them of cooperation and pledged to look into the matter.
Sirajul Islam alleged that a section of political actors had exploited a controversial post from the hacked account for political gain. “Those claiming the post to be from the Jamaat ameer are doing so in line with their own political mindset. Instead of attacking others, they should introspect,” he said.
According to Jamaat, the X account of its ameer, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, was compromised on Saturday after 4 p.m. At 4:37 p.m., an unwanted and offensive post was published. The party’s central IT team detected the breach and regained control by changing the password at 5:09 p.m., followed by an emergency announcement at 5:22 p.m.
A general diary (GD) was filed with police that night, and a press conference was held the next morning.
Jamaat claimed the hacking was carried out through a phishing email sent from a Bangabhaban address. The hackers allegedly posted a misogynistic message briefly, which the party says contradicts Dr. Rahman’s views and Jamaat’s political ideology.
Sirajul Islam said the party obtained an “email forensic analysis report” from a laboratory, which he claims proves “100%” that the phishing email originated from an internal government network via a government mail gateway. He added that the malware used was highly sophisticated and undetectable by standard security scanners.
“We still do not know what action has been taken against the individual whose email ID was used. We suspect the person may still be in position,” he alleged.
Authorities informed the delegation that the matter is being taken seriously and relevant investigation agencies have been instructed to act. Jamaat has demanded that the investigation’s progress be officially disclosed within 24 hours, citing the sensitivity of the issue and alleging political harassment.
Sirajul Islam accused a particular political camp, hinting at BNP or opposition-aligned groups, of orchestrating a conspiracy to tarnish Jamaat’s popularity and its image regarding respect for women. He said screenshots of the post were circulated within a minute of publication, suggesting a premeditated plan.
Responding to questions about how a party unable to secure its own social media account could protect the state, he said Jamaat’s quick recovery of the account demonstrated its capability. “However, if state institutions are used to carry out such attacks, it goes beyond the scope of ordinary security measures,” he added.
Earlier, Jamaat alleged at another press conference that several key messages linked to the hacking were sent from a Bangabhaban email address. An attachment titled “Case-Study-Election.accdr,” marked as “urgent,” was allegedly sent with several senior Jamaat leaders in CC. The party claims the hacking occurred after the file was opened.
Jamaat further alleged that the phishing email was sent using the official email address of an assistant programmer at Bangabhaban (assistantprogrammer@bangabhaban.gov.bd) and that opening the attached file led to the takeover of Dr. Rahman’s X account.