Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul has strongly denied allegations published by the Indian online portal News Arena India, which ran a report titled “B’desh legal advisor meets top LeT operative post J&K attack”.
Dr Asif Nazrul dismissed the allegations as false, defamatory and utterly irresponsible, as the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs clarified in a statement issued on Friday.
According to the statement, on April 24, a report by News Arena India alleged that Asif Nazrul met with a senior Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative following the recent Pahalgam massacre in Jammu and Kashmir—an accusation the statement described as completely baseless.
Clarifying the events, the statement said Adviser Asif Nazrul had met leaders of Hefazat-e-Islam, a legally operating platform of Islamic scholars in Bangladesh, to address politically motivated cases filed during the previous government’s tenure.
“The meeting took place several days before the date cited by News Arena India and focused solely on legal matters,” the statement added.
The statement further clarified that Hefazat-e-Islam’s political engagement is widely recognized, including by western embassies in Dhaka, and international rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented past crackdowns against the group.
Besides, the report falsely claimed that the adviser posted an inflammatory message on Facebook implicating Indian leaders in the Pahalgam massacre.
In reality, the post in question was authored by an Indian citizen criticizing security lapses. He shared the post with a caption condemning the attack. Recognizing the potential for misinterpretation, he voluntarily deleted the post within hours, the statement added.
Adviser Asif Nazrul condemned the Pahalgam attack, offered condolences to the victims and called for quick justice.
It also urged media outlets to uphold journalistic standards and verify facts before publication.
