Fakhrul repairs BNP-Jamaat tie

The confusions and hullabaloo created after Prof Emajuddin Ahmed’s statement regarding BNP chief Khaleda Zia wishing to sever ties with Jamaat, apparently to forge a national unity against militancy, have finally been removed by the party’s secretary general. “What he [Emajuddin] said is not the party stance,” Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir Fakhrul told reporters at the Nayapaltan Headquarters yesterday afternoon. “It is completely his personal opinion. Professor Emajuddin Ahmed sent a rejoinder to the media yesterday [Tuesday] explaining his statement,” Fakhrul said in response to a query. On Tuesday, Prof Emajuddin told a discussion: “One particular political party is a hindrance to the national unity. The government can ban that part any time, if it wants … Khaleda Zia has decided that there is no need to keep that party in the [BNP-led] 20-party alliance [for the sake of national unity].” The former Dhaka University VC, however, did not make it clear whether the separation was meant only for the time being – to take part in the all-party anti-militancy talks, or Jamaat be dropped from the 20-party combine. Following the statement, several senior leaders of the BNP said they had no idea about any such decision while Jamaat leaders demanded that Emajuddin withdraw his statement. Khaleda had proposed formation of a national unity in her speech after the Gulshan and Sholakia attacks. Most of the allies of the 20-party alliance and Islamist parties echoed the view. But the ruling alliance led by Awami League has rejected the proposal citing the BNP’s strong ties with Jamaat for the latter’s anti-liberation role and involvement in militant activities. Fakhrul also termed it a “prediction” when the reporters asked him whether all parties would respond positively to Khaleda’s call with Jamaat as its key ally. “BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was a former [three-time] prime minister, opposition leader … she called for forging a national unity from that position. We have already started talking to other political parties to get their responses. We will let you know once the initiative succeeds,” he told reporters. Pro-BNP think tanks and different developed countries suggested the BNP to cut ties with Jamaat after its members carried out violent attacks on the people and the law enforcers during the anti-government movement in 2014 and 2015, and previously after the verdict in a war crimes case against its top leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee in 2013. For these reasons, many leaders and supporters of the BNP find the presence of Jamaat in the alliance embarrassing. But the tie has remained intact. Khaleda and Fakhrul on several occasions previously stated that the party’s relation with Jamaat was electoral, not ideological.