Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday called the Chittagong-based Islamist outfit Hefazat-e-Islam “Borbad-e-Islam” because of the destruction that followed its “Dhaka siege” on May 5.
“Hefazat-e-Islam will not last long because of its destructive activities,” he told a press conference on the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank, which he attended in India last week.
“There is not a single reason why Hefazat will gain popularity after the anarchy it unleashed recently at Motijheel,” he said.
Muhith said: “Common people and Sufism have protected Islam for hundreds of years in this subcontinent. People who believe in Sufism have taught us liberalism and communal harmony which is now the basis of our society.”
Hefazat cannot destroy that non-communal harmony and liberal tradition, he said, adding that the Islamist group were planning for destruction.
Asked about a survey on the election system published in a leading newspaper, the finance minister declined to comment, saying LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam would relay the government’s opinion about that.
