While Jamaat-e-Islami collaborated with Pakistani occupation forces during Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971, United States also had openly defended Pakistan’s genocide on freedom-seeking Bengalis and Washington even went further by bringing a resolution at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in favor of Pakistan. Should that nefarious attempt of the US succeed, Bangladesh would never emerge as an independent nation. But this heinous bid of the United States at the UNSC was foiled when the Soviet Union vetoed it. After fifty-three years of our independence, now the same pro-Pakistan nexus – Jamaat-e-Islami and the United States are clearly showing signs of their decades-old romance remains unchanged while recently America made notorious attempt of exerting pressure on ruling Awami League government in Bangladesh in allowing war criminal Jamaat-e-Islami to be allowed to participate in the next general elections – which is expected to be held sometime in January next year.
On its ‘2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Bangladesh’, which was released recently, the US State Department said: “Leaders and members of Jamaat-e-Islami (Jamaat), the largest Muslim political party in the country, could not exercise their constitutional freedoms of speech and assembly because of harassment by law enforcement authorities. Jamaat was deregistered as a political party by the government, prohibiting candidates from seeking office under the Jamaat name”.
Protesting the US report, noted rights activist Sultana Kamal said: “This report concerns Jamaat-e-Islami (Jamaat) Bangladesh, a political party which has the proven record of collaborating with the Pakistani Military junta in 1971 in the acts of genocide, abduction, loot, arson, rape and other kinds of violence against women. It is an established fact that its military wings in the name of Al-Badr and Al-Shams were responsible for the killings of intellectuals between December 10 and 14.
“I would like to submit that scanning through the media, Pakistani government communications, international reports on Bangladesh genocide of 1971, one cannot miss seeing what was the role of Jamaat during the nine months of massacre of Bangladesh… It was through a process of law that Jamaat was deregistered”.
As a freedom fighter, she asked if one can imagine Nazi party being allowed to function in Germany.
It may be mentioned here that, Jamaat-e-Islami is engaged in various forms of evil conspiracy against democracy and sovereignty of Bangladesh through its sponsoring terrorism, radical Islamic militancy, anti-India and anti-Hindu agenda. A notorious pro-jihadist force like Jamaat-e-Islami, which had openly opposed Bangladesh’s war of independence and collaborated with their Pakistani masters is an anti-democratic fascist force, which does not even obey the constitution of Bangladesh. But, the US State Department’s false and untrue claims about Jamaat-e-Islami in its 2022 report can only further instigate fundamentalism and militancy led by Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh.
Hidden agenda of the US exposed
Back in 1971, the United States made nefarious bids by opposing the war of independence of Bangladesh and by collaborating with Pakistani occupation forces. After 53 years – they are now into a fresher conspiracy of turning Bangladesh into another Pakistan or Afghanistan by installing pro-Islamist and pro-jihadist forces such as Jamaat-e-Islami and its ideological partner Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) into power.
Before Awami League under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came to power in 2009, Islamists were seen holding rallies on the streets of Dhaka waving weapons, burning American and Indian flags, and chanting the “Allahu Akbar” slogan. During the past fourteen years, Sheikh Hasina has been committedly confronting Islamists and jihadists thus forcing Islamists on the run. But, despite his disastrous retreat from Afghanistan and pushing the country to the mercy of Taliban mullahs, it seems US President Joe Biden did not learn any lesson. Meanwhile, as Bangladesh is expected to hold its next general election in January 2024, Islamist forces, including Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP are making frantic bids in returning to power with the help of Western governments, particularly the Biden administration. The recent report issued by the US State Department is part of the conspiracy of turning Bangladesh into another jihadist launchpad.
