Trial for killings, disappearances must precede elections: Jamaat

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Dr Shafiqur Rahman emphasised that all killings and enforced disappearances in the country, including those during the July-August massacre, must be brought to trial. 

Speaking at a Jamaat activists' conference held on Saturday (February 1) afternoon at the Government Jubilee High School grounds in Sunamganj, he stressed the urgency of ensuring justice for these crimes. 

"If necessary," he added, "elections should be postponed until such trials are conducted."

Shafiqur also addressed allegations against his party, asserting that Jamaat leaders and activists have not engaged in extortion or filed false cases since August 5. "Our leaders and activists have not extorted money from any water palace or sand palace anywhere in the country," he said. 

He further declared, "If anyone from Jamaat commits a crime, they should be held accountable under the law."

The Jamaat supremo leader criticised the previous Awami League government for cancelling the party's registration and banning it. 

However, he affirmed that the party remains resilient. "We want to tell everyone that we have not collapsed. Jamaat-e-Islam stands for truth and justice, and that is why we continue to exist," he said.

The conference was chaired by Sunamganj District Jamaat Amir Maulana Tofail Ahmed and featured addresses by special guests, including Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General Advocate Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair, Jamaat-e-Islami Dhaka Metropolitan North Amir Muhammad Selim Uddin, and other prominent leaders and activists. 

A significant turnout marked the event, with Jamaat leaders and supporters from 12 upazilas of Sunamganj, as well as neighbouring Sylhet, participating in processions and displaying banner festoons to show their solidarity.