Kazi Zafar Ahmed, leader of breakaway faction of Jatiya Party, sees no chance of BNP severing ties with its long-time ally Jamaat-e-Islami, a party accused of anti-national role during Bangladesh’s Liberation War.
Speaking to bdnews24.com at his Gulshan residence, he said his party would formally be part of the BNP-led 18-Party alliance after Jatiya Party’s Jan 25 rally.
Replying to a query, he observed: “It is not possible for BNP to leave Jamaat now. Their relations may become a bit cold but there’s no immediate chance of separation between the two parties.”
BNP chief Khaleda Zia had earlier told The New York Times that she would think about leaving Jamaat when the time comes.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and several leaders of the ruling Awami League have already said the BNP has to forsake the Jamaat if it wants talks with the government.
Kazi Zafar said: “I don’t think the Prime Minister’s words will have any effect. Moreover, this condition [of leaving the Jamaat] is somewhat insulting.
“The BNP and Jamaat are part of the same political alliance. Jamaat was an ally of the Awami League as well. The Awami League had allied with Jamaat to contest the 1986 polls.
“In 1996, Awami League, Jatiya Party and Jamaat had demonstrated together for a caretaker government. It was clear then that Jamaat was closer to the Awami League than us (Jatiya Party),” he continued.
“What is the assurance that the Awami League will not take in Jamaat once the BNP severe ties with it?”
Over 100 people were killed during the BNP-led alliance’s countrywide transport blockade and shutdowns before the polls.
On this issue, Kazi Zafar said viewing the violence from a particular perspective would not do. “Didn’t police fire on the 18-Party alliance’s programme? Weren’t Jamaat activists killed? These, too, are violence.”
He felt it necessary to define violence. “The state is mainly responsible for violence. It is violence when [police] open fire on Jamaat.”
No Jamaat leaders were seen in the BNP-led alliance’s Monday’s rally in Dhaka.
Asked if the absence signalled anything, the Jatiya Party leader said: “I’m not a BNP policymaker. I merely went there on their invitation to address the rally as a guest speaker.
“I believe through Monday’s rally the BNP has proven that it alone is powerful enough.”
When asked about his party’s joining the BNP-led alliance, Kazi Zafar, who recently broke away from HM Ershad’s Jatiya Party and floated his own faction, said: “We have an extended meeting of our party on Jan 25. After that we’ll meet Begum Khaleda Zia in the evening. You’ll (journalists) be formally briefed afterwards.”
“We have ideological affinity with the BNP. Both of us believe in Bangladeshi nationalism. We want to give this relation a permanent shape,” he said.
Source: BD news24