US Ambassador in Dhaka Dan W Mozena said BNP should leave the company of Jamaat-e-Islami, reports an Indian newspaper quoting Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali.
The ambassador made the statement when the issue of violence was discussed in a meeting with Mahmud Ali yesterday, Anandabazar Patrika reported today.
The report added that Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu wants to show the US that Jamaat has ties with the Taliban and Pakistani extremists.
“Around seven thousand Jamaat leaders and extremists were sent to Afghanistan several times by ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence, the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan) to take training from Taliban ever since the 80s,” the daily reported quoting Inu.
The US has long termed Jamaat as a moderate Islamist group which should be allowed to retain political space in Bangladesh. Awami League has complained that the US administration, which supported Pakistan in 1971, is closer to the BNP.
The foreign minister claimed that such negative comments on Jamaat from the US are rare in recent times.
Earlier Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh had discussions with the White House regarding Bangladesh. Thanking India, Bangladesh wants New Delhi to take a bigger role in clarifying to the west, the daily report added.
The information ministry is preparing a list of Jamaat’s violence, the report said.
“We are preparing a whitepaper comprising information on Jamaat’s atrocities, which will be reflected in the report.”
“How the BNP-Jamaat alliance is conspiring to foil the election preparations by Hasina would also be described.”
Plans have been undertaken to prove it to the US officials that Jamaat has ties with the Taliban and Pakistani extremists, the report adds.
“Few of the Jamaat leaders maintained direct connection with Osama Bin Laden, who have build up militant dens at different areas of the country,” it said.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said that there may be fresh election that would include all democratic parties if the BNP severs all links with Jamaat and stops violence during blockades.
Source: The Daily Star
