Jamaat boycotts consensus meeting over Yunus-Tarique joint statement

Disgruntled over the joint statement by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus and BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, Jamaat-e-Islami has boycotted a meeting with the National Consensus Commission.

Senior Jamaat leader Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher told local media the party would not take part in Tuesday’s second round of talks with political parties hosted by the commission.

The meeting, which began at 11:30am at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka’s Bailey Road area, was attended by representatives from 30 political parties.

The meeting was delayed by 30 minutes, but Jamaat was conspicuously absent.

An empty seat had been reserved next to BNP’s Salahuddin Ahmed for Taher, who holds the position of Jamaat’s Nayeb-E-Ameer, the party’s second in command.

The adjacent seat, meant for the National Citizen Party (NCP), was occupied by Senior Joint Secretary Tasnim Jara. BNP leaders Md Ismail Zabihullah and Borhan Uddin Khan were also present.

Jamaat Assistant Secretary General AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad told bdnews24.com the party had boycotted the session in protest. Asked whether they would join the next day’s session, he said: “I can’t confirm that now. We’ll decide after discussions.”

According to a senior Jamaat leader, the joint statement released after the Jun 3 London meeting between Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus and BNP Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman was not made through a “proper process.”

“We are not commenting on their meeting,” the leader said. “But the way the election date was proposed to be changed in the aftermath, seemingly at the behest of one party, is unacceptable.”

He added, “We had hoped that upon returning to the country, the chief advisor would call the political parties and clarify the matter.”