UNB, Dhaka :
Barrister Abdur Razzaq resigned from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on Friday saying the party failed to apologise for its anti-liberation war role in 1971 and reform the organistion based on reality.
The Jamaat assistant secretary general sent his resignation letter from the UK to Jamaat Ameer Maqbul Ahmed in the morning.
In his resignation letter, signed by his personal assistant Kausar Hamid, cited two reasons behind his resignation from the Islamic party. He said, Jamaat did not apologise to people for its anti-liberation war role in 1971 and the party could not reform itself in light of reality of the 21st century considering the political change in other Muslim majority countries.
“I tender my resignation from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami with immediate effect,” Razzaq, who joined the party in 1986, said in his resignation letter.
Mentioning that he defended the top Jamaat leaders accused in war crime cases with his best ability, the lawyer said though Jamaat wholeheartedly embraced the independence of Bangladesh, the party’s role in opposing the historic struggle for liberation in 1971 casts a deep dark shadow over all of its achievements and contributions.
“For these reasons, I’ve always believed and continue to believe that an apology by Jamaat to the nation is not only a moral imperative but also necessary to absolve its post-1971 generation of the stigma,” Razzaq observed.
In 1971, he said, their predecessors had opposed the independence of Bangladesh and failed to publicly protest the atrocities committed by the Pakistan Army.” In the 47 years since independence, successive party leaderships have failed to apologise for the party’s role in 1971 or even to explain the party’s position on the struggle for independence. Now, more than ever, Jamaat needs to clarify its 1971 stance.”
Razzaq said over the last two decades he had been trying relentlessly to persuade Jamaat to have a frank discussion on the events of 1971, Jamaat’s role in those events and why it decided to support Pakistan and apologise for that decision. “Finally, in January 2019, I advised the leadership of the necessity of taking responsibility for its predecessors’ role in 1971. In the absence of any better or viable alternative, I also advised to dissolve Jamaat. But, all my efforts have been unsuccessful. My decades of advice had fallen on deaf ears.”
Barrister Abdur Razzaq resigned from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on Friday saying the party failed to apologise for its anti-liberation war role in 1971 and reform the organistion based on reality.
The Jamaat assistant secretary general sent his resignation letter from the UK to Jamaat Ameer Maqbul Ahmed in the morning.
In his resignation letter, signed by his personal assistant Kausar Hamid, cited two reasons behind his resignation from the Islamic party. He said, Jamaat did not apologise to people for its anti-liberation war role in 1971 and the party could not reform itself in light of reality of the 21st century considering the political change in other Muslim majority countries.
“I tender my resignation from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami with immediate effect,” Razzaq, who joined the party in 1986, said in his resignation letter.
Mentioning that he defended the top Jamaat leaders accused in war crime cases with his best ability, the lawyer said though Jamaat wholeheartedly embraced the independence of Bangladesh, the party’s role in opposing the historic struggle for liberation in 1971 casts a deep dark shadow over all of its achievements and contributions.
“For these reasons, I’ve always believed and continue to believe that an apology by Jamaat to the nation is not only a moral imperative but also necessary to absolve its post-1971 generation of the stigma,” Razzaq observed.
In 1971, he said, their predecessors had opposed the independence of Bangladesh and failed to publicly protest the atrocities committed by the Pakistan Army.” In the 47 years since independence, successive party leaderships have failed to apologise for the party’s role in 1971 or even to explain the party’s position on the struggle for independence. Now, more than ever, Jamaat needs to clarify its 1971 stance.”
Razzaq said over the last two decades he had been trying relentlessly to persuade Jamaat to have a frank discussion on the events of 1971, Jamaat’s role in those events and why it decided to support Pakistan and apologise for that decision. “Finally, in January 2019, I advised the leadership of the necessity of taking responsibility for its predecessors’ role in 1971. In the absence of any better or viable alternative, I also advised to dissolve Jamaat. But, all my efforts have been unsuccessful. My decades of advice had fallen on deaf ears.”
