Jamaat relieves Mahmudul Hasan for seeking ‘status’ beyond mandate

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Dhaka, Mar 10 – Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar on Tuesday claimed its Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman didn’t direct his adviser on foreign affairs Dr Mahmudul Hasan to seek a ‘ministerial status’ in a recent letter sent to the Foreign Ministry.

“He (Dr Hasan) was assigned to send a letter to the Foreign Ministry to clarify Jamaat-e-Islami’s position on the country’s foreign affairs. But he included some issues in the letter sent to the foreign ministry going beyond the Ameer’s directives. Particularly the part related to ‘ministerial status’ was not in the Jamaat Ameer’s instruction,” said he in a statement.

As soon as the matter came to the party’s notice, Jamaat Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman took necessary steps, he said

“Dr Mahmudul Hasan was formally relieved of his responsibilities on March 2 and immediately Dhaka-14 MP Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem (Arman) was appointed as the new foreign affair adviser to the Opposition Leader,” he said.

The incident, which recently surfaced in the media, actually took place about two weeks ago and had created some confusion among the people, Parwar said in the statement issued on Tuesday to clarify the matter.

The Jamaat leader said Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami believes in responsible, transparent and accountable political conduct.

“If any confusion or misunderstanding is created on any issue, we believe in promptly correcting it. Necessary measures have already been taken regarding the matter, so there is no further scope for misunderstanding,” Parwar said, urging all concerned to present accurate information properly.

According to media reports, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and Jamaat Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman sent a letter to the Foreign Ministry on February 22 seeking an appointment for his foreign affairs adviser Prof Mohammad Mahmudul Hasan at the Foreign Ministry. The opposition leader reportedly requested Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman to assign Hasan to the ministry with ministerial status. - UNB