Jamaat will return to consensus dialogue, government fully neutral: Press Secretary

The Jamaat-e-Islami will attend the second day of the National Consensus Commission’s fresh round of talks despite skipping the opening session, Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam has said.

The clarification came on Tuesday afternoon following criticism that the interim government was “favouring” the BNP in the political process, reports bdnews24.com.

Shafiqul shrugged off the claims, saying the caretaker administration has maintained “full neutrality”.

Speaking at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka’s Bailey Road, the press aide said: “The Jamaat-e-Islami will join [on Wednesday]. We’ve spoken with them.

“Missing one day is fine. They’ll be fully present [on Wednesday].”

When asked about Jamaat’s absence from the first session, he said he did not know the reason.

Jamaat’s Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad declined to comment when asked in the afternoon.

Earlier in the morning, he said “We didn’t join [Tuesday’s] meeting in protest.”

Asked if the party would join the next day, he said: “Can’t say yet. We’ll discuss and decide.”

The day’s session began at 11:30am with representatives from 30 political parties, but no one from Jamaat was seen in the room.

Later it emerged that Jamaat “boycotted” the session in protest of a joint statement issued after a meeting in London between Yunus and BNP’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman.

Jamaat’s deputy chief Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher said Jamaat would not join the second phase of the dialogue.

Despite a 30-minute delay in starting, Jamaat’s seat remained empty throughout.

As the lunch break began, several journalists asked Yunus’s Special Assistant (Consensus Affairs) Monir Haider why Jamaat had not turned up.

He said: “Jamaat-e-Islami has symbolically boycotted [Tuesday’s] session.”

When asked if the boycott was linked to the Yunus-Tarique meeting in London, he said: “You can take it that way.”

Asked to respond to Jamaat leaders claiming they were upset by the London statement, the press secretary said: “We’re not aware of any such issue.”

On concerns from Jamaat and the NCP over alleged bias towards BNP, he said, “We believe we’re maintaining maximum neutrality. We consider everyone who took part in the July mass uprising to be a stakeholder. I don’t think the allegation is true. From all angles, we’re neutral.”

On concerns from the Jamaat and the National Citizen Party (NCP) over the government’s allegedly one-sided attitude towards the BNP, Shafiqul said: “We believe we are maintaining maximum neutrality.

“Everyone who took part in the July Uprising is considered a stakeholder. I don’t think the claim is true. In every sense, we are neutral.

“All parties and groups involved in the July movement are being given equal importance. No one is being treated differently,” he added.

Later, the commission’s Vice President Ali Riaz alo said: “The government has been in touch, and they [Jamaat] will attend [on Wednesday].”