Radical Islamists Vowing To Model Bangladesh After Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan: Awami League

(MENAFN- IANS) Dhaka, July 3 (IANS) Radical Islamic group Jamaat–Char Monai alliance has openly vowed to model Bangladesh after Taliban-ruled Afghanistan -- banning women from public life, enforcing burqas, curtailing minority rights, and pushing jihadi training nationwide -- the Awami League said on Thursday.

The Awami League mentioned that "in a chilling interview" with US-based Bangladeshi journalist Khalded Muhiuddin, the Islamic Movement's leader Muhammad Faizul Karim laid out this blueprint for Islamic rule amid a rise of extremism under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government.

According to the Awami League, during the talk show, the radical Islamist leader Karim emphasised that if they come to power by winning the national elections, Sharia law will be introduced in the country by the Islami Andolan Bangladesh.

He said that the current system of governance in Afghanistan will be followed in Bangladesh, along with the "good philosophy of Iran."

"If we come to power, Hindus will also get rights in the Sharia law that we will introduce," Karim mentioned.

The Awami League questioned whether the interim government's deafening silence on the matter was due to "negligence, or deliberate complicity."

Raising concerns over recent events, the party further asked whether the attacks on temples, disruption of worship, targeting of women, and erosion of secularism are what the so-called "July Movement" meant to achieve.

Extremism has surged in Bangladesh since the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August of last year. Since that time, under the Yunus administration, several radical groups have resorted to violence and provocation, particularly targeting minorities in the South Asian nation.

Analysts reckon that these radical forces had earlier worked hand in glove with the student leaders and Yunus to overthrow the democratically elected Awami League government led by Hasina.

On Tuesday, the Awami League laid out the statistics regarding human rights violations in Bangladesh, claiming that the country is in a state of "brutal anarchy," highlighting several cases of rape, lynchings, and unidentified bodies, describing the country as a "blood-stained nation" under the Yunus-led interim government.

The party stressed that last month exposed the complete collapse of "safety, justice, and leadership" under the Yunus regime.

According to the Awami League, the statistics revealed that only in June, 63 incidents of rapes were reported, including 17 gang rapes, seven survivors were women/girls with disabilities, while 19 children and 23 teenage girls were raped. Additionally, 39 cases of sexual harassment and 51 physical assaults on women were reported.

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