Describing the activities of Hifazat-e-Islam Bangladesh (HIB) as ‘mysterious’, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu on Thursday said that they were not carrying out movement to protect the faith of Muslims. “The movement of HIB is not to protect the faith of Muslims. They are working as the
shadow of Jamaat-Shibir to foil the trials of war criminals,” he told the journalists at a press conference at the secretariat.
He also urged HIB to call off their Dhaka blockade programme on May 5.
Dismissing Hifazat’s claim, the minister said, “Atheists are not grouping or attacking people anywhere.”
HIB branded the Ganajagaran Mancha organisers as ‘atheists’ and demanded their immediate arrest on charges of defaming Islam. The Chittagong-based HIB has been opposing Shahbagh’s Ganajagaran Mancha, which seeks capital punishment for the war criminals and a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami.
The Madrasa based organisation is not bothered about Islam but politics, he alleged.
“They are making concocted speech in the name of religion entering politics in the guise of preachers,” he added.
The minister further said, “No religion, including Islam, is not at stake since the inception of Bangladesh. The constitution is safeguarding the religion.”
“If anybody is defaming Islam, the government is detaining them and brining them to justice,” he added.
Meanwhile, Environment and Forest Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Thursday urged HIB to call off their Dhaka blockade programme on May 5 to avoid sabotage.
“We have information that the activists of BNP and Jamaat-Shibir are planning to foil HIB’s blockade programme, carrying out sabotage by entering the programme in the guise of HIB.
I would request HIB to withdraw their programme to avoid such consequences,” he told journalists at his secretariat office.
-with The Independent input
