The political bond between BNP and its main ally, Jamaat-e-Islami, seems to have entered into a critical phase. BNP has not issued any statement after the execution of the death penalty of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman on charges of crimes against humanity in the 1971 War of Liberation
BNP also did not issue any statement offering condolences on the death of former Jamaat Amir Ghulam Azam, nor did any of its leaders attend his Namaj-e-Janaza. BNP also skipped issuing any condolence over the execution of Jamaat leader Abdul Kader Mollah. It also refrained from giving any reaction to the verdicts of International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) against the Jamaat leaders accused of war crimes.
Maintaining its dubious 'no-comment policy' over verdicts against war criminals, BNP refrained from making any remarks or statements on execution of Jamaat leaders Muhammad Kamaruzza-man and Kader Mollah.
BNP has made no comment, officially or unofficially, on the verdicts so far delivered by the Supreme Court and the International Crimes Tribunals (ICT) against the war criminals, including these two leaders.
Though the party leaders after every verdict had said they would officially come up with their reactions, but that did not happen ever.
BNP also did not make any comment or issue any condolence message over the death of ex-ameer of the Islamic party and war crimes convict Ghulam Azam.
Similarly, BNP remained silent as usual when the death sentence of Jamaat's present Amir Matiur Rahman Nizami was announced. This has caused friction between the two parties
Jamaat-e-Islami called dawn-to-dusk general strike across the country (today) on Monday protesting at what it called the government's 'planned killing of the party's senior assistant secretary general Muhammad Kamaruzzaman on Saturday night. Just after the execution of Kamaruzzaman, the hartal was declared by its acting Amir Makbul Ahmad through a press statement signed by one M Alam of its central publicity department.
Jammat's alliance BNP did not extended its support to the hartal called by Jamaat. A senior BNP leader says that his party does not support Jamaat's demand to repeal the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), set up to try the suspected war criminals of 1971. The same leader also opined that the Jamaat is a political party having its separate entity. It may declare any programme of its own like calling countrywide hartal. But BNP has nothing to do with it.
Meanwhile, Hasan Iqbal, son of Kamaruzzaman while coming out from the jail after meeting with his father prior to his execution expressed dismay and indignation over the role of BNP on Jamaat's present political stand.
It may be recalled that when the trials against the killers and perpetrators of violation of human rights in 1971 War of Liberation began in the ICT, BNP has strong support in the Jamaat's process of frustrating the trail processes. But BNP slowly deviated from that stand and remain silent on this issue.
Similarly, when BNP called countrywide blockade and successive hartals, Jamaat activists were very much decisive and resorted to various subversive designs in support of the BNP's programme. But that spirit of the Jamaat's activists is no more in reality. They are also quite indifferent on BNP's recent controversial political programme.
However, it seems that the days of hobnobbing between the BNP and Jamaat is over and they are likely to take daggers' drawn position at any moment in national politics.