Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Information Technology Adviser to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has said Jamaat-e-Islami is the primary perpetrator of terrorism in Bangladesh adding that targeting peaceful civilians is nothing new for the radical Islamist party.
He said this in his recent article published in the US daily newspaper The Washington Times. Joy's article was published in the opinion column of the newspaper's website on Tuesday under the title 'Unmasking terrorists in Bangladesh: Jamaat-e-Islami disguises its violent extremism with political legitimacy.'
Sajeeb Wazed, also the son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has called upon the US government to declare Jamaat-e-Islami a foreign terrorist organisation and make Bangladesh the centre of its South Asia foreign policy as it enhances national security and economic interests.
He further stated that Jamaat-e-Islami has frequently and ruthlessly engendered violence against leaders of opposing political parties, Hindu minorities and security forces ever since Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971.
"Bangladesh is grappling with a resurgent, radical, terrorist organisation that is masquerading as a legitimate political party," he added.
Recalling the role of senior Jamaat-e-Islami leaders during Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971, Joy said, "During that bloody conflict, members of Jamaat collaborated with Pakistani soldiers to slaughter an estimated three million people, rape 200,000 women and force the exodus of tens of millions.
"In recent years, Jamaat-e-Islami has ramped up its terror activities in response to the ICT's rulings, setting off hundreds of bombs across the country. Children as well as adults have been killed as a result," he said.
The article also mentioned that the four bloggers, who were hacked to death by extremists in Bangladesh this year, had written in favour of capital punishment for Jamaat-e-Islami leaders convicted of war crimes by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).
"Jamaat's leadership makes no attempt to mask its organization's aims. It and its partners have enticed young "student" recruits and seek to establish an Islamic theocratic state in Bangladesh.
"Like al Qaeda, with which it continues to collaborate, Jamaat has proven that it will do so by any means available.