Hefazat, Jamaat oppose move to lease Ctg’s container terminal to foreign entity

Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh and Jamaat-e-Islami have opposed the move to lease Chattogram Port's container terminal to a foreign entity, issuing separate statements warning against transferring control of the port.

In a statement released today (17 November), Hefazat Ameer Muhibbullah Babunagari and Secretary General Sajedur Rahman criticised the arrangement as a threat to national security.

The statement, signed by Joint Secretary General Azizul Haque Islamabadi, said the Chattogram Port is "the lifeblood of Bangladesh's sovereignty and economic power," adding that "any initiative to transfer the management of this important national port to a foreign entity or power is a clear threat against the interests of the state and can jeopardise national security."

The statement added that such a step would cause "long-term damage to the country's future, economic independence, and regional security".

Hefazat further said that decisions regarding the port must be taken with "complete transparency, respect for public trust, and strict state control", adding, "We firmly reject any attempt to hand over national assets through secret discussions or agreements without the knowledge of the people."

"No laxity, compromise, or foreign pressure is acceptable when it comes to protecting national assets. The Chattogram Port belongs to the country, and it will remain so. We are prepared to launch mass movements if necessary to protect it," it concluded.

Additionally, Chattogram Metropolitan Jamaat Ameer Muhammad Nazrul Islam, in a separate statement, alleged that the interim government had "finalised the arrangement to hand over ownership of the port to the accomplices of the deposed dictator".

He claimed that responsibility for the port had been handed to foreign nationals "who had no minimal involvement with the July Revolution", adding that this would "impose the dominance of the deposed dictator and the banned Awami League in the port sector".

He further alleged that business interests linked to Awami League figures were positioned to benefit from the lease arrangements.

"A close relative of Sheikh Hasina is associated with the APM Terminals—the entity being given the Laldiar Char. Furthermore, the local agent for the Swiss company the government is contracting with to take charge of the Pangaon Terminal is Awami leader Saber Hossain Chowdhury.

"DP World is gaining responsibility for operating the New Mooring Container Terminal, whose local partner is also Saber Hossain Chowdhury," he said

"If they betray the July martyrs, Yunus will have to face the judgment of history," he concluded.

Yesterday (17 November), the interim government signed two agreements handing over the Laldia terminal in Chattogram and the Pangaon inland terminal in Dhaka to foreign operators — the first long-term lease of major port facilities to overseas companies in the country.

Under one agreement, the Chittagong Port Authority issued a Letter of Award to APM Terminals and its local partner QNS Container Services Ltd to design, build, and operate the Laldia Container Terminal for 30 years.