Jamaat says letter sent to foreign ministry contained unauthorised additions, replaces party's foreign adviser
Mahmudul Hasan was formally relieved of his responsibilities on 2 March, and Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem, Dhaka-14 lawmaker, was appointed as the new foreign affairs adviser to the opposition leader
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has clarified recent media report regarding a letter sent to the foreign ministry from the party's Ameer Shafiqur Rahman's office, saying necessary action has already been taken after the matter came to the party's attention.
In a statement issued today (10 March), the party's Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar said the incident, which has recently been reported in the media, actually took place around two weeks ago.
At the time, Prof Mahmudul Hasan was serving as the foreign affairs adviser to the Jamaat ameer. He had been assigned the responsibility of sending a letter to the foreign minister to clarify the party's position on certain foreign policy issues.
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However, Porwar said Mahmudul Hasan added some matters to the letter that were beyond the instructions given by the party leadership before sending it to the ministry. In particular, the portion of the letter referring to the "minister status or designation" had not been authorised by the party chief.
He added that once the issue came to the party's attention, Jamaat ameer Shafiqur Rahman took immediate action.
Mahmudul Hasan was formally relieved of his responsibilities on 2 March, and Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem, Dhaka-14 lawmaker, was appointed as the new foreign affairs adviser to the opposition leader.
According to the statement, Jamaat also contacted the foreign minister directly over the phone to clarify that the party ameer had not been aware of the contents of the letter. The ministry was informed that the individual responsible had already been removed from the position and that a new adviser had been appointed.
Porwar said the matter had been settled at that time and the relevant authorities at the foreign ministry were duly informed.
He added that Jamaat believes in responsible, transparent and accountable political conduct. If any confusion or misunderstanding arises, the party believes it should be addressed promptly, he said, noting that necessary steps had already been taken in this case.
