Jamaat-e-Islami’s Assistant Secretary General, Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair, has dismissed as “false” the claim that Jamaat has requested 30 parliamentary seats from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for the upcoming 13th National Election.

Speaking to Somoy News on Tuesday, September 23, at Jamaat’s central office in Mogbazar, Dhaka, Zubair clarified that no such discussion had taken place.

“In no forum has Jamaat sought seats from BNP. As far as I know, the BNP Secretary General’s remarks are not correct,” he said, responding to BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir’s interview with Indian media outlet Ei Samay.

The Indian media had reported that Jamaat’s campaign for proportional representation (PR) was a strategy to put BNP under pressure. Rejecting this, Zubair stated:

“Other political parties are also demanding proportional representation. This is not about putting anyone under pressure or pleasing anyone; it is about protecting democracy from authoritarian control.”

He further responded to Mirza Fakhrul’s remark that “BNP will no longer allow Jamaat to dominate,” saying:

“We do not wait for anyone to put us on their shoulders or not. Jamaat’s politics is for the welfare of the people, and that course will continue.”

Zubair added that Jamaat’s leadership will discuss the matter in an upcoming executive meeting and will issue a formal condemnation and protest regarding the remarks published in Indian media.