Jamaat dissolves Cumilla city unit leadership after factional clash

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has dissolved the organisational structure and leadership of its Cumilla city unit following a clash between rival factions over the selection of the unit’s new Ameer.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the party’s Central Executive Council at its central office in Moghbazar, Dhaka, on Thursday evening to review an incident at the Cumilla city office on 14 October, according to a statement posted on the party’s verified Facebook page on Friday.

The meeting was chaired by Jamaat Ameer and Leader of the Opposition Dr Shafiqur Rahman, MP, and attended by members of the Central Executive Council.

Following a detailed review, the council dissolved the Cumilla city unit’s organisational structure and leadership under Article 63 of the party’s constitution, read in conjunction with Article 16(3)(f).

The unit will henceforth operate under the supervision of the party’s central leadership, with Assistant Secretary-General Maulana Abdul Halim assigned responsibility for overseeing its activities.

The party also formed a two-member committee to investigate the incident. The committee comprises Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer ATM Azharul Islam, MP, and Assistant Secretary-General Maulana Muhammad Shahjahan.

The committee has been asked to submit its findings to the Jamaat Ameer within one week. The Central Executive Council will decide on further action after receiving the report.

The statement was signed by Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair, assistant secretary-general and secretary of the party’s Central Publicity and Media Department.

Earlier, tensions between two factions of the party in Cumilla city escalated into a clash on Wednesday evening, with a vehicle allegedly vandalised amid a dispute over the selection of the city unit’s new Ameer.

The incident occurred around 7pm at the party’s city office in Moghaltuli, said Tawhidul Anowar, officer-in-charge of Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station. 

Party sources said the current city unit amir, Kazi Deen Mohammad, had been assigned divisional responsibilities at the party’s central office in Dhaka. Under the party’s constitution, a senior leader is to be appointed as his successor, a process that has reportedly triggered the dispute between the factions.

Meanwhile, Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party on Thursday suspended its Cumilla unit convener, Golam Mohammad Samadani, over suspected involvement in the vandalism of a Jamaat leader’s vehicle.

The suspension was announced in a notice signed by the party’s central office secretary, Advocate Abdullah Al Mamun Rana. The notice also asked Samadani to explain why he should not be permanently expelled from the party.

The AB Party said it upheld political decency, mutual respect and tolerance, and that involvement in or taking sides in internal disputes within other political parties was contrary to its principles. It also urged leaders and activists at all levels to act responsibly.

Although the notice did not specify the grounds for Samadani’s suspension, party sources said the decision followed allegations that he had become involved in the internal dispute within Jamaat’s Cumilla city unit.