“Must protect country from militancy and fundamentalism”: Asif Nazrul

Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul today said that everyone must ensure that no domestic or foreign enemy can disrupt Bangladesh’s potential and progress by exploiting militancy.

“If we truly desire the welfare of this country, society, and its people, if we wish well for our students, children, and ourselves, if we want to protect the country from international conspiracies and free Bangladesh from fascism, then at any cost, we must protect the country from militancy and fundamentalism,” he said.

The adviser was speaking as the chief guest at a memorial gathering at the Administration Training Institute in Dhaka, honouring the memory of Judges Sohel Ahmed and Jagannath Pandey, who lost their lives in the JMB bombing in 2005.

Referring to the tragic deaths of Sohel Ahmed and Jagannath Pandey, the law adviser said this was a prime example of how militancy can make people irrational, inhumane, and cruel.

“Militancy in any religion can make people cruel, desperate, and reckless. There are many examples of this. Our neighbouring country has also witnessed horrifying militancy at various times. We cannot support militancy or extremism under any excuse or in any disguise,” he added.

“Bangladesh has no friendly neighbours around it. There is always an attempt to undermine Bangladesh, to inflate and sensationalise incidents, and to conspire over them. In the past, whenever fundamentalist incidents occurred in Bangladesh, efforts were made to amplify them and label our country.

“Through these actions, neighbouring countries have been able to meddle in our internal affairs and convince the international community to establish a controlled government here, which has allowed them to act aggressively. As a result, we have endured a fascist regime in the country over the past 15 years,” Adviser Asif said.

President of the Bangladesh Judicial Service Association, Md. Amirul Islam, presided over the programme.

Law and Justice Division Secretary Sheikh Abu Taher, Registrar General of the Supreme Court Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan, were present at the time, among others.