Staff Correspondent

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman has urged everyone to give the interim government an opportunity to work for the welfare of the countrymen.

“Be patient. The interim government took charge of the country in response to the student-people’s call. Give them an opportunity to work for the people’s welfare,” Shafiqur Rahman made the call on Monday noon.

The Jamaat Ameer was speaking to journalists after inspecting the health condition of Hasnat Abdullah, one of the coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, who is undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital after being injured during a clash between Ansar members and students at the secretariat last night.

Recognising Hasnat’s outstanding contribution, Shafiqur Rahman said the student leader played an important role from the front line during the student movement that brought a massive change in the country on 5 August.

He said a group of unruly Ansar members forcibly entered the Bangladesh Secretariat yesterday (Sunday) and unleashed an attack, leaving Hasnat Abdullah critically injured.

The students, who sacrificed their lives, shed blood, and forced the fascist government to flee the country, came to calm the Ansar members but instead, they attacked the students, going beyond their limits, he said.

About the demands being raised from different quarters, he said, “They have just taken the charge. Where have you been for so long? Why did you not place your demands so long? Since you have been patient for fifteen and a half years, please be patient for some more time. Give them a chance to recover. How will it work if you keep them busy like this?”

Talking about the Ansar members’ movement, he warned that people will not accept such activities and forgive such audacity again.

He also urged the people concerned not to engage in hatching any conspiracy.

In response to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus’s address to the nation, Shafiqur Rahman said, “It was a responsible speech. This will fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the nation,” he added.

Jamaat-e-Islami central working committee member and Dhaka Metropolitan South Unit’s Nayeb-e-Ameer Helal Uddin, Dhaka Metropolitan South Unit’s Secretary General Dr. Shafiqul Islam Masud, Assistant Secretary General Delwar Hossain, and Kamal Hossain, among others, were present at that time.