Advising Jamaat to ask forgiveness for its dubious role during the 1971 war of independence and dissolve the party, Barrister Abdur Razzaq has resigned from the Bangladesh Jamaat Islami. He was Jamaat’s assitsant secretary general. He sent a letter of resignation to party amir, Makbul Ahmed, informed a BBC Bangla report.

Jamaat’s member of the central executive committee, Dr Syed Abdullah Muhammad Kadir, said, “I have heard of Barrister Razzaq’s resignation and can make a comment once I am aware of the whole matter.”

BBC Bangla says that Abdur Razzaq highlighted the role of Jamaat in 1971 as the main cause for his resignation.

Razzaq claims that he had been trying for a long time to make the party seek apology to the nation for its role in 1971.

Abdur Razzaq is currently in Britain and in a letter sent from Barking, Essex, he said, “It’s time’s demand to build a democratic party based on Islamic ideals and within the secular constitution of Bangladesh.”

He further wrote, “But Jamaat could not reform the party and even after 47 years of independence, could not seek forgiveness from the nation.”

They did not explain their position during the liberation war, he added.

Before going to Britain, Abdur Razzaq worked as a main counsel for the Jamaat leaders accused of war crimes at the ICT. He became a member of Jamaat in 1986.

He says that in 2001 when the then amir of Jamaat became a minister, he advised him to give a special speech on 1971; a draft was also made which was scrapped in the end.

“I even advised the party to ask forgiveness for the role in 1971 after the last election held on December 30 and also suggested dissolving the party.”

In the letter, he claims that he tried his best to carry out reforms for the last thirty years, citing examples of other countries but did not get a positive response.