Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman has dismissed reports suggesting he held a “secret meeting” with Indian diplomats, saying the interaction was not confidential and accusing sections of the media of misrepresenting the facts. Several Bangladeshi outlets had cited a Reuters interview to claim that such meetings took place in mid-2025.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Shafiqur Rahman said he met two Indian diplomats around the middle of last year after returning home following medical treatment. While the meetings were not made public at the time, he said this was done at the diplomats’ request and should not be construed as secrecy.
“Meetings with diplomats are usually public. We wanted to make this one public as well, but they requested that it not be disclosed. We agreed. There was nothing secret about it,” he wrote in Bengali.
His clarification came a day after Reuters published an interview in which he acknowledged the meetings and said Jamaat-e-Islami was open to joining a consensus government. Bangladesh is set to hold general elections on February 12, the first since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted following mass anti-government protests.
In its report, Reuters said India was seeking to expand engagement with political parties that could play a role in Bangladesh’s next government. Quoting Shafiqur Rahman, the agency reported that an Indian diplomat met him earlier this year after his bypass surgery and requested that the interaction remain confidential.
The Reuters interview was conducted at Shafiqur Rahman’s residence, days after Jamaat forged an alliance with the youth-led National Citizen Party (NCP). It was published on the same day External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Dhaka to pay tribute to former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who died on December 30, 2025.
During the visit, Jaishankar also met Tarique Rahman, Khaleda Zia’s son and a leading contender for the prime minister’s post, and handed him a condolence letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Explaining the context of the meetings, Shafiqur Rahman said the Reuters journalist had asked whether he had held discussions with Indian officials. He responded by mentioning that diplomats from several countries had visited him after his return from treatment, including two from India.
Unlike diplomats from other countries, whose courtesy visits were made public, the Indian diplomat requested confidentiality, Reuters reported.
Shafiqur Rahman questioned the controversy surrounding the meetings. “Many diplomats visited me and it was public. What is the problem here? We need openness. There is no alternative to improving relations,” he said.
He also expressed surprise over the media coverage, saying, “Some local outlets reported that secret meetings took place between the Jamaat Ameer and India. I strongly condemn such reports.”
‘Hasina’s stay in India affecting ties’
In the Reuters interview, Shafiqur Rahman said former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s continued stay in India after fleeing Dhaka was a concern and had contributed to India-Bangladesh relations hitting their lowest point in decades.
India maintained close ties with Hasina during her tenure, significantly expanding trade and economic cooperation.
Responding to questions about Jamaat’s past proximity to Pakistan, Shafiqur Rahman said the party favours balanced relations with all countries. “We do not lean towards any single country. We respect all nations and seek balanced ties,” he said.
Jamaat gains ground ahead of polls
Meanwhile, a recent opinion poll has shown Jamaat-e-Islami closing in on the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), trailing it by just four percentage points. Jamaat, which was banned during Sheikh Hasina’s rule, was revived under the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus.
The BNP and Jamaat had earlier governed Bangladesh together between 2001 and 2006 under Khaleda Zia. The 2008 elections brought the Awami League to power, with Sheikh Hasina remaining in office until her ouster in 2024.
While India is expected to engage with whichever party forms the next government, a Jamaat-led administration would pose a different set of strategic challenges for New Delhi. The party has long been viewed as sympathetic to Pakistan, and several of its senior leaders were later executed after being convicted by Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal for their role in atrocities during the 1971 Liberation War.