Responding to calls for the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami to be banned, the party's lawmaker ATM Azharul Islam asked the ruling party, “Let us assume we are banned. Who will fill that void? Will you govern the country alone? Are you seeking to establish one-party rule?”
ATM Azhar posed the questions today, Sunday, while taking part in the discussion on the proposed budget for the 2026–27 fiscal year in the Jatiya Sangsad.
On 22 June, ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) lawmaker Rafiqul Islam, in his speech in parliament, called for the banning of Jamaat-e-Islami's politics.
Questioning whether the government was trying to rehabilitate the Awami League, ATM Azharul Islam said, “I believe you are trying to rehabilitate the Awami League. This is because even after four months, you still could not find a person to become president.”
The Jamaat lawmaker also questioned why the BNP appeared so keen to retain the incumbent president. He asked whether the party had received any indication from anyone that the president should remain in office. He added that if fascism was to be eradicated, all its traces must be removed.
At the beginning of his speech, ATM Azharul Islam paid tribute to late Jamaat leaders Matiur Rahman Nizami, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Abdul Quader Molla and Mir Quasem Ali.
He claimed that the leaders, all of whom had been convicted of crimes against humanity, had been “judicially killed through false cases”.
The Jamaat MP called for those responsible to be brought to justice, saying that doing so would uphold the rule of law.
Calls for an interest-free financial system
Describing the proposed budget as overly ambitious and heavily dependent on borrowing, ATM Azharul Islam said uncertainty over revenue collection, excessive reliance on loans and reduced development expenditure could make implementation of the budget difficult.
Although the government aimed to restore economic stability, it would have to contend with inflation, external pressures and a large revenue deficit, he said.
He said the most worrying issue was the growing burden of operating expenditure. The proposed budget allocated Tk 605,740 crore (over TK 6.05 trillion) for operating expenses, accounting for a significant share of total expenditure. Of that amount, Tk 127,500 crore (1.27 trillion) would be spent on interest payments alone.
The Jamaat leader said the record level of interest payments would place serious pressure on the government's fiscal capacity. To address the situation, he said the government should seriously consider introducing interest-free “financial instruments”.
Describing interest as a grave sin, Azhar said it should not be allowed to continue in a country where the overwhelming majority of the population was Muslim.
As an alternative to interest-based borrowing, he suggested raising funds from the public through the issuance of retail sukuk in accordance with Islamic Shariah principles.
He acknowledged that Bangladesh could not become interest-free within one or two years. However, he said that if efforts began now and an interest-free system was gradually introduced by mobilising public funds for the public good, the country could steadily move towards an interest-free financial system.
