Assistant Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and Head of the party’s Central Publicity and Media Department Advocate Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair issued a statement on August 5, 2025 strongly protesting and condemning the baseless, false, and politically motivated allegation made in a BBC Bangla report published in Dhaka on August 3, 2025.
The report cited the statement of Shamima A. Khan, publisher and editor of the daily Janakantha, in which she alleged that several Jamaat-affiliated journalists were involved in an illegal attempt to take over the newspaper.
In the statement, he said, “I want to state clearly that the allegation of Jamaat-affiliated journalists being involved in the takeover of Janakantha is completely false, baseless, fabricated, and part of a politically motivated campaign. We are not even sure whether Janakantha editor Shamima A. Khan actually made such a statement or not. If she did, she should have verified the facts accurately and impartially before making such a comment. It is extremely unfortunate and condemnable to make sweeping accusations without naming anyone, especially against so-called ‘Jamaat-affiliated journalists.’”
He further said, “It was also the responsibility of the concerned BBC Bangla Dhaka reporter to verify the authenticity of the allegation before publishing the report. Instead, they have irresponsibly broadcast a misleading and biased claim, which is contrary to the journalistic integrity, expected from an international media outlet like the BBC.”
He added, “I firmly assert that no Jamaat-affiliated journalist is involved in the attempt to take over Janakantha. The very fact that no names were mentioned in the BBC report clearly indicates that this is nothing more than an intentional effort to malign Jamaat-e-Islami.”
He concluded by saying, “I urge BBC Bangla Dhaka to refrain in the future from spreading such baseless, concocted, and imaginary allegations, and to properly broadcast this protest statement to dispel the confusion that has already been created.”
