The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General Mohammad Qamaruzzaman had to undergo a painful ordeal for his innocent mistake at the National Press Club yesterday.

Qamaruzzaman went to the press club in the afternoon to attend as a guest speaker a discussion on '37 Years of Independence: Expectation and Achievement', organized by Swadesh Mancha.

The discussion was organized in the Conference Room of the Press Club on the second floor. At the same time, the Sectors Commanders of the 1971 Liberation War were holding a press conference at the VIP Lounge adjacent to the Conference Room to protest denial of permission to hold a convention on their demand for trial of war criminals.

Witnesses said the Jamaat leader mistakenly approached the press conference of the Sector Commanders who are demanding trial of the war criminals.

They said freedom fighters who were standing outside the VIP Lounge were taken aback seeing the leader of Jamaat, which supported Pakistan during the Liberation War, at their venue.

Some shouted 'Dhar Dhar (Catch him, Catch him)', 'Rajakar, Rajakar' and 'Khuni, Khuni (killer)'. Witnesses said some of the agitated freedom fighters caught his punjabi and manhandled him.

However, some journalists and people of the Swadesh Mancha rescued him from the freedom fighters' wrath.

When contacted, Qamaruzzaman told UNB that he was not assaulted but they shouted at him in abusive language.

"They shouted at me…They did not come close to me," he said responding to a query.

Qamaruzzaman said the shout against him was perhaps out of their anger for his constructive role in the movement against autocracy, for caretaker government and for the formation of the 4-party alliance.

"Such gesture will not bring any good for anyone," he said.