Moulvibazar Correspondent: Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Md Shafiqur Rahman has criticised the government over the law and order situation, questioning the Home Minister’s performance and saying there has been no visible improvement in public security.

“The Home Minister’s primary responsibility is to look after his own ministry. He has failed to control drugs and weapons or restore order in society. There has been no visible improvement in the law and order situation in the country,” Shafiqur Rahman said.

He made the remarks while exchanging views with journalists at the Moulvibazar Circuit House around 11am on Saturday during a one-day organisational visit to his home district. It was his first visit to Moulvibazar since the national parliamentary election, drawing enthusiasm among local Jamaat leaders and activists.

Questioning the government’s repeated claims of improvement in law and order, the opposition leader said those responsible for the Home Ministry and other important government figures often described the situation as “better than before”.

“But to this day, we have not understood what the benchmark for this ‘better than before’ is,” he said.

Shafiqur also defended the opposition’s right to speak out against incidents taking place across the country, questioning whether it should remain silent in the face of successive developments.

“Will we just sit back as one incident after another takes place? Will history forgive us? Why should the opposition take responsibility for the government’s mistakes?” he asked.

On the appointment of political figures to district councils, the Jamaat chief questioned why administrative officials had not been temporarily entrusted with the responsibility instead. He also alleged politicisation of the Public Service Commission (PSC), raising concerns about political influence in public administration.

Referring to past political practices, he alleged that previous governments had attempted to influence even the selection of opposition party leaders.

“We have seen in the past that the government would even decide who would become the president and secretary of the opposition party,” he said.

He also criticised the media’s role in the past, saying it had helped create authoritarian leaders and should now perform its responsibilities properly.

Asked whether Jamaat-e-Islami would participate in the upcoming local government elections, Shafiqur said no final position could be announced without assessing the prevailing political circumstances.

“Nothing can be said with certainty without assessing the situation. The entire matter will depend on the political environment and circumstances,” he said.

The opposition leader also criticised the poor condition of roads on the Dhaka-Sylhet route, using a sarcastic comparison to highlight the difficulties faced by travellers.

“There is no need to go to the Bay of Bengal to experience waves; you can experience the waves of the Bay of Bengal simply by travelling from Dhaka to Sylhet,” he remarked.

Outlining his party’s approach to parliamentary politics, Shafiqur said Jamaat would neither create instability by disrupting parliamentary proceedings nor blindly support every decision made by the ruling party.

“As the main opposition party, we will adopt neither of these two positions: disrupting parliament to create instability or blindly supporting every decision of the ruling party,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Shafiqur arrived at Sylhet Osmani International Airport around 8am, where senior party leaders, including Jamaat’s central assistant secretary general Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, Sylhet metropolitan ameer Fakhrul Islam and Moulvibazar district ameer Engineer Shahed Ali, welcomed him.

He reached the Moulvibazar Circuit House around 9am, where a police contingent presented him with a guard of honour. He later addressed a conference for responsible ward-level party leaders at the District Shilpakala Academy as the chief guest.

After Zuhr prayers, he held a courtesy meeting with local leaders of the 11-party alliance at the Circuit House and attended a lunch.

At 2pm, he attended a rukun conference at the Shilpakala Academy, where around 600 party members participated in the process to elect the Moulvibazar district ameer for the 2027-2028 session. Shafiqur addressed the gathering as the chief guest, while Sylhet district ameer Maulana Habibur Rahman conducted the event.

His visit combined organisational activities with criticism of the government’s performance, highlighting the opposition party’s stated intention to hold the administration accountable while maintaining its role in parliament.