The move may have serious implications for regional security.
In December 2024 Bangladesh’s interim government has appointed Gani, one of the founder members of Hizb-ut-Tahrir Bangladesh, as home secretary. Gani had earlier served as private secretary to BNP leader Jamir Uddin Sircar.
“India’s security red lines should not be compromised. A new government is being sworn in. It should be mindful of India’s interests as a neighbour. Simultaneously, preventive and proactive diplomacy must be at play to prevent situation getting out of hand,” Rajya Sabha member and former Foreign Secretary and envoy to Bangladesh Harsh Vardhan Shringla told ET.
Mahfuz Alam, one of key aides of chief adviser Muhammad Yunus, is also a HuT member. In 2024 New Delhi had protested against Alam’s social media post, advocating annexation of parts of India.
HuT, along with Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Andolan and Ansarullah Bangla Team, had allegedly hijacked the student movement that led to the ouster of PM Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.
Bangladesh chapter of HuT was reportedly founded by Gani and Kawsar Shahnewaz under the guidance Syed Golam Maula, the then teacher at the Institute of Business Administration in Dhaka University, in 2000. BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami was in power during that period.
In 2009 the then Awami League government banned HuT. Since 2013, a number of leaders and activists of this group have been found involved in alleged terror attacks that have killed dozens of people.