No bank account due to unfavourable conditions, Jammat tells EC

The Jamaat-e-Islami has defended the absence of a bank account in its latest financial returns to the Election Commission, saying it has been impossible to maintain one under what it described as "unfavourable conditions" over the past 15 years, reports bdnews24.com.

On Thursday, Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad said the party had endured severe restrictions for the past 15 years.

"We could not even stay in our homes.

Why would we go to open a bank account? If we had tried, we would have landed in jail. That is why the return we submitted does not include a bank account. If the environment is favourable in future, we will definitely do it."

Jamaat last submitted income and expenditure details in 2013, before its registration was scrapped.

After the fall of the AL government in the July Uprising, the party regained registration this year and was obliged to resume submissions.