Jamaat too denies al-Qaeda ties

Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir have no relation with al-Qaeda, the Islamist party has claimed, reports bdnews24.com.
Its claim comes after al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri allegedly called for jihad in Bangladesh to resist 'anti-Islam forces' in an audio message released on a website used for militant audios and videos.
An audio tape said to be carrying a message from Zawahiri is circulating on the Internet, calling on Muslims in Bangladesh to start an uprising. It also says the idea of the Bengali nation has not worked out.
Jamaat's acting Secretary General Shafiqur Rahman in a statement on Sunday expressed alarm over news published in different media 'associating Jamaat with the audio message'.
On Saturday, Hifazat-e Islam, the Islamist organisation believed to be funded by the Jamaat, had already denied involvement with the purported al-Qaeda call.