Jamaat-Shibir Bot attacks NCP women leaders after break with Jamaat

Staff Correspondent

There have been allegations that female leaders of the National Citizens Party (NCP) have been subjected to cyber attacks after the conflict and isolation and distance within the party over its alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami came to light.

Several NCP leaders and supporters have claimed that a cyber group affiliated with Jamaat-Shibir is carrying out a planned attack targeting former senior joint member secretary Tasneem Zara, central leader Tajnubha Jabin, and senior joint convener Samantha Sharmin.

It has been alleged that cybercriminals controlled by Jamaat-Shibir are carrying out this coordinated attack against them using thousands of ‘bot IDs’.

Party sources said that ever since these leaders took a stand against the political alliance with Jamaat, they have been subjected to slander, personal attacks, distorted images, defamatory posts and organized trolling on social media. It is alleged that coordinated attacks are being carried out on Facebook and X using similar language, hashtags and content.

Tasneem Zara recently announced that she would contest the elections as an independent candidate after resigning from the NCP. Her close associates said that online attacks against her intensified soon after. They claim that these attacks are being carried out using bots and fake IDs created through software.

Similarly, Samantha Sharmin, who expressed her dissent over the announcement of an alliance with Jamaat, and Tajnuva Jabin, who is vocal on women’s rights and ideological issues, have also been targeted, it is alleged.

An important central leader of the NCP, who has taken an anti-Jamaat stance, said that this cyber attack is being carried out as a tactic to intimidate, personally humiliate and politically silence women leaders.

He claims that the language and style of these attacks are similar to the activities of online activists associated with Jamaat-Shibir in the past.

Leaders within the party who have raised objections say that women leaders are being systematically attacked for taking a stand on issues such as the 1971 war crimes, women’s freedom, and democratic values.

They believe that this is not just a personal attack; rather, it is part of suppressing dissent and creating political pressure.

When asked about this, several leaders who want to leave the NCP said that cyber attacks are further complicating the situation in the context of party division and ideological crisis.

They believe that such attacks are becoming a major obstacle to building a new political culture.