Top Taliban official makes secret Dhaka visit with Huji affiliates, meets like-minded local religious leaders

Special Correspondent

Top Taliban leader Mullah Noor Ahmad Noor is now in Dhaka. He is a top diplomat in the Taliban government of Afghanistan. He is also known as Mullah Jawandi. He is the director general of the First Political Division of the country’s Foreign Ministry. He has been visiting Dhaka and its surrounding areas for about a week. He has been visiting various Qaumi madrasas and participating in programs. He has made several trips with the assistance of Abu Sayem Khaled.

Officials from the police’s CTTC unit and other intelligence agencies said they had not been officially informed about the visit. They said they were monitoring Mullah Jawandi’s activities. Foreign Ministry Advisor Md. Touhid Hossain and Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam did not respond. Spokesperson S. M. Mahbubul Alam also did not comment. A senior ministry official said they did not have any updated information.

Afnan, the public relations officer at the Afghan embassy in Bangladesh, also could not provide any confirmed information. He said that he was unable to provide information on the matter.

According to airline information, Mullah Jawandi arrived in Dhaka on an Emirates Airlines flight at 11:45 pm on December 21. He was welcomed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by Abu Sayem Khaled, chairman of the Bangladesh-Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries.

Mullah Jawandi is considered important in the Taliban government’s policy on Asia. Sources say he has held meetings with some political and madrasa-based groups in Dhaka. Among them is the Ameer of Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis, Maulana Mamunul Haque. The meeting was attended by madrasa teacher and Befaq Secretary General Maulana Mahfuzul Haque. Several top leaders suspected of the banned Harkat-ul-Jihad were seen around him.

Mullah Jawandi has gone to Abu Sayem Khaled’s Jamia Karamia Madrasa in Fatullah, Narayanganj. He has gone to Faridabad Madrasa in the capital. He has also gone to Jamia Rahmania Arabia Madrasa in Mohammadpur. Abu Sayem Khaled has said that Mullah Jawandi is a guest of the government. However, he did not say which department he is a guest of.

Sources said that Abu Sayem Khaled had previously visited Afghanistan. There were five others on his trip. They went to Afghanistan via Dubai and later returned via Pakistan. Sources say that Abu Sayem Khaled is suspected to be the Narayanganj district amir of Huji. However, he has denied it.

It is known about the rally that on December 27, BACCI held a rally at the Diploma Engineers Institution in the capital. The rally was called “Blueprint of the Islamic Emirate”. Mullah Jawandi was supposed to be there. But he did not go. Family members of Rahmatullah alias Sheikh Farid, the former emir of HuJI, were seen at the rally. Sheikh Farid has a history of Afghan visits. Many of his brothers are said to be involved with HuJI.

Some of the participants in the rally have been charged with terrorist acts. The organizers’ explanation was not clear. Abu Sayem Khaled said that the event was an open program.

Al-Markazul Islami provided food for the gathering. The organization was founded by Mufti Shahidul Islam. The current chairman is his son Hamzah bin Shahidul Islam. Masum Billah, who is in charge of the organization’s guest affairs, said that they provided food after receiving the offer. He said that Mullah Jawandi is likely to stay for another four to five days.

This visit is taking place at a time when the incident of shooting and wounding Osman Hadi or Sharif Osman Hadi in the country is being discussed across the country. He later died in Singapore. The political situation is tense after this incident. The 13th National Assembly elections are also ahead.

South Asia analyst Altaf Parvez said the visit naturally raises questions. He said the threat of violence and the prospect of an election-like visit could raise important debates. He said relations with Afghanistan, the positions of Pakistan and India, and the diplomatic contacts of Taliban leaders like Amir Khan Muttaki also complicate the issue.

Maulana Mamunul Haque had earlier visited Afghanistan, where he held long talks with Afghan Foreign Minister Mullah Amir Khan Muttaki. He said that he was requested to take a role in Bangladesh-Afghanistan diplomatic relations.

The madrasa in Narayanganj has previously been visited by foreigners. Azad Kashmir’s Information Minister Pir Mazhar Saeed Shah visited it.