News Flash
DHAKA, Dec 15, 2025 (BSS) - Former adviser and frontline leader of the July
Uprising Mahfuj Alam today said those who serve the interests of India or
other foreign powers would not be allowed to remain safe in Bangladesh if the
country's people themselves are unsafe.
"If we are not safe in this country, our enemies will not be safe either.
Those who serve Indian interests or the interests of other foreign forces
will also not be allowed to remain safe. This is the basic condition," he
said.
He was addressing an all-party resistance rally protesting the attempted
killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, organised by Inqilab Mancha at the Central
Shaheed Minar premises this afternoon.
Alam said political issues within the country must be confronted politically
inside Bangladesh, but warned those who take the country's internal conflicts
beyond its borders.
"If the issues of this country are taken outside the country, then the
struggle for liberation of this country will also go beyond its borders," he
said.
Referring to past restraint, Alam said if mistakes had been made by showing
forgiveness, a resolve must now be taken not to repeat them.
He said Osman Hadi had stood against "invisible foreign assets" operating
inside the country, alleging that both local and foreign interests had
justified violence against him.
"When Osman Hadi was attacked, everyone remained silent-there was no voice,
no clear stance. Instead, there is a performance of pretence," he said.
Mahfuj claimed that after August 5, 2024 there had been the capacity to act
decisively against pro-Mujibist and Awami League-linked groups, but restraint
was exercised, which emboldened their opponents.
Warning of a "grave situation ahead," Mahfuj said any attack on activists
would provoke strong resistance. "If a body falls, we will respond
accordingly. Civility alone will not work anymore. There has been enough
patience," he continued.
The former adviser alleged that while trials were continuing through legal
processes, some accused were exploiting legal loopholes to flee the country,
take refuge in India, and incite or carry out violence in Bangladesh. "We
will not tolerate this," he said.
Mahfuj also called on teachers, legal professionals, media workers and
cultural activists who support the July movement to resist anti-July forces
within their respective spheres.
"If the strength of July is built constructively, we will be able to confront
both the internal issues and the pressure surrounding us," he said.
Calling for cultural resistance, Mahfuj urged supporters of the July movement
to organise cultural activities across districts to counter anti-Bangladesh
narratives.
He alleged that through a process resembling "colonisation," sections of
intellectuals, cultural activists, academics and legal professionals had been
co-opted to sustain Mujibist ideology and Indian hegemony, while others were
consciously working against Bangladesh from within.
The rally, which began at 3pm, was attended by leaders and activists of
various political parties as well as social and cultural organisations.
Representatives of BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, Gano Odhikar Parishad, AB Party and
Islami Andolan Bangladesh, among others, joined the programme.
Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of Inqilab Mancha and an independent aspirant
for the Dhaka-8 parliamentary seat, was critically wounded in a broad-
daylight shooting by unidentified assailants in the capital's Paltan area on
December 12.
Hadi was first taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) and later
shifted to Evercare Hospital. For advanced treatment, he was taken to
Singapore on an air ambulance that departed from Hazrat Shahjalal
International Airport (HSIA) at 01:55pm today.
