Bangladesh Nationalist Party's Tarique Rahman meets pro-Pak Army officer Aman Azmi

New Delhi: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Tarique Rahman has met former Bangladesh Army officer and staunch anti-India critic Brig Gen Aman Azmi (retd), son of controversial Jamaat leader Ghulam Azam, raising eyebrows on BNP's post-poll goals.

The meeting that took place in Dhaka on Wednesday evening has raised suspicion of BNP's future links with Pakistan and spy agency ISI. Such moves may be detrimental to India's security interests, according to people familiar with Bangladesh-India links.

Rahman in his new avatar has been receptive to India, indicating willingness to establish normal partnership if he is elected the prime minister. However, his old links with ISI and Jamaat-e-Islami may resurface to influence him to adopt a pro-Pakistan approach to keep India under check, according to a Bangladesh watcher. Rahman's future moves need to be closely watched as Jamaat may be desperate to join a future BNP government to pursue its agenda.


Ghulam Azam was a key leader of Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami party during the 1971 Liberation War. He had actively opposed Bangladesh's independence and collaborated with the Pakistani Army by forming and leading pro-Pakistan 'Peace Committees' that recruited for brutal paramilitary groups like the Razakars, Al-Badr and Al-Shams, responsible for war crimes, genocide and systematic killing of intellectuals.

He was later tried and convicted by Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal for crimes against humanity, receiving a 90-year sentence. He was spared capital punishment on account of his advanced age (91 years in 2013). He died in 2014.

Azmi remained untraced during later part of the Sheikh Hasina regime but resurfaced almost soon after her ouster. He was instrumental in charges brought against several senior Army officers for alleged involvement in kidnappings and murders since August 2024, said Bangladesh watchers.