Huji eyes JS polls, starts operating in new name

Banned Islamist militant outfit Harkatul Jihad al Islami (Huji), comprised of Afghan war veterans, has started activities across the country to take part in the next parliamentary polls under a new name.Huji leaders under the banner of Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) gathered for an iftar party in a Rajshahi community centre in Shalbagan on September 8 claiming to be in negotiations with the government for holding political programmes openly.Even though they claimed that they are not involved in any criminal or anti-state activities, they admitted that their organisation began from Huji. They said they are still in Jihad as before in Afghanistan but the Jihad is for “rebuilding the country by promoting true democracy”.They said two top Huji founders–Mufti Abdus Salam and Rahmatullah alias Shaikh Farid–are president and secretary of the party. They collected the application form for getting IDP registered with the Election Commission for participating in the next general elections. They already formed fully-fledged IDP committees in 42 districts and in all thanas of Dhaka city to that end. They have begun renting offices in districts and forming committees and organising activists in 300 upazilas across the country.The government so far has made no visible effort to arrest Huji kingpins since banning the outfit in October, 2005.Several police and intelligence officials said even though Huji has been banned, they have never received any instructions from the government to launch any drive against Huji leaders and activists.