Kolkata, Dec 21 (IANS) Bangladeshi human rights activist Shahriar Kabir Saturday lauded India’s tough stance on the issue of ill-treatment by the US to diplomat Devyani Khobragade, and termed the US as the “godfather all Islamic militancy”.
“India has already set an example. The way it has reacted to the harassment of the diplomat in the US. That is what we expected. It should be done. What US is doing throughout the world is atrocious. The way it’s intervening militarily… they don’t care,” Kabir said during a seminar organised by the Indo-Bangladesh Cultural Centre and Independent Journalist Society.
Khobragade, who was serving as India’s deputy consul general in New York, was arrested on charges of visa fraud and underpaying her domestic help. She has since been shifted to India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, a position that accords her full diplomatic immunity.
Kabir urged members of the civil society in countries waging a war against religious extremism to come together and take a united stand.
“Those who are fighting religious extremism and fundamentalism in other countries do not know each other and so all of them are isolated,” he said.
The Bangladeshi activist said the role of the US in fanning fundamentalism across the world needs to unmasked.
“Time has come to share our views, to assimilate and disimilate information and to stand unitedly against religious extremism and expose their ugly face.. .which has been covered by America by saying that Jamaat-i-Islami is a moderate Islamist party… which they are not… Jamaat-i-Islami is godfather of Islamic militancy,” he said.
“We have to unmask America because America right now has become the godfather all Islamic militancy,” he said.
He said despite the Bangladeshi government’s efforts to curb extremism, it needs to be aided by countries like India.
“Jamaat-i-Islami is supported by Bangladesh Nationalist Party and externally supported by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia… and all these Islamic countries as well as America. They are supporting Jamaat-i-Islami to establish their political hegemony over Bangladesh… that is very dangerous,” Kabir said.
“Our government is trying its best but we need support from other countries like India who are opposing America’s hegemony.”