Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar has said that, two years after the July Uprising, its core aspirations remained unfulfilled because the government had ignored the reform agenda endorsed by the people through the referendum and the July Charter.

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Star at the party’s central office in Dhaka’s Moghbazar, Porwar said the government was pursuing constitutional amendments instead of fundamental reforms -- a course he said was pushing the country back towards authoritarianism.

The Daily Star (TDS): On the second anniversary of the July Uprising, what do you consider its greatest achievement? And what, in your view, is the main reason why many of the people's expectations remain unfulfilled?

Porwar: The July Uprising of 2024 was an unprecedented event in the history of popular uprisings and revolutions anywhere in the world. People from all walks of life in the country know what the aspirations of this movement were. Those aspirations centred on fundamentally transforming the existing state system and constitutional framework and building a humane and discrimination-free state.

It was with this goal that the student-led uprising took place. Following the uprising, the political situation that emerged and the interim government that was formed sought a path toward state reform. To bring various reform proposals under a common framework, the National Consensus Commission was established.

The commission worked for nearly nine months. It sent 166 reform proposals and questions to 33 political parties. Through subsequent discussions and reviews, consensus was reached on 84 issues. On October 17, 2025, we signed the July Charter at the South Plaza of parliament, which reflected the aspirations of the July Uprising.

We believe that the aspirations of the country's 180 million people are reflected in this charter.

If you ask what the greatest achievement was, I would say that a national unity emerged against authoritarianism, fascism, repression, corruption, and money laundering. Over the past 17 to 18 years, people's ownership of the state had been undermined. People united in the struggle to restore sovereignty. This national unity was the greatest success of the July Uprising.

Unfortunately, however, those expectations have yet to be fulfilled.

I still remember that on July 18, 2024, I held a press conference announcing Jamaat's support for the student movement. The next day, Detective Branch police arrested me from my residence. As a result, I spent the most intense period of the movement in prison. The day after Sheikh Hasina fled the country, on August 6, I was released from Keraniganj Central Jail.

Although I could not be outside, I was receiving news every day from inside prison. I spoke with prison authorities and read newspapers. We understood that something major was about to happen. We heard that the police were no longer resisting as before and that Rab and the army were not on the streets; the situation was changing.

From the morning of August 5, we were hearing that the army chief would deliver a speech. We waited in front of the television. Around noon, we learned that Sheikh Hasina and her sister had fled the country by helicopter.

But the core aspiration of the July Uprising -- the implementation of the July Charter -- has not been realised.

Based on the recommendations of the Consensus Commission, a presidential order was issued on November 13, 2025. It stated that a Constitutional Reform Council would be formed and that the national election and referendum would be held on the same day.

However, after coming to power through the national election, the BNP-led government effectively ignored the verdict of the referendum. It did not follow the directives regarding the Constitutional Reform Council, and its members were never sworn in.

Yet nearly 70 percent of voters supported the 84 reform proposals in the referendum. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, the home minister, and the law minister all took part in that referendum. If they now deny it, that would amount to denying the people's verdict.

In my view, the current government is responsible for the failure to fulfil the people's expectations.

TDS: What was Jamaat's role in the anti-discrimination student movement? Was there any coordination or strategic understanding with student leaders or other political parties?

Porwar: First and foremost, the movement belonged to the students. You, too, know it as the anti-discrimination student movement. But when the movement began moving toward the one-point demand and public participation increased, I formally declared support for it on July 18 and called on people to stand beside the students.

At that time, we were in contact with various political parties. There were also discussions with the BNP on different occasions about how to move the movement forward and what programmes could be carried out jointly.

However, there were shortcomings in coordination in some cases. We learned that some leaders had said there would be joint programmes after discussions with Jamaat, but no further communication followed. Incidents like that did occur.

Later, we decided that, since we were part of this movement as a democratic and patriotic force, we would remain on the ground with students, workers, and ordinary people according to our capabilities.

Many of our leaders and activists were injured, martyred, and imprisoned. I myself was arrested on July 19.

TDS: After Sheikh Hasina left the country, what was Jamaat's position regarding the formation of a new government and the administration of the state? Were you in favour of a national government?

Porwar: For several days after Sheikh Hasina left, there was effectively no government in the country. Discussions took place at various levels over who would head the interim government and who would serve as advisers.

Leaders of the anti-discrimination student movement came to our office, and there were also discussions over the phone. We exchanged views in various ways regarding the head of the interim government and the advisers. Not all of our suggestions were accepted, but at one stage there was regular communication and discussion with us.

TDS: How do you evaluate the current progress in political reform, judicial reform, and the restructuring of state institutions? What is the biggest obstacle to implementing the spirit of the uprising?

Porwar: Commissions were formed to reform various sectors, including the constitution, the electoral system, the civil administration, the police administration, and the Anti-Corruption Commission. If the recommendations of those commissions had been implemented on the basis of the July Charter, it would have been possible to do so within a specific legal framework.

But after coming to power, the BNP did not make use of that opportunity. It ignored the mandate that people had given through the referendum.

The BNP says the constitution does not allow for these measures. But the question is: this election itself was not supposed to be held under the existing constitution. The election was supposed to take place five years later, in 2029. So under what provision did they hold the election?

The presidential order of November 13 clearly stated that the national election and referendum would be held on the same day after the gazette notification. The BNP participated in that election, accepted its results, and formed the government, but at the same time refused to accept the result of the referendum that was held alongside it.

Two votes took place on the same day -- one was accepted, while the other was rejected. It is like acknowledging one of two children born from the same mother while denying the other.

We believe that the current government is responsible for the failure to implement the July Charter. However, we are not disappointed. Even the leader of the opposition in parliament has said that the July Charter and the verdict of the referendum must be implemented.

We do not consider the special committee formed by the government to be sufficient for constitutional reform. We are saying that what is needed is not merely amendment but genuine reform.

Amendment means minor changes, whereas reform means fundamental changes to the constitutional structure, philosophy, and balance of power.

The proposed Reform Council was the appropriate constitutional framework for this purpose. Otherwise, any amendment passed in parliament could later be struck down by the courts. In the past, Bangladeshi courts have annulled multiple constitutional amendments.

We believe that if a body formed on the basis of referendum carries out the reform process, its legal foundation will be much stronger.

But the BNP is not taking that path. It essentially wants to preserve the structure of the previous constitution. It is not interested in limiting the vast powers currently vested in the prime minister.

The BNP expressed dissent on 10 important issues in the July Charter. But we argue that, since there was no scope for dissent in the referendum, the entire verdict must be accepted.

TDS: The government has formed a special parliamentary committee on constitutional amendment and asked your party to nominate five members. Jamaat did not participate...

Porwar: From the very beginning, we said that the question of nominating members does not arise, because conceptually we oppose this kind of amendment.

We told the government that it must move away from amendment and go toward reform.

According to the law, the Reform Council was supposed to convene within 30 days. That did not happen. If the government now acknowledges that it failed to do so on time and wishes to take fresh initiatives toward genuine reform, then the opposition parties may consider the matter.

But the government is not moving toward reform; it is proceeding with amendment. That means it wants to bring an amendment after excluding the issues to which the BNP objects.

In this way, the fascist character of the constitution will not disappear. We do not want another Sheikh Hasina to emerge from this state structure in the future.

For this reason, we have clearly said that there is still time. If the government brings a proposal for genuine reform in parliament and takes the initiative to form the Reform Council, opposition parties can discuss it.

Otherwise, we cannot betray the mandate of the 70 percent of people who supported the referendum.

Parliament is a place for debate and resolution. If there is no resolution there, then we will have no option but to go to the people.

TDS: How do you assess the current political situation? As an opposition party, you have accused the government of moving toward fascism. How justified is such an allegation after only a few months?

Porwar: As I said earlier, deviating from the implementation of the July Charter is the first sign of a slide toward fascism.

The very first point of the BNP's 31-point agenda stated that it would reform the constitution if it came to power. But now it says it will not pursue reform, only amendment. In other words, it has retreated even from its own commitment.

The prime minister himself participated in the referendum. Voting "yes" in the referendum meant endorsing the 84 reform proposals. If he now denies them, that amounts to reneging on his commitment to the people.

We are saying that the powers of the prime minister must be curtailed. The same person should not simultaneously serve as head of government and head of the party. But if the fundamental issues on which the BNP dissented are excluded, the character of the constitution will remain unchanged.

Therefore, retreating from commitments made to the people is itself a manifestation of authoritarian tendencies.

TDS: BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir recently said that opposition leaders are speaking the language of the Awami League. How do you view his remarks?

Porwar: There is a saying in the villages: "People belch what they eat."

We are not speaking the language of the Awami League. We are criticising the government because it is ignoring the July Charter, pursuing partisanisation, and appointing its own people to important state institutions.

Look at the district councils, city corporations, and other local government bodies. Administrators have been appointed instead of holding elections. If elections are not held, where is the people's representation?

Ours is not the language of the Awami League; it is the language of democracy and responsible opposition politics.

TDS: What is Jamaat's position on the political future of the Awami League?

Porwar: Ultimately, that will be determined by the government and the people.

The political activities of the Awami League have been suspended through a legal process. The government believes that its activities were terrorist in nature, and action has therefore been taken in accordance with the law.

But the final verdict will come from the people. Whether the party will be able to continue in politics after the allegations of brutality and human rights violations during the July Uprising is something only time will tell.

TDS: Many young people feel that political parties have benefitted the most from the uprising, not ordinary citizens. How do you assess this frustration?

Porwar: I would say that it is not political parties but rather those who are now in power who have benefitted the most.

They are enjoying state privileges, placing their own people in various positions, and building syndicates. They have failed to keep the promises made to the people.

We are still continuing our movement and struggle to realise those commitments.

TDS:Since Jamaat moved into the opposition, several of its leaders and MPs have been involved in controversies. How does the party view these incidents?

Porwar: Human beings are bound to make mistakes. Apart from the prophets of Allah, there is no one in this world who is above error.

Jamaat is also an organisation of human beings. Therefore, individuals may make mistakes or succumb to temptation. However, within our organisation there is a continuous emphasis on character, morality, and self-purification.

If an exceptional incident occurs, we take swift organisational action. There are very few examples in Bangladesh where a three-time member of parliament has been expelled from a party within two days over allegations of wrongdoing.

We conducted our own investigation, found the allegations to be true, and took organisational action.

This proves that, for us, the organisation is greater than the individual. Individuals may make mistakes, but the organisation does not tolerate those mistakes.

Incidents of various kinds occur in other parties as well. Some become public, while others do not. In our case, one incident came to light, and we took immediate action.

TDS: There have been clashes involving Islami Chhatra Shibir, Chhatra Shakti, and Chhatra Dal at Begum Rokeya University and Jagannath University. Do you see this as a sign of renewed instability in campus politics?

Porwar: It is certainly a matter of concern.

We allege that the ruling party is using its student organisation. At Begum Rokeya University, we saw attacks on peaceful programmes. Similar incidents took place at Jagannath University.

Not only were programmes obstructed, but student leaders were also assaulted, and there were allegations of attacks even while they were receiving treatment in hospital.

An impartial investigation into these incidents will reveal the real picture.

TDS: What is your position on the controversy surrounding a banner about war criminals at Begum Rokeya University?

Porwar: We have no involvement in that matter.

Our position is that there was provocation and that the situation was pushed toward conflict. The entire incident should be investigated impartially.

TDS: Did you ever think that the Hasina government would fall? And were the events of August 5 faster than you had expected?

Porwar: We believed that a regime based on unlimited authoritarianism and repression could not last forever. Sooner or later, it was bound to collapse.

I spent a long time in prison. Even then, I believed that this rule would come to an end. But I never imagined that events would unfold so quickly and so dramatically.

The events of August 5 were truly astonishing.

The movement had reached a stage where it no longer belonged to any single party or individual. Children, students, workers, hawkers, businesspeople, teachers, professionals -- people from all walks of life had joined it.

Despite the support of the army, the administration, and various international forces, Sheikh Hasina ultimately had to leave the country. We regard this as the infinite mercy of Almighty Allah.

Perhaps, in exchange for the sacrifices, blood, and sufferings of thousands of people, Allah showed mercy to this nation.