Home adviser retired Lieutenant General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Wednesday said that nothing like the rise of militancy had happened in Bangladesh since the interim government took office.

Responding to a query regarding a The New York Times’ article titled ‘As Bangladesh Reinvents Itself, Islamist Hard-Liners See an Opening’, the home adviser made the statement.

Information and broad casting adviser Mahfuj Alam said that there was no room for extremism in the country, while the Bangladesh Nationalist Party accused defeated forces of using illicit wealth to tarnish Bangladesh’s reputation through international media.

The New York Times’ article published on Monday warned of a possible rise in religious extremism in Bangladesh after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government.

Jahangir said, ‘I don’t want to comment on what any newspaper says. However, I don’t see any concern about militants in the country.’

Nothing like the rise of militancy has happened since the interim government took office, he told journalists after visiting six police stations for Eid-ul-Fitr greetings.

He also said, ‘The current law and order situation in the country is satisfactory, with room for further improvement. Efforts are being made to gradually improve it.’

After visiting the grave of a July uprising martyr, Masum Miah, and his family members at Uttar Rampur village at Cumilla Sadar south, adviser Mahfuj Alam told journalists that there was no room for extremism in Bangladesh.

‘There will be no place for extremism in Bangladesh. And in this regard, the government has discussed and often warned,’ he said, adding, ‘We will take a hard line if a solution is not found through discussions and warnings.’

Mahfuj said that no one would be allowed to take advantage of the political transition, and the interim government would continue its work so that any form of extremism — religious and political — could not emerge in Bangladesh.

He mentioned that the interim government would definitely take a hard line if anyone misused the possibilities of the July uprising and tried to destabilise the country.

BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi at a press briefing at the party’s central office at Naya Paltan in the capital Dhaka on Wednesday said that defeated forces had a report published in The New York Times based on false information.

He alleged that accomplices of fascism, who acquired illicit wealth worth thousands of crores, were using their illegal funds to tarnish Bangladesh’s reputation.

‘There has been no rise in extremism in Bangladesh. On the contrary, there is no trace of fascism in the country at present. People are practising their religion freely and expressing themselves without fear,’ he said.

‘Awami League accomplices are spreading misinformation worldwide. The so-called anti-terror operations orchestrated by Sheikh Hasina (ousted prime minister) were mere theatricals designed to deceive the global community,’ Rizvi said.

He said, ‘The AL leaders who have fled abroad are trying to destabilise the country while their associates are embedded in the administration.’

He also accused certain advisers of vilifying the BNP, saying, ‘Some advisers are engaged in a smear campaign against the BNP.’

Rizvi said, ‘A democratic system must be restored in the country, and the government should be held accountable. Instead of focusing on their duties, certain advisers are busy defaming the BNP, which is a malicious act.’

Rizvi also urged for necessary reforms and swift elections, saying, ‘A government elected through fair elections is a legitimate government.’

Earlier, on Tuesday, the chief adviser’s press wing issued a rebuttal to The New York Times’ article, saying that it painted a troubling and one-sided view of Bangladesh by suggesting that the country was on the brink of being overtaken by religious extremism.

It also said, ‘This portrayal not only oversimplifies the political and social dynamics of the country but also risks unfairly smearing an entire nation of 180 million people. It is crucial to acknowledge the progress Bangladesh has made over the past year and the complexity of the situation rather than relying on selective, incendiary examples that paint an inaccurate picture.’