Banned Huji may contest polls under new name

The banned Islamist outfit Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJi) has started mobilising cadres across Bangladesh to take part in general elections in December under a new name.

The banned Islamist outfit Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJi) has started mobilising cadres across Bangladesh to take part in general elections in December under a new name, a report said on Sunday.

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Tracing back their origin to the 1980s war in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union, its leaders claim they continue to be "in jehad" like they were in Afghanistan except that they are now fighting "bad education, corruption and communalism".

The jihad is for "rebuilding the country by promoting true democracy on the lines of holy Quran", The Daily Star quoted one of its top leaders as saying.

Its leaders are operating under the banner of the Islamic Democratic Party (IDP). They gathered for an Iftar party at Rajshahi September 8, claiming to be in talks with the caretaker government for holding political programmes.

They collected the application form for getting the IDP registered with the Election Commission for taking part in the next general elections.

The government so far has made no visible effort to arrest HuJi kingpins since banning the outfit in October 2005.