Jamaat Ameer falls ill on stage while delivering speech

Dr. Shafiqur Rahman, the Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, fell ill while delivering a speech at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital at 5:26 pm on Saturday. 

He began his speech around 5:00 pm, but fell on stage suddenly, recovering after 45 seconds and stating, "Nothing happened." 

A minute later, he fell again but stood up shortly after. Despite medical advice to stop, Dr. Rahman continued his speech seated on a carpet, dismissing concerns with, "Why do you talk so much?"

The national rally, hosted by Jamaat at Suhrawardy Udyan, started at 2:00 pm, centered on seven demands: an electoral level playing field, fundamental reforms, trials for the July massacre, rehabilitation for martyrs’ and injured families, implementation of the July declaration and charter, elections under the proportional representation (PR) system, and voting rights for expatriates. 

The event, led by Jamaat Secretary General Golam Parwar, began with a Quran recitation. 

Dr. Rahman arrived at 12:15 pm, greeted by enthusiastic leaders and activists chanting slogans.

The rally followed a cultural programme at 9:40 am, hosted by Saifullah Mansur and featuring the Saimum Shilpi Group. 

Since Sheikh Hasina’s departure on August 5 amid a student-public uprising, Jamaat has resumed open political activities, holding worker rallies across districts over the past 11 months, which have doubled as election campaign events.

A massive crowd gathered at Suhrawardy Udyan, with leaders and activists arriving from across the country since Friday evening. 

By 10 am, the venue was packed, spilling into surrounding areas like Shahbagh, Dhaka University, Doel Chattar, High Court, Matsabhaban, Kakrail, Bangla Motor, and Science Lab. 

Microphones were set up along nearby roads, including Dainik Bangla, Kakrail, Gulistan, Bijoynagar, and Shahbagh, to accommodate the overflow.

Jamaat leaders emphasised that the rally sends a message to the government and BNP, demanding reforms before elections, the formation of an upper house through the PR system, and no reduction in the Prime Minister’s powers unless elections are boycotted. 

They also called for the entire election to be conducted under the PR system to encourage BNP’s support for a proportional upper house. 

Jamaat invited other political parties supporting PR to join the rally.

This marks Jamaat-e-Islami’s first solo national rally at Suhrawardy Udyan since Bangladesh’s independence and its first rally there since 2009.