While the Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) leaflets found at all the August 17 bomb blast spots demanded establishment of Islamic rule in the country, the Jamaat chief earlier openly declared that "Islamic rule will be established soon."

Jamaat chief and Industries Minister Matiur Rahman Nizami on February 25 told his followers at a public rally at Jaldhaka in Nilphamari, "Wait and see…get ready for directive."

A number of arrested militants confessed to having close ties with Jamaat and its front organisations. Moreover, Jamaat, a key constituent of the ruling coalition, has at times worked for the release of many such arrestees, which also prove its connections with the militant groups.

Jamaat's intervention and success to free the militants also clearly show that the Islamist party is enjoying administrative support and using government machinery to achieve its target.

According to police record, over 100 militants were arrested during January-August this year in connection with the bombings, and all the arrestees either belong to Jamaat or its various wings at present or worked with them earlier.

Whenever any Jamaat or Shibir activist was arrested for militant activities, Jamaat lobbied for their release, and where they failed, they announced that the arrested militant had been expelled from the party earlier.

Although a good number of activists of the banned Islamist militant organisation Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) have confessed that the JMB carried out the August 17 attacks,

Jamaat chief always ruled out JMB existence. The most wanted militant Bangla Bhai is a creation of media, he has said several times.

Even yesterday Nizami told parliament that "A section of media is also engaged in the evil design to implicate Jamaat in the incident [August 17 blasts] by hook or crook."

Jamaat lawmaker Riasat Ali Biswas in the last parliament session also denied the existence of JMB in Bangladesh.

Analysts say the reason behind Jamaat-militant link can be answered with an observation that finds a deep-rooted aspiration to secure more state power.

Jamaat is aiming to get tickets for 100 seats of the coalition in the next parliamentary elections and it wants to have other Islamist parties with it to make the plan a success, said an analyst.

According to the analyst, Jamaat's quite-evident role in the bomb blasts is a powerful demonstration of its militancy prowess and also a warning to the BNP that it will have to face trouble if it wants to break alliance with them.

"Jamaat is also sending signal to other Islamist parties and militant groups that they will face trouble if they do not join hands with it," the analyst said, pointing to a recent speech of the prime minister in which she asked other Islamist parties to join the coalition.

MILITANTS' JAMAAT LINK
Bangla Bhai, head of the killing squad of the banned Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), had been an active Shibir member until 1995.

JMB chief Abdur Rahman and his father were also Jamaat workers.

Many in the JMB leadership joined the organisation on special assignments from Jamaat and Shibir. Moreover, statements of the arrestees prove that Jamaat is involved with the JMB one way or the other.

Nasiruddin, whom police arrested in Satkhira on August 17 and who first confessed that the JMB carried out the countrywide bomb attacks, told the police that he was a Jamaat worker until 1995.

On September 1, police arrested Tariqul Islam in Faridpur with Shibir certificate and he confessed to police that he was involved with the organisation in his student life.

After his arrest at Debiganj in Panchagarh on February 23 last year, militant Azizul told police he was previously a Shibir member and now a worker of the JMB.

JMB militants Samiul Al Siju and Fazlul Haq admitted after their arrest at Gangachhara in Rangpur on February 23 that they were active Shibir workers.

However, the then assistant superintendent of police of Rangpur in his probe report on the attack on Brac office identified the two as Rukans of Jamaat.

In August 2003, Sohel, a student of Sunamganj Government College, was arrested for having links with the JMB. His brother Selim told the press on August 23, "Shibir turned my brother into an ultra-religious man and forced him to work for JMB."

Local Shibir President Abu Hanif, however, denied the link saying, "Sohel might have worked for us previously but is no more a Shibir worker now."

Last November, three militants were arrested with 24 powerful gelatine bomb-sticks and 124 electronic detonators in Gaibandha from a Shantahar-bound train. All of them said they are Shibir activists although Jamaat disowned them.

Ahle Hadith Andolon Bangladesh (Ahab) chief Asadullah Al Galib, who is now in jail custody for bombing an NGO office, organised a press conference in Rajshahi town on February 17. A Jamaat lawmaker from Satkhira attended the event.

LOBBY AND RELEASE
Police on the night of September 14 arrested two Shibir activists with CDs and books allegedly on Islamic jihad at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban premises. Jamaat lawmakers lobbied with the speaker for their release following the incident.

The next day Tejgaon police produced the two before a court without bringing any specific charges against them and the two were released.

Speaker Jamiruddin Sircar admitted that lawmaker Abdul Aziz made a phone call to him requesting him to initiate steps to release the two Shibir men.

Three days after the August 17 blasts, Rapid Action Battalion arrested five militants, including Jamaat leader Abdul Majid, in Dinajpur and handed them over to the police. Majid was freed within 30 minutes following intervention of the local Jamaat unit.

Police arrested five militants, including one Ramijuddin in Dinajpur on August 22. The district Jamaat unit bailed out Ramij from the police station.

JAMAAT & SHIBIR BOMB BLAST SUSPECTS
Police arrested Jamaat activists Kafiluddin, Kazi Nazrul Islam and madrasa teacher Jarjis in Chandpur and Omar Faruk at Parbatipur on August 19.

Abdul Haq, former Jamaat unit chief of Gabtoli, Bogra, Abul Hossain and Mujibur Rahman were arrested in Khulna a day later. Police arrested Shibir activist Helaluddin at a mosque in Bianibazar of Sylhet on September 9.

Police in Kushtia arrested Shibir activist Mutassim Billah on August 22 for his links with the August 17 blasts.

Police arrested 11 suspected militants, including Enamul--a follower of Bangla Bhai, and two Rajshahi University (RU) students, at their Puthiapara training camp in Paba upazila on July 19.

Enamul, also the team leader, was a Shibir activist before he had joined the Jagrata Muslim Janata, Bangladesh (JMJB) a year ago. The RU students Golam Mustafa and Ibrahim Hossain claimed they "support" Shibir.

JAMAAT'S DENIAL & THE TRUTH
Police on September 16 arrested two top JMB militants with huge amount of bomb-making materials and four firearms at a house belonging to a Jamaat activist in Tanore, Rajshahi.

One of the arrestees Moulana Shahidullah Faruq, JMB's Chapainawabganj sector commander, is the son of Moulana Meserullah Nasir Uddin, a Jamaat activist and a madrasa teacher. His elder brother Obaidullah is a Tanore upazila unit Jamaat leader.

Their mother Shahida Begum told The Daily Star that Faruq was a Shibir activist and joined the Ahle Hadith Jubo Sangha after completing madrasa education in 2002. Faruq, however, said he had joined JMB in 2002 although the Ahab protested this statement.

Jamaat Secretary General and Social Welfare Minister Ali Ahsan Md Mujahid in a protest letter regarding the Tanore incident denied Jamaat's links of any sort with the arrestees although Rajshahi Jamaat in a statement on the same day admitted that Obaidullah is the vice president of local Jamaat supporters' committee.

The law enforcers on September 8 recovered hundreds of bombs and materials for bombs from the house of Ataur Rahman, brother of JMB chief Abdur Rahman, following the confessional statement by former Jamaat ameer's son AHM Shamim of Habiganj.

Jamaat claimed Ameer Moulana Saidur Rahman, who had served as the district Jamaat chief for three years since 1989, had been expelled from the party.

Despite Jamaat's claim of having no contacts with Shamim, the existing district Jamaat chief Prof Ashraf Uddin requested a top official of the district police over phone to release him, saying Shamim is a "good boy" and that police had arrested him mistakenly, said a police officer.

The Jamaat-militant link was revealed at Khetlal in Joypurhat on August 14, 2003, after a gunfight at Jamaat activist Montejar Rahman's house, which was being used as a training camp. Police arrested 39 suspected militants and 29 of them confessed to being Shibir activists. They said Shibir had assigned them to work for the JMB.

Montejar, who had been the chief of Baraitola union Jamaat until 2001, however, escaped arrest. Police found a list of Jamaat-Shibir activists and Jamaat publications from the house.

Jamaat said it had expelled Montejar two years before the incident.

The police found out from his diary that he had applied to become a Rukon, a midlevel position in the Jamaat party hierarchy.

Police also recovered a letter written to him by the district ameer of Jamaat and seized some leaflets, letters and JMB receipts of fund collection for jihad. Local police had told the press that a significant number of people, who subscribed to the JMB, were members of Jamaat.

A training manual titled "Proshikkhan Guide" was recovered from a den of militants in Goran in the capital. It was learnt that the text was for Shibir activists.

Hishami Al Talabi, writer of the training manual, has translated several books of Jamaat founder Moulana Abul Ala Moududi.

During the raids police found some documents from the militants' house that show that they used to regularly donate to Jamaat.

Some militants arrested from different parts of the country played an active role in the last parliamentary elections for Jamaat candidates. Jamaat, however, claims they were expelled.