10,000 Buses Reserved, Over 1 Million Activists to Attend Jamaat’s Rally

Jamaat-e-Islami has called for a national rally at Dhaka’s Suhrawardy Udyan on July 19, aiming to make it the largest gathering in the party’s history in terms of attendance and response. To ensure its success, the party is organizing processions, meetings, and public outreach programs daily across Dhaka and the rest of the country.

Advocate Ehsanul Mahbub Zubayer, Assistant Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami, informed that 10,000 buses have already been reserved for the rally, excluding launches and trains. He expressed confidence that over 1 million party activists will participate, with 6,000 volunteers deployed to maintain order and ensure internal security.

To discuss cooperation with law enforcement and other arrangements, a seven-member Jamaat delegation, led by Advocate Zubayer, met with the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on Tuesday (July 15) at 3 PM for an hour and fifteen minutes.

After the meeting, Advocate Zubayer told reporters that Jamaat had previously approached the DMP and sought their cooperation to ensure the rally on July 19, aimed at achieving seven demands, is conducted successfully, peacefully, and smoothly. The DMP assured full support during the earlier discussions.

He added, “Following the rally implementation committee’s meeting, we held another discussion with DMP officials today. We discussed arrangements such as parking for vehicles coming from across the country, entry and exit routes, microphone setups, and overall management. The DMP provided us with some suggestions. Our plan is to make the rally successful and peaceful.” Zubayer further noted that the DMP assured cooperation as needed, expressing hope that the rally’s movement, security, and traffic management would be orderly and peaceful. Contact numbers of the rally implementation committee members have been shared with the DMP. When asked about potential threats or disruptions given the current political situation, Zubayer said, “We do not anticipate any such concerns at this moment. However, our local leadership, especially Dhaka city Jamaat, will remain vigilant. With a large gathering expected, we discussed security-related matters with the police to avoid any unwanted incidents.” He added that the DMP provided advice to ensure caution in all aspects. Zubayer emphasized that 6,000 volunteers will be deployed to manage the rally, including maintaining order, ensuring internal security, facilitating senior leaders’ movement, and handling vehicle entry, exit, and parking arrangements. “We are hopeful that this will be the largest gathering in history. We are receiving an overwhelming response so far. Around 10,000 buses will arrive, in addition to trains and launches. We expect over 1 million people to attend,” Zubayer added. The seven-member Jamaat delegation included Dr. Shafiqul Islam Masud (Central Working Council Member and Dhaka South Secretary), Dr. Rezaul Karim (Central Working Council Member and Dhaka North Secretary), Md. Delawar Hossain (Central Majlis-e-Shura Member and Assistant Secretary, Dhaka South), Advocate Atiqur Rahman (Secretary, Bangladesh Shramik Kalyan Federation), Mohammad Kamal Hossain (Central Majlis-e-Shura Member and Assistant Secretary, Dhaka South), and Abdus Sattar Sumon (Assistant Publicity Secretary, Dhaka South).

The meeting was chaired by DMP Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operations) Nazrul Islam, with Joint Commissioner (Operations) Md. Shahidullah, Deputy Commissioner (Traffic) Gautam Kumar Biswas, Deputy Commissioner (Ramna Zone) Masud Alam, and other senior DMP officials in attendance.