Until recently, Bangladesh’s elite and foreign diplomats avoided the Jamaat leader and his party. Now, with Jamaat running neck-and-neck for pole position in opinion polls, they’re queueing up to meet Rahman.
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Dhaka, Bangladesh – On Wednesday evening in Dhaka, Shafiqur Rahman, the emir [chief] of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, unveiled an ambitious election manifesto. A key promise: If his party wins the country’s February 12 election, it would lay the ground for Bangladesh to quadruple its gross domestic product (GDP) to $2 trillion by 2040.
Addressing politicians and diplomats, the 67-year-old Rahman pledged investment in technology-driven agriculture, manufacturing, information technology, education and healthcare, alongside higher foreign investment and increased public spending.
