US cozying Up to Jamaat ahead of Bangladesh polls; is this an attempt for Kabul 2.0? | Explained | World News
As Bangladesh prepares for the February 12 parliamentary elections and national referendum, persecution of minorities and nationwide unrest since Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in August 2024 have raised global concerns. The United States has quietly deepened ties with Jamaat-e-Islami, the once-banned Islamist party implicated in war crimes in 1971.
Hasina’s Awami League faces an election ban during her time in exile in India, straining New Delhi-Dhaka relations. The interim government under Muhammad Younis is grappling with anti-Hindu violence, including systematic attacks, false narratives, vote bank polarization, the recent Sherpur killings and threats to ballot box access. The Hindu population fell from 22 percent to 8 percent in 1971.
The US Embassy in Dhaka issued a security alert today, warning citizens of possible political violence or extremist attacks during the elections and referendum. It was recommended to avoid rallies, polling stations, religious venues and large gatherings.
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US-Community Order
According to various reports, US diplomats have significantly expanded relations with Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh since 2023; It has moved from limited contacts to structured dialogues amid the party’s political revival after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in 2024.
The issue was highlighted at the meeting held in Dhaka in December 2025. A leaked audio recording of the talks appears to show a senior US official brushing aside concerns about the potential imposition of sharia law and assuring Rahman that Washington sees Jamaat as pragmatic partners, while Islamist hard-liners warn sternly of economic tariffs and sanctions if the US pushes radical agendas, echoing hedging strategies seen in pre-2021 Afghanistan.
Citing an audio recording leaked in December, the Washington Post recently reported that US officials made “friendship” offers to Jamaat-e-Islami during the Awami League’s election ban following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.
The Washington Post report also quoted US Embassy spokeswoman in Dhaka, Monica Shie, as saying, “The meeting that took place in December was a routine meeting, an off-the-record discussion between US Embassy officials and local journalists.”
He said that “many political parties were discussed” at the meeting and that “the United States does not favor one political party over another and plans to work with whichever government is elected by the people of Bangladesh.”
Cain 2.0 concerns
U.S. support mirrors the Taliban’s pre-2021 Taliban intervention in Afghanistan, where diplomatic pragmatism that prioritized stability over ideology strengthened the Islamists, eroded secular rule, and enabled rapid consolidation of power, such as the rapid fall of Kabul following the U.S. withdrawal.
In Dhaka, sharia oppression is among the risks that have developed in parallel with the warming of US-Jamaat ties, the ban of the Awami League, the increase in BNP-Jamaat polls and minority attacks after Hasina.
The developments also concern India and China; because neighbors Bangladesh and Pakistan are getting closer to Washington despite the US repairing ties with New Delhi.
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Bangladesh is located at a strategic crossroads in the Indo-Pacific; China has been rapidly deepening ties since Hasina’s ouster in 2024 through infrastructure deals, defense sales such as SY-400 missiles, and direct access to Jamaat leaders, as seen in the January 2026 ambassador meeting.
US diplomats’ ‘offers of friendship’ to the Jamaat signal a strategy to prevent Beijing from consolidating its influence over Younis’ interim government through economic aid and political outreach, according to leaked audio recordings and Washington Post reports.
Washington’s move also aims to create post-election leverage to thwart Beijing’s territorial expansion while also encircling New Delhi.
