MAMUNUR RASHID

Jamaat-e-Islami is stepping up the activities of its youth unit across the country to strengthen its organisational base among young people and increase their involvement in political and social initiatives.

The party has moved to make the unit, which has long existed within its organisational structure but remained relatively low-profile, more visible and active.

According to Jamaat leaders, the youth unit is gaining renewed importance as the party seeks to keep young members engaged after their student years and involve them in community-based activities. The initiative is also aimed at expanding the party’s political presence and nurturing future leaders.

As part of this effort, Jamaat reconstituted the committee of its Dhaka North Metropolitan Youth Unit on May 19. At a conference of departmental officials, former central president of Islami Chhatra Shibir Yasin Arafat was named president, while Mostafa Faisal Parvez was appointed general secretary.

Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair, assistant secretary general of Jamaat and president of its central youth unit, said the party is working to make the unit more active to help develop leadership among young people, encourage healthy lifestyles, and steer them away from social ills such as drugs, terrorism, extortion, and illegal weapons.

He said the youth unit was incorporated into Jamaat’s annual organisational plan in 2019, and a committee was formed that year. However, the political circumstances at the time limited the scope for regular organisational activities.

“In the current context, organising young people has become a renewed priority,” Zubair said.

Unlike other political parties that maintain separate youth wings, Jamaat has established a departmental structure within the party to work with young people, he said.

Yasin Arafat said the youth unit is not an independent organisation but operates within Jamaat’s organisational framework.

According to him, the party has guidelines for forming committees of five to seven members at metropolitan and district levels and three to five

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