Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam has announced a nationwide protest march on Friday, May 15, after the Juma prayers, opposing the US-Bangladesh trade agreement and alleged persecution of Muslims in West Bengal. The party will hold its main demonstration at the north gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in Dhaka. The announcement came from the party’s secretary general, Maulana Manjurul Islam Afendi, during a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity on Tuesday.

Afendi criticized the trade agreement, claiming it imposes 131 conditions on Bangladesh but only six on the United States, calling it a “slave deal.” He alleged the deal was secretly signed just 72 hours before the national election and would negatively affect Bangladesh’s economy and policy independence. The party also demanded the cancellation of the UN Human Rights Commission’s country office agreement and presented a 10-point demand list, including price control, energy supply, anti-corruption measures, and ensuring fair prices for sacrificial animal hides.

Afendi condemned reported attacks on Muslims, mosques, and madrasas in West Bengal and urged maintaining communal harmony in Bangladesh.