• Senior envoy meets religious leaders in push for political clout
• Religious parties eye resurgence in February polls
• Bangladeshi officials label trip as ‘personal’

DHAKA: Afghan Taliban officials have held meetings with religious leaders in Bangladesh during a visit aimed at expanding political ties, officials in Dhaka said on Monday, as the country’s leaders manoeuvre for influence ahead of elections due in February.

Kabul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Director General Noor Ahmad Noor met senior figures including Mamunul Haque, leader of the Khelafat-i-Majlish party.

The meetings took place during a week-long stay that comes at a sensitive time for the South Asian nation, which is navigating a fragile transition under an interim government. Haque told AFP that Noor had visited the seminary he oversees. “It was a courtesy call, as we run one of the largest madrassas in the country,” Haque said. “He visited some other madrassas as well.”

While religious diplomacy appea­red central to the itinerary, trade was also on the agenda. Abu Sayem Kha­led, president of the Bangladesh-Afgh­a­nistan Chamber of Commerce, told AFP that the visit also sought to exp­and commercial ties between the two nations. The interim government has not officially commented on the diplomatic exchange. However, a foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described Noor’s trip as “personal”.

The visit occurs as Bangladesh prepares for its first election since a mass uprising toppled the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina in 2024.

Following her ouster, groups previously sidelined or banned are seeking a return to formal politics. This includes Jamaat-i-Islami, the country’s largest and best-organised religious party, which is ideologically aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Historical precedents of cooperation exist between militants in the two countries; the Taliban had longstanding links with the banned militant group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami Ban­gl­adesh, with some members of the latter having fought in Afghanistan against Soviet forces.

Reciprocal visits have also incre­ased recently. Leaders of Hefazat-i-Islam, an influential coalition of Isla­mic schools and Muslim organisations, visited Afghanistan in September.

Upon their return, they told the Dh­a­ka-based Prothom Alo newspaper that they appreciated the “rule-based society” they observed under the Taliban.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2025