IOL South Asia Correspondent

NEW DELHI, October 17 (IslamOnline) - The Time magazine story which claims the presence of Al-Qaeda in Bangladesh is “a figment of someone’s wildest imagination,” a spokesman of the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday, October 15.

The spokesman said the story was aimed at “harming friendly relations between India and Bangladesh.”

The spokesman, quoted by Bangladesh official news agency, BSS, said the government of Bangladesh “vehemently and categorically denies the content of the report.”

“It is perhaps contrived and motivated action aimed at serving the interest of a vested quarter,” he added.

The spokesman described the report as “part of a periodic anti-Bangladesh smear campaign to tarnish the country's image.”

The Time story claimed that “Southern Bangladesh has become a haven for hundreds of jihadis on the lam.”

Time alleged Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters were supported by a network of madrasahs, other extremist groups and two Islamist political parties forming the coalition that rules Bangladesh.

The two Islamist parties described are Jamaat-e-Islami and Oikya Jote, the latter being particularly sympathetic to al Qaeda and Taliban, according to the Time.

As per the story, the Bangladesh government of Begum Khaleda Zia looked the other way because the two Islamist parties were part of her coalition government.

The two Islamist parties were also said to be linked to Harkatul Jihad Islami (HUJI), a terrorist organization based in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Time magazine said Tuesday, October 15, that reports quoting it as having described Bangladesh as a hotbed of terrorists waging a war against India were not accurate.