Shafiqur Rahman's X account 'hacked', Jamaat says cyberattack

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has said that the X account of its chief, Shafiqur Rahman, was hacked after a post denigrating women went viral, triggering widespread debate and criticism on social media.

Jamaat's statement came hours after screenshots of the post began circulating online. The post, which was later deleted, stated that women should not be in leadership roles and portrayed women’s participation in public life as morally harmful.

In a statement issued shortly after midnight, Jamaat’s central publicity department said several senior leaders’ social media accounts, including the official X handle of the party chief, had come under cyberattack. It said false and unauthorised statements were disseminated in Shafiqur Rahman’s name.

The party said attackers briefly gained control of one account using what it described as a “highly sophisticated and coordinated method”. According to the statement, the party’s cyber team later regained control using existing security protocols, and no other accounts were compromised.

Technical briefing on the alleged hack

At a briefing, Jamaat leaders said the hacking incident unfolded within a short span of time.

According to the party official address the press briefing, the account was compromised at 4:37pm and recovered by 5:09pm. A rejoinder was issued at 5:22pm, he said.

The party claimed the attackers took control of the device through malware and gained access during an active session. They said the hackers did not change the account password but had logged in from another location.

Once the unauthorised login was detected, the party official said it closed all active sessions, changed the password and regained full control of the account.

Jamaat further alleged that the account was hacked using a government email address, claiming that the name of the individual and the email address used in the incident are available on a government website.

Following the incident, Sirajul Islam, a member of Jamaat’s National Election Steering Committee, filed a general diary (GD) at Hatirjheel Police Station in Dhaka this morning.

The party said it is pursuing legal action over the alleged cyberattack.

Ameer issues clarification

In a separate thread posted on X this morning, Shafiqur Rahman said false and misleading content had been circulated to misrepresent both his views and the party’s position.

He said Jamaat’s manifesto supports women’s active participation in education, healthcare, administration, entrepreneurship and public service. He cited commitments to uninterrupted education for girls, safe campuses, zero tolerance for harassment, women-centred healthcare, equal pay, safe workplaces, childcare support and skills development.

“These are not new positions,” he wrote, adding that he had outlined them previously and reaffirmed them at a policy summit on January 20.

He also said the party’s full manifesto would be launched on February 3.

“Judge me by my record and manifesto, not false narratives,” he wrote, adding that respect for women could move the country forward.