No govt records supporting blacklist claim: Hezbut Tawheed

Hezbut Tawheed has claimed that it has been falsely labelled as a "militant organisation" and "blacklisted" by various national newspapers and online platforms, despite the absence of any official government notification to that effect.

Citing sources within the Ministry of Home Affairs and intelligence agencies, the organisation stated on Saturday that there is no record of Hezbut Tawheed having been blacklisted by the government.

Referring to a report published in Dainik Amar Desh on 25 April 2009, the group noted that the then State Minister for Home Affairs Sohel Taj had named 12 Islamic organisations—including Hizb-ut-Tahrir—as banned militant groups, and directed law enforcement agencies to monitor their activities.

Hezbut Tawheed emphasised that it is a distinct entity from Hizb-ut-Tahrir and should not be conflated with it. It further asserted that, in the 16 years since Sohel Taj’s verbal statement, no official order or gazette notification has been issued to substantiate his claim—raising questions over the legal standing of such assertions.

The group also alleged that, in spite of this lack of official documentation, several national dailies—including The Daily Ittefaq on 2 November 2019—have described it as a blacklisted militant organisation. These reports have been widely cited online, including on Wikipedia, leading to administrative and social harassment of its members.

According to Hezbut Tawheed, thousands of its followers have faced wrongful legal action, while many have experienced significant difficulties in their professional and personal lives as a result of what it described as baseless media coverage and misleading narratives.

The organisation added that, although certain case documents have referred to it as "banned" or "blacklisted," police investigations have failed to find any evidence linking Hezbut Tawheed to militant activity.