Bangladesh's Islamist party projects force with a big rally in Dhaka

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party rallied in the capital on Saturday to show their strength before an election expected next year, as the South Asian nation stands at a crossroads after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

An interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus said that the next election would be held in April. But his administration didn't rule out a possibility of polls in February, which has been strongly demanded by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies.

Jamaat-e-Islami, which had sided with Pakistan during Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971, had said that it would mobilize 1 million people on Saturday.

While Hasina was in power from 2009 until she was toppled in student-led protests last year and fled to India, top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami were either executed or jailed on charges of crimes against humanity and other serious crimes in 1971.

In late March 1971, Pakistan’s military had launched a violent crackdown on the city of Dhaka, which was then part of East Pakistan, to quell a rising nationalist movement seeking independence for what is today known as Bangladesh.

The party on Saturday placed a seven-point demand on the Yunus-led administration to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election; justice for all mass killings; essential reforms and the proclamation and implementation of a charter involving last year’s mass uprising. It also wants the introduction of a proportional representation system in the election.

Thousands of supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami had spent the night on the Dhaka University campus before the rally. On Saturday morning, they continued to stream toward Suhrawardy Udyan, a historical site where the Pakistani army had surrendered to a joint force of India and Bangladesh on Dec. 16, 1971, ending the nine-month war.

“We are here for a new Bangladesh, where Islam would be the guiding principle of governance, where good and honest people will rule the country, and there will be no corruption,” Iqbal Hossain, 40, told The Associated Press. “We will sacrifice our lives, if necessary, for this cause.”

Many young supporters in their 20s and 30s were also present.

“Under Jamaat-e-Islami, this country will have no discrimination. All people will have their rights. Because we follow the path of the holy book, Quran,” said Mohidul Morsalin Sayem, a 20-year-old student. “If all the Islamist parties join hands soon, nobody will be able to take power from us.”

The party's chief, Shafiqur Rahman, said that the struggle in 2024 was to eliminate “fascism” from the country, but this time there will be another fight against corruption and extortion.

Rahman, 66, fainted twice as he addressed his supporters, but quickly returned to continue to speak surrounded by other leaders on the stage.

"How will the future Bangladesh look like? There will be another fight ... We will do whatever is necessary and win that fight (against corruption) collectively by uniting the strength of the youth to eliminate corruption,” Rahman said.

It wasn’t immediately clear why he fainted. He was later taken to a hospital for tests.

The event was the first time that the party was allowed to hold a rally at the site since 1971. To many, the decision signaled a shift supported by Yunus' government in which Islamists are gaining momentum with further fragmentation of Bangladesh’s politics and the shrinking of liberal forces.

Hasina's Awami League party, in a statement on X, reacted sharply for allowing it to hold the rally on that politically sensitive site.

It said that the move "marks a stark betrayal with the national conscience and constitutes a brazen act of undermining millions of people — dead and alive — who fought against the evil axis (in 1971),” the statement said.

Hasina, whose father was the independence leader and the country’s first president, is a fierce political rival of Jamaat-e-Islami.

The party is expected to contest 300 parliamentary seats and is attempting to forge alliances with other Islamist groups and parties in hopes of becoming a third force in the country behind the BNP, headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and Hasina’s former ruling Awami League party.

The party had previously shared power with the BNP, and it had two senior Cabinet members under Zia in 2001-2006. After Hasina was ousted, tensions grew between parties over reforms agenda undertaken by the Yunus government, which is facing challenges to establish order in the country.

The government has been criticized by Hasina's party and others for using force in a confrontation with protesters in a Hasina stronghold on Wednesday, where four people died. Their families complained that authorities didn't conduct autopsies and hurriedly buried or cremated their relatives.

Yunus’ office said that the government was doing everything lawfully in Gopalganj, the district where the violence occurred.

Jamaat-e-Islami has now established close ties with a new political party formed by students who led the anti-Hasina uprising. Both Jamaat-e-Islami and the students' National Citizen Party also promote an anti-India campaign.

The Yunus-led administration has banned the Awami League, and Hasina has been in exile in India since Aug. 5. She is facing charges of crimes against humanity. The United Nations said in February that up to 1,400 people may have been killed during the anti-Hasina uprising in July-August last year.

Leader of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, Shafiqur Rahman, addresses a rally in a show of strength ahead of elections expected next year, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Thousands of supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami turn out at a rally in a show of strength ahead of elections expected next year, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Thousands of supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami attend a rally in a show of strength ahead of elections expected next year, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Thousands of supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami attend a rally in a show of strength ahead of elections expected next year, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Thousands of supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami attend a rally in a show of strength ahead of elections expected next year, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami attend a rally in a show of strength ahead of elections expected next year, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Leader of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, Shafiqur Rahman, addresses a rally in a show of strength ahead of elections expected next year, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Thousands of supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami turn out at a rally in a show of strength ahead of elections expected next year, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Thousands of supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami attend a rally in a show of strength ahead of elections expected next year, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Thousands of supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami attend a rally in a show of strength ahead of elections expected next year, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Thousands of supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami attend a rally in a show of strength ahead of elections expected next year, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Josh Allen took a pounding, doled out punishment and delivered Buffalo its first road playoff victory in more than three decades, 27-24 over Jacksonville in the AFC's wild-card opener Sunday.

With linebacker Devin Lloyd bearing down on him, Allen found Brandin Cooks for 36 yards just before the two-minute warning and then capped the go-ahead drive with a 1-yard touchdown run in which Jacksonville let him score.

On the play before his score, Allen gained 10 yards on a sneak, refusing to go down while being pushed and pulled to the goal line.

“Just trusting everybody on the field,” Allen said. "Great win, great team win. All we’ve got to do is play our game, find a way to win a football game. We’re on to the next.”

Buffalo will play at Denver or New England next week, a chance to build a road winning streak after a decades-long skid.

“We got to go do it again. We got to go do it again," Allen said.

Focused on getting rid of the ball quickly and negating Jacksonville’s pass rush most of the game, Allen completed 28 of 35 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown. He ran for two scores, was sacked just once and played turnover-free football. Khalil Shakir caught 12 passes for 82 yards for the Bills.

It was necessary considering NFL rushing leader James Cook was mostly bottled up, finishing with 46 yards on 15 carries.

“You know, we’re going to play for each other, we’re gonna fight to the very last second, and you saw that here today,” Allen said.

Buffalo (13-5) intercepted a deflected pass on Jacksonville’s final drive to seal the victory.

The Bills had been 0-5 on the road in the playoffs under coach Sean McDermott, starting with a 10-3 loss at Jacksonville in the 2017 wild-card round. The Bills had dropped eight consecutive postseason games on the road since winning at Miami in the 1992 AFC championship game. It had been the NFL’s second-longest, active road playoff skid.

The Jaguars (13-5) took the lead with 4:03 to play on Trevor Lawrence’s third TD pass of the game, but they couldn’t hold it against the NFL’s reigning MVP.

Lawrence completed 18 of 30 passes for 207 yards, with TD throws to Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington and Travis Etienne. Washington finished with seven catches for 107 yards.

Coach Liam Coen surely will get questioned for not running the ball more against one of the league’s most porous run defenses.

Etienne and rookie Bhayshul Tuten combined for 118 yards on just 14 carries.

Allen, meanwhile, showed his toughness. He twice ended up in the medical tent in the first half but didn’t miss a snap. He got hammered in the head twice during one play, with Josh Hines-Allen landing on the side of his helmet right after teammate Travon Walker tackled him to the ground. His left ear appeared to be bleeding, but he got checked out and returned.

Allen later slammed his right hand into the helmet of right guard O’Cyrus Torrence after releasing the ball. And he completed the injury trifecta when his left leg got bent awkwardly on his 2-yard TD run.

Allen stayed on the ground following that last hit from Hines-Allen and gingerly walked to the sideline and back into the tent. But, as usual, the 6-foot-5, 237-pounder powered through and was back on the field making plays.

The Jaguars had a chance to tie the game at the end of the first half, but Cam Little was wide left on a 54-yarder. The miss ended a streak of 20 consecutive field goals made for the second-year pro from Arkansas.

Little kicked the two longest field goals in NFL history this season — a 68-yarder at Las Vegas and a 67-yarder last week against Tennessee.

He got a chance after the Bills were flagged for being offside following a 34-yard completion that got Little into range.

Bills S Jordan Poyer (hamstring) was ruled out to start the third quarter, a huge loss for an already banged-up secondary. It left the Bills to play with rookie Jordan Hancock and second-year Cole Bishop. WR Gabe Davis, who played for Jacksonville last season, injured his left knee in the fourth and was carted to the locker room and ruled out. WR Tyrell Shavers injured his left knee during a punt return but returned in the second half.

Jaguars RG Patrick Mekari (back) left in the third. LG Ezra Cleveland also was banged up and alternating plays with rookie Wyatt Milum. WR Parker Washington was evaluated for a concussion in the first half and cleared to return.

The Bills will play at Denver or New England next weekend.

The Jaguars will turn their attention toward improving a roster that lacked enough difference-makers on both sides of the ball.

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Buffalo Bills' Ray Davis, bottom right, fumbles a kickoff return from the Jacksonville Jaguars as teammate Baylon Spector (54) and Jacksonville Jaguars' Devin Lloyd (0) try to recover the ball during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) is tackled by Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (41) during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington (11) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen gets up after collecting a first down near the Jacksonville Jaguars end zone later in the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) pushes in for a first down as Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Arik Armstead (91) tries to stop him during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)