The leader of Bangladesh's biggest Islamic party on Monday strongly denounced the US-led attack on Afghanistan as an aggression against the Islamic world and called for restraint before it provoked a serious backlash. ''We are against terrorism, but we asked for a crystal clear proof of who are the culprits (for the September 11 attacks on the US) before America takes any reprisal action,'' said Moulana Matiur Rahman Nizami, chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami party.
''But this has not been the case. The US and its allies have already started striking at Afghanistan. The entire Muslim ummah feels outraged by this act of aggression,'' Nizami said. Bangladesh, one of the world's most populous Muslim nations, had earlier offered the United States use of its airspace, ports and other facilities in the event of an attack on Afghanistan.
Other radical Muslim parties said they would react to the ''aggression by enemies of Islam'' on Afghanistan soon.
There was no immediate government reaction to the retaliatory strikes.
Bureau Report