Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman has said that if Jamaat gets the opportunity to run the country, its relationship with India will be based on mutual respect.

"We cannot change our neighbour. We want to respect our neighbour, and expect the same kind of respect from them," the Jamaat Ameer said at a views exchange meeting with journalists in New York on Tuesday.

The Jamaat chief is on a week-long visit to the USA.

In response to a question from journalists regarding relations with India, he said, "India is 26 times larger than Bangladesh. Their resources and manpower are much greater than ours. We respect their position considering that. However, they must also respect the existence of our small territory and nearly 18 crore people. This is our demand. If that happens, not only will both neighbours live well, but one neighbour will also be respected in the global arena because of the other."

In response to another question on how rights of people of different religious communities would be ensured, he said, "We have already answered this through our activities over the past one and a half years. I want to make one thing very clear — over the last 54 years, people of different religions have migrated from Bangladesh. We are not in favour of forcibly stopping anything, nor are we in favour of forcibly expelling anyone from the country."

He further said, "We do not believe in the concept of majority and minority. We say, we need unity. Using the terms majority and minority itself creates division, which sets one group against another. For the past 54 years, we have witnessed the horrors of such divisions — we do not want to see that anymore."

He added, "Based on our heritage, culture, and civilisation, we have for centuries built a tradition of living together in harmony, and we want to re-establish that tradition."

The Jamaat Ameer said, "We believe that if anyone has unlawfully occupied another person's property during the past 54 years and there is evidence of it, we stand for returning that property — that is our position."

When asked whether there is any possibility of meeting with any top political leaders in the United States during his visit, the Jamaat Ameer said, "I am avoiding this question for the time being, in the greater interest."

Bangladeshi journalists based in New York were present at the meeting.