Govt wants to ban Jamaat thru war trial: Minister
Govt wants to ban Jamaat thru war trial: Minister
The government wants to ban Jamaat-e-Islami, the party which opposed the birth of Bangladesh in 1971, through war crimes trial, Law Minister Anisul Huq said today.
And, the necessary change to the prevailing law to try an organisation for war crimes will be placed before the cabinet in upcoming January, the minister added.
“The proposal will be placed any day of January,” the minister told The Daily Star without being specific. “After the cabinet’s clearance, it will be tabled at the parliament.”
The law is in limelight because it will pave way for the government to try Jamaat-e-Islami, an anti-force of Bangladesh in 1971, for war crimes.
Jamaat, deemed opposed to the spirit of Bangladesh by many, has already been termed by a war crimes tribunal ‘criminal’ for its anti-liberation activities during 1971.
“We can ban Jamaat now upon will. But we want to be clear in our conscience that our government went through legal procedures in the process,” the minister told reporters at his office.
“After holding trial, if we found the organisation (Jamaat) guilty, punishment will be awarded. And their politics will also be banned in legal producers,” he said.
In response to the verdict of war criminal Syed Mohammad Qaiser, the law minister said that the justice reflected the desire of the people and the government.
“We are now seeking to execute the judgement after completion of all the legal procurers,” he said.
The legal procedures include the disposal of the appeal which will be filed to the Supreme Court against the tribunal judgment.
A war crimes tribunal in Dhaka awarded death penalty to former state minister Syed Mohammad Qaisar on seven charges of killing and rape committed during 1971.