No plan to ban hartal

The government is not mulling a law to ban hartal in the country, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said yesterday.
Calling hartal is a democratic right, but the political parties should enforce hartal in a peaceful manner, he said urging the opposition to refrain from damaging the economy by carrying out subversive activities in the name of hartal.
The minister was talking to newsmen after attending the inaugural session of the 113th Judicial Administration Training Course for the lower court judges at Judicial Administration Training Institute in the capital.
Earlier on Thursday, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) had demanded the government enact a law for stopping hartal for ever in the interest of economic development and political stability in the county.
Killing a bus driver by torching it and vandalising vehicles are not consistent with hartal, mentioned Shafique.
Replying to a query on whether the war crimes trial would be hampered due to strikes enforced by BNP, the law minister said the trial will go on in due course of law, although the strikes can delay the trial proceedings slightly.
The present government has taken steps to complete the trial in order to establish the rule of law, he added.
Shafique, however, ruled out the allegation against the government made by the opposition of influencing the courts, saying that any judge can feel embarrassed during hearing a case, which is nothing new.
Earlier, during the inaugural session of the training programme the law minister urged the judges to play their roles effectively to dispose of cases outside of the court through the Alternative Dispute Resolution.