Jamaat to resist election without caretaker govt

The Jamaat-e-Islami yesterday held a rally in the capital's Arambagh despite police's announcement earlier that the Islamist party would not be allowed to organise any gathering.

At the rally, its leaders said they would resist any election unless it is held under a caretaker government.

The party also called for a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal today.

Vowing to enforce Sharia law in the country, acting Jamaat ameer Mujibur Rahman said no man-made laws would be allowed to be in force.

Earlier, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said Jamaat, which is not registered with the Election Commission as a political party, would not be given permission to hold the rally.

However, police yesterday seemed to have soften their stance and let Jamaat hold the rally at Arambagh after several thousand Jamaat activists broke through barricades in front of the Notre Dame College around 12:30pm. Police did not allow Jamaat men to cross the Arambagh intersection and head towards Shapla Chattar.

Sources in police told this newspaper that Jamaat was given a verbal permission for the rally at Arambagh.

Addressing the rally, Mujibur, also a former lawmaker, said, "We will revoke all laws enacted by the imperialists, socialists, and secularists.

"We will establish an Islamic welfare state ... ."

He claimed that Awami League activists killed Jamaat activists on this day (October 28) in 2006.

He said they want to take revenge for the killings by fulfilling the desire to enforce Sharia law.

"We will not allow any election to be held without the caretaker government system. We will resist it even at the cost of our lives."

Around a week ago, Jamaat called for a rally in Shapla Chattar area to press home various demands, including the reinstatement of the caretaker government system.

Yesterday evening, acting Jamaat secretary general ATM Masum through a statement called for hartal and alleged that over 300 Jamaat activists and leaders had been arrested to foil its rally at Shapla Chattar.

The EC in 2018 scrapped the registration of Jamaat following a High Court verdict that declared the party's registration illegal.