Jamaat calls hartal for Aug 12-13
BNP silent
Aggrieved by cancellation of the party's registration with the EC, Jamaat supporters yesterday set alight 17 vehicles in Kajla area of Demra. Photo: Banglar Chokh
Jamaat-e-Islami yesterday called a two-day countrywide hartal from August 12, protesting the High Court verdict that declared illegal the party's registration with the Election Commission.
Jamaat acting secretary general Rafiqul Islam Khan made the call hours after the HC judgment.
The announcement of the shutdown has created worry among Eid holidaymakers, as they will face problems in returning to their workplaces after the vacation.
The party also announced countrywide demonstrations for tomorrow protesting “the government's conspiracy to destroy Jamaat”.
Photo: Banglar Chokh
Last month, Jamaat and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir enforced five days' countrywide hartal, four of them at a stretch, protesting the verdicts in the war crimes cases against Jamaat Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and its former ameer Ghulam Azam.
Meanwhile, different political parties except the main opposition BNP yesterday hailed the HC verdict on Jamaat's registration with the EC.
Talking to The Daily Star, two members of BNP standing committee said acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was supposed to give the party's formal reaction.
They declined to speak further on the issue.
Leaders of Awami League (AL), Workers Party of Bangladesh, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal expressed their satisfaction over the verdict, and hoped that the EC would now take proper steps to cancel registration of Jamaat.
"Through the verdict, it has been proved once again that Jamaat is a terrorist organisation. If it tries to create anarchy, actions will be taken against the troublemakers," AL presidium member Kazi Zafrullah said.
He said Jamaat should have been banned long time ago. Zafrullah, however, said they would have to wait until the final judgment comes from the Appellate Division.
Another AL presidium member Nooh-Ul-Alam Lenin said it had been proved from the verdict that Jamaat was a fascist organisation.
"Although the party had opposed our independence, it did not show any remorse for its actions in the last 42 years," he added.
AL Joint Secretary General Mahbubul Alam Hanif said "We hope the EC will take necessary measures to cancel registration of Jamaat."
Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon said "We had long been waiting for this verdict."
"As they [Jamaat] were against the country's independence and did not abide by our law, they must be banned," he added.
Sharif Nurul Ambia, general secretary of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, said people's expectations had been fulfilled through the verdict.
"But the spirit of our Liberation War will not be fulfilled until the final judgment comes," he added.
Sammilito Samajik Andolan and Samprodaikota-Jongibad Birodhi Mancha, a pro-liberation organisation, hailed the verdict and demanded its immediate execution.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments