Hazari made AL advisory council member

Controversial former lawmaker Joynal Abedin Hazari was made advisory council member of the ruling Awami League yesterday.

Obaidul Quader, general secretary of the party, handed the letter of appointment to Hazari at the AL’s Dhanmondi office.

The move comes amid a crackdown on controversial leaders of the AL and its front and associate bodies.

AL President Sheikh Hasina repeatedly said controversial leaders will not be spared, no matter how powerful they are.

The letter signed by Quader, says, “[We] hope that your effort, talent and wisdom will help breathe new life into the organisation.”

Hazari is the 44th member of the AL’s advisory council which has senior leaders like Amir Hossain Amu and Tofail Ahmed as members.

Hazari was accused in around 40 cases. He was acquitted in all of them.

During the 1996-2001 AL rule, allegations of criminal activities against Hazari made frequent headlines. He was the general secretary of the party’s Feni unit from 1984 to 2004. He was thrice lawmaker from Feni-2.

He later left the country after the caretaker government took over in 2001. The joint forces of army and police raided Hazari’s house in Feni in his absence on August 17, 2001, during the caretaker government and seized arms and ammunition.

In June 2003, the AL had formed a three-member committee to enquire the criminal activities of Hazari. The committee examined all the previous allegations against him.

A number of victims of Hazari and his men’s torture that included journalist Tipu Sultan made statements before the committee.

Hazari returned to the country following the AL’s landslide win in the 2009 general elections. But he could not reclaim his parliament seat.

Since then, he became inactive. Earlier this month, he collected a grant of Tk 40 lakh from prime minister for medical treatment.

He currently edits a weekly publication called “Saptahik Hazarika”.