Jamaat withdraws hartal after Islam retained as state religion

Jamaat-e-Islami withdrew their countrywide hartal today after the High Court rejected a writ that challenged legality of Islam as state religion of Bangladesh.

The announcement was made in a press release floated this afternoon. Shafiqur Rahman, acting secretary general of Jamaat called off the strike, the press released read.

Jamaat, the party that stood against Bangladesh’s liberation in 1971, called the strike yesterday protesting what it said “a conspiracy to drop Islam as state religion.”

The hartal, however, had little appeal to the general public in Dhaka since this morning as city dwellers were seen going about their usual business as usual.

Public life was almost normal in Dhaka city since morning. Public transports and privately owned vehicles were plying on the city streets in the usual spree.

In the afternoon, the High Court scrapped a 28-year-old writ petition seeking to drop Islam as the state religion. Jamaat’s hartal withdrawal came after the rejection.