Jamaat calls shutdown

The Jamaat-e-Islami plans to shut the country down for 48 hours beginning Aug 12 to vent its anger over the High Court judgement that cancelled its registration.

The Islamist party in statement issued on Thursday and signed by its acting Secretary General Rafiqul Islam made the disclosure.

The bench of justices M Moazzam Husain, M Enayetur Rahim, and Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque earlier in the declared the party’s registration “illegal and void”.

The party has moved the Appellate Division to overturn the judgement which makes the party’s participation in the looming general elections uncertain.

It has also announced countrywide demonstrations for Saturday.

The statement alleged the High Court verdict contradicted people’s basic rights. “We will continue our movement against this unconstitutional and undemocratic ruling.”

Jamaat, a key ally of the BNP, registered with the EC in 2008.

The Election Commission (EC) lawyer Shahdin Malik on Thursday said, “Jamaat-e-Islami will not be able to take part in the election as a political party.”

But the party’s lawyer Abdur Razzaq commented the party was still eligible for the polls.

Hundreds of leaders and activists took to the streets of Dhaka immediately after the verdict was delivered. Several cars were vandalised and handmade bombs exploded.

Jamaat leader Rafiqul Islam rejected the ‘wrong’ court verdict. “The verdict reflects government’s political motives,” he said in the statement.

The two war crimes tribunals of Bangladesh, in several of their verdicts, accused Jamaat of committing war crimes during the nation’s struggle for freedom. The tribunals also identified it as a ‘criminal organisation’, which the party denied enthusiastically.

After this, the verdict surely will put the party under more pressure.

Several political parties and organisations including Shahbagh’s Ganajagaran Mancha have been demanding outlawing the party which sided with Pakistan Army during Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971.

Millions of Bangalees were killed and raped then. Many believe the number of people killed in the war would have been much fewer had the Pakistan Army not been guided by their collaborators.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Law Qamrul Islam has said the verdict would provide a ‘solid foundation to the legal process’ to ban the party.

The 14-Party Alliance that the Awami League leads has welcomed the High Court verdict.

Awami League’s Joint General Secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif told bdnews24.com Jamaat was no longer a political group, but just a criminal front.

The EC has said it will take necessary steps after taking a close look at the verdict.

Jamaat leader Islam also claimed his party to be Bangladesh’s ‘main’ Islamist party and said, “The amended (party) constitution still contains 'Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim' and mentions Islam as the state religion. Under such circumstance the question to cancel Jamaat’s registration does not arise.”

He also sees the verdict as nothing but “part of the government conspiracies to bar Jamaat from taking part in the upcoming national elections.”

In the statement, he quoted a Jan 2010 EC document and said,” Each of the eleven parties, except two, which secured EC registration, has faulty charter and contradicts the Representation of the People Order 1972.”

“The High Court has opened up opportunities to cancel registration of other political parties with the verdict,” the statement added.