Lukewarm Jamaat strike in Dhaka

Jamaat-e-Islami's countrywide strike to press for the release of its leader and convicted war criminal Delwar Hossain Sayedee is yet to make a tangible impact on Dhaka on Sunday.

Party activists were not seen anywhere in the city on the first two hours of the strike that started from 6am.

Around 6.15 am, Islami Chhatra Shibir activists at Dhaka's Shewraparha area tried to take out a procession but the police dispersed them.

Shibir is the student affiliate of Jamaat-e-Islami.

Two students were arrested at Shewraparha, said Mirpur Police Station OC Md Sala Uddin.

No other pro-strike activity was reported from elsewhere in Dhaka, though traffic was thinner than usual.

But public transport was seen plying in the capital.

Long-haul buses from terminals at Gabtoli, Mohakhali and Sayedabad, however, remained suspended.

Transport workers said, some short-haul services were being operated.

Launch services from Dhaka's river terminal and trains from the Kamalapur Railway Station were plying normally.

Tight security is in place to avert any violence. RAB and police personnel have been deployed throughout the capital since early morning.

Delwar Sayedee was given death sentence by the International Crimes Tribunal for crimes against humanity in 1971 in Feb, 2013.

He appealed against the verdict and the Supreme Court's appellate division reduced it to 'imprisonment until death' on Wednesday.

The party has called a 48-hour countrywide shutdown on Thursday and Sunday to push for the unconditional release of Sayedee.

Jamaat supporters had unleashed large-scale violence in Feb last year when the war crimes ordered death for Sayedee.

In the days after that verdict, 70 people including policemen lost their lives in the violence. At least 200 others were injured and attacks were carried out on Hindus.