India concerned over ban on Awami League 'without due process'

A spokesperson says they are "concerned about the restriction of freedom of expression and the narrowing of the political space"

The Indian government has expressed concern over the ban on the activities of the ousted Awami League and called for free, fair, and inclusive elections in Bangladesh.

Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the comment at a weekly media briefing on Tuesday.

He said, “The ban on the Awami League without due process is a worrying development.

“As a democratic country, India is concerned about the restriction of freedom of expression and the narrowing of the political space.

“We strongly support the holding of free, fair, and inclusive elections in Bangladesh at the earliest.”

The interim government has imposed a ban on all activities of the Awami League, ousted in a student uprising, under the Anti-Terrorism Act until the trial at the International Crimes Tribunal is over.

The International Crimes Tribunal amended the law on Sunday through a notification, allowing the party that led Bangladesh’s independence movement to be tried for “crimes against humanity” related to the suppression of the July movement.

The Election Commission (EC) then suspended the registration of one of the oldest political parties in the country in a notification on Monday, striking it from the list of contenders in future elections.

In the face of protests by several parties, including the National Citizen Party (NCP) and Jamaat-e-Islami, the Advisory Council decided to ban the party's activities.

Although the BNP did not participate in the protests at Dhaka’s Shahbagh, it welcomed the government’s decision.

The notification read, “Until the trial in the International Crimes Tribunal is completed, all activities including any kind of publication, media, online and social media, including any kind of campaign, procession, meeting, gathering, conference, etc, by the Bangladesh Awami League and all its affiliates, affiliates and fraternal organisations are prohibited.”