Bangladesh bans Jamaat-e-Islami

NEW DELHI: In a major development, the ruling Awami League-led 14-party alliance in Bangladesh on Monday announced it will ban radical Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Chhatra Shibir for hijacking student protest that resulted in the death of over 200 people.

ET was the first to write how Jamaat, backed by ISI, has hijacked protest that led to mayhem and arsoning. Jamaat was earlier banned from participating in elections in Bangladesh. Entire Jamaat leadership was opposed to the Independence movement and sided with the Pakistan Army in 1971.

The decision was taken in a meeting of the alliance chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her residence. "The alliance has agreed to ban Jamaat-Shibir politics on the charges of killing common people and destroying state assets by creating various issues and carrying out militant attacks," AL General Secretary Obaidul Qader told reporters in Dhaka.


Rashed Khan Menon, a central leader of the alliance and president of the Workers Party, said, "We unanimously decided to ban Jamaat-Shibir. Now it is the responsibility of the government to implement it."

Other central leaders, including Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) President Hasanul Haq Inu, were present at the meeting.