Caretaker govt lifts ban as no evidence of involvement in “terrorist activities” found against party
Foreign Desk
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s caretaker government revoked a ban on the country’s main, Jamaat-e-Islami party and its affiliated groups on Wednesday, saying it has not found evidence of their involvement in “terrorist activities”.
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s government had banned its rival political party under an anti-terrorism law, blaming it for stoking deadly violence during student-led protests that turned into an uprising against Hasina, forcing her to resign and flee to India on August 5.
A gazette notification on Wednesday by the caretaker government that replaced Hasina’s administration said there was “no specific evidence of involvement of Jamaat” and its affiliates “in terrorist activities”.
The party has denied allegations that it stoked violence and had condemned the ban as “illegal, extrajudicial and unconstitutional.”
Jamaat-e-Islami has not been able to contest elections of 2014, 2018 and 2024 in Bangladesh after a court said in 2013 its registration as a political party conflicted with Bangladesh’s secular constitution.
Shishir Monir, a lawyer for the party, said it will file a petition early next week at the Supreme Court to seek restoration of its registration.
