DHAKA: Bangladesh’s law minister, Anisul Huq, announced on Tuesday that the government will move to ban the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party and its affiliated students’ wing, Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir.
The decision, set to be implemented using “executive powers” by Wednesday, follows accusations from the ruling Awami League party-led coalition that the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing were involved in violent incidents during recent student protests.
Addressing reporters in Dhaka, Huq stated that the ban was necessary due to allegations of violence perpetrated by the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student faction.
The announcement has sparked significant controversy, with the Jamaat-e-Islami denouncing the move as “illegal” and accusing the government of attempting to “hide its killing of the students.” The opposition party said that the government’s action is a diversion from its own alleged role in the violence.
The Jamaat-e-Islami party’s registration was previously cancelled by the Bangladesh Election Commission in 2013 under the Awami League-led government. The recent announcement represents a new phase in the ongoing political turmoil.
The unrest began earlier this month with student protests demanding reforms to the public job quota system. Students were calling for a reduction in the quota, which had been set at 56%, including a 30% allocation for relatives of war veterans. The government responded by reducing the quota to 7%, with 5% reserved specifically for the children of war veterans.
The protests, which turned violent, resulted in significant casualties. The Home Ministry reports that at least 150 people were killed during several days of unrest. However, independent sources and local media, including the Daily Star newspaper, have reported a higher death toll, estimating that at least 266 people were killed, many of whom had sustained bullet wounds. Thousands more were injured in the clashes.
In response to the escalating violence, the government imposed a nationwide curfew and deployed the military to restore order. Over 10,000 people have been arrested in the past 12 days, including many opposition party members.
