Interim govt revokes ban on Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami

Dhaka, August 28

Bangladesh’s interim government Wednesday revoked a ban on the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir, less than a month after it was imposed on the Islamist party by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was forced to resign following massive protests against her government.

“It (lifting the ban) will come under effect immediately,” the Home Ministry said in a gazette notification, noting that there was no particular evidence against the organisation.

The erstwhile Awami League government led by Hasina had imposed a ban on Jamaat on August 1, 2024, accusing the Islamist party as a “militant and terrorist” organisation.

The development came a day after Attorney General Mohammad Asaduzzaman urged the High Court to summarily reject a writ petition seeking an order on the government to ban Hasina’s Awami League as a political party and scrap its registration.

The interim government’s law adviser, equivalent to a minister, Asif Nazrul on Wednesday told reporters he was opposed to the call for a ban on Awami League or any other political parties unless there was any strong evidence of their involvement in terrorist activities.

The Jamaat opposed Bangladesh’s 1971 independence from Pakistan and sided with the Pakistani troops during the Liberation War. The Jamaat, founded in 1941 in undivided India, was first banned in 1972, the year Bangladesh framed its Constitution.