Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is set to enforce another spell of countrywide 48-hour hartal on Wednesday protesting the death sentence awarded to its two leaders for war crimes.
The fresh shutdown will begin at 6am on Wednesday and end at 6am on Friday.On Sunday, the Islamist party announced a 24-hour strike for Thursday protesting the capital punishment of its policymaker Mir Quasem Ali for war crimes. On the day, the International Crimes Tribunal-2 sentenced him to death for crimes against humanity, including murder, during the Liberation War.
On Monday, it called another 24-hour hartal for Wednesday protesting the verdict of the Supreme Court that upheld the death penalty of its assistant secretary general M Kamaruzzaman.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on the day upheld the tribunal judgment that had sentenced the Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general to death for committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.
In a statement on Monday, Jamaat acting ameer Makbul Ahmed and acting secretary general Dr Shafiqur Rahman said they would enforce a 48-hour shutdown from 6am on Wednesday till 6am on Friday.
Meanwhile, members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been deployed in the capital as well as different parts of the country on Tuesday evening, ahead of the shutdown.
BGB members started patrolling different city strategic points alongside members of other law enforcement agencies, said sources at the BGB headquarters.
Earlier, Jamaat enforced a 60-hour countrywide shutdown in two phases protesting the death sentence against its ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami for war crimes.
The first-phase 24-hour hartal began at 6am on Thursday and ended at 6am on Friday while the 2nd-phase 36-hour shutdownt began at 6am on Sunday ended at 6pm Monday.
Hours after the International Crimes Tribunal-1 sentenced Jamaat ameer Nizami to death for crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War on October 29, the Islamic party announced a 72-hour staggered nationwide shutdown programme.
The 2nd-phase strike was originally called for 48 hours until 6am on Tuesday, but the Islamist party on Monday reduced it by 12 hours due to the holy Ashura being observed in the country. – UNB
