Jamaat hartal largely ignored

The countrywide 24-hour general strike called by the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami starting from 6:00am on Wednesday was largely ignored in the capital as traffic was almost as usual, markets were mostly open and businesses functioned almost normally. Most of the intercity transports, however, remained off the road although some of them plied on the highways. Rail and water communications remained functioning. About 200 hundred leaders and activists of the Jamaat and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir were arrested across the country. The Jamaat called the strike immediately after the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence of its secretary general Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed on charges of crimes against humanity, including the murders of intellectuals, committed during the 1971 war of independence. In a release, the Jamaat said the strike was called in protest against ‘conspiracy to kill’ Mojaheed. Hardly any pickets were seen. Jamaat and Shibir men, however, brought out flash processions at Khilgaon, Dhanmondi, Hazaribagh, Kafrul, Khilkhet, Bhatara and Rampura in the city. A large number of law enforcers remained deployed in different parts of the capital. The Police arrested about 200 Jamaat and Shibir men, including 53 in Rajshahi, 23 in Khulna, 17 in Meherpur, 12 in Rangpur, 10 in Chandpur, 8 in Narail and 5 in Lakshmipur. The International Crimes Tribunal-2 on July 17, 2013, sentenced Mojaheed to death on seven counts, including murders of intellectuals, genocide, abduction and persecution. New Age correspondent in Rangpur reported that the hartal had no effect on normal life in Rangpur although Jamaat and Shibir brought out flash processions at places. Police arrested 12 Jamaat and Shibir men at different upazillas between Tuesday evening and Wednesday noon, said district superintendent of police Abdur Razzak. New Age correspondent in Gazipur reported that a group of Jamaat men brought out a procession in the National University, Signboard and Board Bazar areas in the morning and vandalised some vehicles on the Dhaka-Tangail highway. New Age Correspondent in Sylhet reported that hartal could put no visible impact on normal life in Sylhet city and elsewhere in the district. Jamaat and Shibir activists brought out sudden processions at Shibganj, Kazitula, Shah Paran Gate and Dakkhin Surma in the city. Shopping centres opened in the afternoon. Long-route buses, however, did not left the city terminals before evening, transport owners said. New Age correspondent in Khulna reported that the police arrested Satkhira Jamaat amir former lawmaker Abdul Khaleque Mandol on Tuesday at Khalilnagar women’s madrassah under Satkhira sadar upazila. Police recovered a pistol with two bullets from him, said Satkhira sadar police station officer-in-charge Emdad Sheikh. News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net