Jamaat calls countrywide shutdown today

Jamaat-e-Islami on Wednesday called a countrywide dawn-to-dusk shutdown for Thursday protesting at the Supreme Court verdict that upheld the death penalty of war criminal Jamaat-e-Islami leader Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed.
Makbul Ahmad, acting amir of the party, announced the strike through a statement moments after the SC order on the review petition of Mojaheed against his death penalty.
‘On behalf of my party, I am calling for countrywide shutdown for Thursday protesting against the government conspiracy to hang Mojaheed in a false and fabricated case’, said Makbul in the statement.
The capital was on high security alert as the top court fixed Wednesday for hearing on the review petition on the death penalty verdict against the two convicted 1971 war criminals — Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Mojaheed. The court later upheld its previous verdict.
Following the call of hartal, the members of law enforcement agencies, including police and Rapid Action Battalion, were seen posted at key points of the capital.
The paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh was also deployed across the country, according to our correspondents.
‘Police, RAB and other law enforcement agencies are on alert in a coordinated way to thwart any subversive activities’, Dhaka Metropolitan Police joint commissioner Monirul Islam told reporters at DMP headquarters after the announcement of the hartal.
He said the social media platform Facebook and other internet-run communication apps were blocked considering security concerns.
DMP increased security checkpoints at key points. They were seen searching cars, motorcycles and pedestrians.
BGB’s public relations officer Mohsin Reza told New Age that BGB members would patrol city streets from 6pm Wednesday to 6am Thursday.
Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan said there was nothing to be worried about the general strike called by Jamaat.
He said Jamaat, being a political party, could call hartal but he said he believed the people would not respond to the call [hartal].
‘There is nothing to be worried about the hartal’, he said.

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