Bangladesh Bans Jamaat-e-Islami Under Anti-Terrorism Law

Bangladesh on Friday banned the Jamaat-e-Islami and students’ organization Islami Chhatra Shibir affiliated to it under anti-terrorism law.

The ban on Jamaat, Chhatra Shibir and other associated groups came through an executive order under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The Bangladesh government took this decision following nationwide unrest over the quota system for government jobs. The Bangladesh government alleged that the fundamentalist party instigated the protests that left at least 150 people dead.

The banned Islamist party is a key ally of former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

“They (Jamaat-Shibir and BNP) just used the students as their shield,” PM Sheikh Hasina said on Thursday when Italian Ambassador Antonio Alessandro called on her.