 "Largest Islamist party can freely participate in elections and hold rallies – Firstpost")
Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party, was banned on August 1, just four days before the dramatic ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The party is now free to participate in public activities.
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Bangladesh’s interim government lifted a ban on the country’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, on Wednesday (28 August). The ban was imposed in the final days of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s rule.
The government decree, which takes effect immediately, lifts the ban imposed on August 1 that prohibited the party from holding public meetings.
Jamaat-e-Islami, which has millions of followers, has been banned from contesting elections since 2013 after a court ruled that its charter violated the Muslim-majority country’s secular constitution.
The party was excluded from the 2014, 2018 and 2024 elections. Hasina won her fifth term in January despite allegations of a rigged and discredited electoral process with no real opposition.
Why was Jamaat banned?
In July, Hasina’s government accused opposition parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami, of exploiting student protests against a quota law in Bangladesh to foment unrest. Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of Hasina’s ruling Awami League, said at the time that the decision to ban Jamaat and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir was due to their “past and present activities”.
Just days before her ouster, Hasina’s government had officially banned the Jamaat under an anti-terror law. However, the ban was lifted by the interim government on Wednesday, saying there was “no concrete evidence of involvement in terrorism and violence.” The decree also gave the Jamaat back the ability to hold public meetings.
Cases of enforced disappearances are being investigated
The interim government has also launched an investigation into hundreds of enforced disappearances allegedly committed by security forces during Hasina’s tenure. Human Rights Watch reported last year that there had been more than 600 disappearances since Hasina came to power in 2009 and nearly 100 people were still missing. Many of those arrested belonged to Hasina’s rivals, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami.
Jamaat-e-Islami remains one of the most important political forces in Bangladesh, along with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. However, the future of Hasina’s once-dominant Awami League is now uncertain following its dramatic loss of power.
With contributions from AFP
