 "(File) Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. AP")
In a development linked to the political rivalry between the ruling and Opposition parties of Bangladesh, a right-wing hardliner Islamist party Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is facing a complete ban on its activities. This came as the Bangladesh government decided to restore mobile internet connectivity after an 11-day blackout due to anti-quota protests.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League-led 14-party coalition (Ganabandhan) has decided to ban the right-wing political party that lost its registration from the Election Commission in October 2018 following a high court ruling. This decision was reached during a meeting held at Ganabhaban on Monday night, presided over by Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Decision-making at Ganabhaban
The Hasina-chaired meeting saw the attendance of several key figures from the ruling alliance. Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal president Hasanul Huq Inu, Workers Party of Bangladesh president Rashed Khan Menon, Toriqat Federation chairman Syed Najibul Bashar Maizbhandari, and Bangladesh Sammabadi Dal general secretary Dilip Barua were among those who gave their stamp of approval for banning the Jamaat.
Following the deliberations, these leaders publicly announced the decision in front of the Ganabhaban gates, Bangladesh media report. The leaders held the Jamaat and its alliance partner the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, convicted in multiple corruption cases and currently out of prison following repeated suspensions of her jail term by the Hasina government on medical grounds.
Obaidul Quader was quoted as saying, “The BNP and Jamaat are plotting to disrupt the country’s stability. The 14-party alliance has unanimously agreed to ban Jamaat-Shibir to eradicate these anti-national elements for the benefit of the nation.”
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In response, Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman issued a “strong condemnation” to protest the “illegal decision to ban Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami in the meeting of the 14-party alliance”.
Rahman, officially the amir of the party, called the decision to ban the party “illegal, extrajudicial and unconstitutional”.
He said, “Awami League-led 14-party alliance is a political platform. A political party or alliance cannot make any decisions about another political party. The law and constitution of Bangladesh has not given this jurisdiction to anyone. If a party or coalition bans another party, one party will continue to ban the other party. Then there will be no such thing as state discipline.”
What the ban means
Hasina’s ally Maizbhandari said the ban would prevent Jamaat-Shibir, the students’ wing of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, from holding press conferences or engaging in any political activities within Bangladesh.
Awami League leader Biplab Barua hailed this step as a historic victory, asserting that it would help eliminate acts of arson and terrorism in the country. During the meeting, some of the ruling alliance leaders said the home ministry and the law ministry would take the necessary steps to enforce the ban on Jamaat.
Why ban a political party
Prime Minister Hasina has repeatedly blamed the Jamaat for violent activities and collusion with other militant groups during the recent anti-quota agitation that left several dead and the government paralysed for days. More than 200 protesters died during the protests.
The Hasina government and the ruling alliance leaders have accused the Jamaat of hijacking the anti-quota agitation across Bangladesh. The government suspects that the Jamaat works for furthering the agenda of Pakistan Army’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
The ruling alliance leaders argued that the government should have banned Jamaat much earlier. Despite losing its registration, Jamaat continued to operate politically as an ally of the BNP-led 20-party alliance and other opposition factions over the past few years.
Previously, the Awami League and its allies had called for Jamaat’s ban several times, but the government had not taken such a step. However, following recent acts of vandalism across the country, the Sheikh Hasina-led government has now decided to act, according to sources within the ruling party alliance.
Jamaat has a chequered history
The Jamaat was originally founded in undivided India in 1941 by controversial Islamist thinker Sayyid Abul A’la Maududi. It has a controversial history in Bangladesh, particularly in relation to the 1971 Liberation War.
Its role was questioned by international crimes tribunals, which, in their judgments, documented Jamaat’s involvement in forming auxiliary forces for the Pakistan Army. The Jamaat was found to have propped militant groups such as Al-Badr, Razakar, Al Shams, and the Peace Committee that were implicated in various atrocities against Bengalis during the Liberation War of Bangladesh.
Following Bangladesh’s Independence, the government banned Jamaat and other communal outfits for their opposition to the nation’s Liberation War and their collaboration with Pakistani forces. However, these parties were permitted to resume political activities during the rule of late President Ziaur Rahman, the founder of the BNP and the father of Khaleda Zia, after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975.
Following a long run of militant hardliner approach to politics, the Jamaat was deregistered in August 2013 as a political party, following a high court verdict. Its registration with the Election Commission was cancelled for being illegal. The Jamaat appealed this decision, but ultimately lost its registration in 2018.
PM Hasina-led alliance’s decision to ban Jamaat-e-Islami, however, marks a curious development in Bangladesh as it is a rare move when a political formation has taken a call on proscribing its political rival. It remains to be seen how this impacts the political dynamics and stability in Bangladesh.