Dhaka (TIP): Bangladesh on August 2 banned the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir under anti-terrorism law following nationwide unrest over the quota system for government jobs, accusing the fundamentalist party of instigating protests that left at least 150 people dead. A notification issued by the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed the ban on the Islamist party, a key ally of former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party. The ban on Jamaat, Chhatra Shibir and other associated groups came through an executive order under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
“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 at her here. (PTI)