• Executive order on Thursday banned Jamaat’s political activities
• Investigation into Jamaat began in August 2013

TDS Desk:

Despite investigations into the Jamaat-e-Islami’s alleged crimes against humanity during the Liberation War being completed a decade ago, no charges have been framed against the organization.

Legal amendments are necessary, causing the proceedings at the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) to remain stalled.

Following an executive order issued on Thursday banning Jamaat’s political activities under the Anti-Terorrism Act, the question arises again: Will the organization now be tried as a terrorist group?

The Home Ministry’s notification referenced the ICT’s verdicts holding Jamaat and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir responsible for war crimes and the Appellate Division’s ruling that revoked Jamaat’s registration with the Election Commission.

In its judgment in the war crimes case against former Jamaat leader Ghulam Azam, the ICT labelled his party as a “terrorist organization” and identified him as a “mastermind” behind the war crimes.

Several ICT verdicts have highlighted Jamaat’s direct involvement in war crimes during the 1971 Liberation War, with at least two rulings categorizing Jamaat as a “criminal” outfit.

Considering these observations, the High Court in a ruling on August 1, 2013 revoked Jamaat’s registration.

Subsequently, on December 8, 2018, the government issued a notification cancelling the party’s registration.

When Jamaat appealed against the High Court’s decision, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling on November 19, 2023, effectively stripping the party of its right to participate in elections.

However, there were no restrictions on their political activities.

Shahriar Kabir, president of the Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, hailed the long-awaited fulfilment of the demand for a ban on Jamaat’s political activities as a significant victory, thanking the government.

However, he cautioned that merely banning Jamaat would not eradicate terrorism, adding that its organizational network and economic empire must be brought under government control.

Jamaat operated numerous educational institutions that facilitated militant recruitment and NGOs, which also needed to be regulated to eliminate fundamentalism, Shahriar said.

He emphasized that Jamaat was not just a party but an ideology, which legitimized its actions in the name of religion, as it had done during the 1971 genocide and rapes.

Unless politics in the name of religion was prohibited, they would reemerge under a different guise, said Shahriar, a journalist, activist and author.

ICT Prosecutor Tapas Kanti Baul said the entire nation was aware of Jamaat’s role in the Liberation War and that it was a “criminal organization” through the ICT.

“Rightly it should have no right to engage in politics. I commend the notification… Given its role in 1971, it should be tried as an organization. To target its financial institutions and ideological stronghold, legislation needs to be passed in parliament.”

When asked whether the government could penalize the party as criminals without a court ruling, Law Minister Anisul Huq said in his office at the Secretariat: “The law you mention, the ICT Act, has provisions we have arranged for amendment. Despite the ban, they can still be punished. However, since they are banned, the aspect of prohibition will not be part of the punishment.”

Following the initiation of trials for crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War, an official investigation into the Jamaat-e-Islami began in August 2013.

On March 25, 2014, the investigating agency submitted the final report to the ICT’s prosecution branch.

The government then said the existing ICT Act did not provide for the trial and punishment of organizations.

To date, the report has not been presented to the tribunal for charge framing.