Staff Reporter :
The interim government has officially cancelled the gazette notification that banned Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, reversing a decision made by the previous Awami League government.
The Public Security Division of the Home Ministry issued a new gazette on Wednesday, stating that no concrete evidence had been found to prove that Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Chhatra Shibir, or their associated organisations were involved in violent activities.
The original ban, enacted by the Sheikh Hasina government on August 1st, was implemented under Section 18(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act. The move was widely perceived as an attempt to stifle the growing Students Against Discrimination movement, which had gained significant momentum.
Just three days after this decision, on August 5th, the Hasina-led government was toppled, leading to her fleeing to India. The interim government was formed on August 8th and took swift action to reassess the decisions of its predecessor.
Speaking to journalists at the Secretariat on Wednesday, Professor Asif Nazrul, the legal advisor to the interim government, strongly criticised the actions of the ousted government.
He accused the Awami League of attempting to label the student and public revolution as terrorist activities, using the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami and Chhatra Shibir as a tool for political suppression.
“The Awami League wanted to portray the student and public revolution as a terrorist activity,” Nazrul stated. “We, as the current government, cannot be part of that narrative.
We believe that the Awami League did not ban Jamaat from any principled stance. Instead, they used this issue as a political manoeuvre to brutally suppress the student and public uprising.”
Nazrul further argued that the Awami League’s narrative, which labelled Jamaat-BNP as militant and terrorist organisations, was unjust and unsubstantiated.
He emphasised that the current government seeks to distance itself from these actions and narratives, focusing instead on upholding the rights and freedoms of the people.