- 'No evidence found' against Jamaat-e-Islami
- The party denies accusations of involvement in fomenting violence.
- The former prime minister banned his rival political party on August 1.
DHAKA: Bangladesh's caretaker government on Wednesday lifted a ban on the country's main party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and its affiliated groups, saying it had found no evidence of their involvement in “terrorist activities”.
Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government had banned her rival political party under an anti-terrorism law, blaming it for stoking deadly violence during student-led protests that turned into an uprising against Hasina, forcing her to resign and flee to India on Aug. 5.
A notice published in the official gazette on Wednesday by the interim government that replaced Hasina's administration said there was “no specific evidence of involvement of Jamaat” and its affiliates “in terrorist activities.”
The party has denied accusations that it fomented violence and condemned the ban as “illegal, extrajudicial and unconstitutional.”
Jamaat-e-Islami has been barred from contesting elections in Bangladesh in 2014, 2018 and 2024 after a court said in 2013 that its registration as a political party conflicted with Bangladesh's secular constitution.
Shishir Monir, a lawyer for the party, said the party will file a petition early next week in the Supreme Court seeking restoration of its registration.
