The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has granted a petition to restore the appeal made against the verdict that declared the registration of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami illegal. The Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Dr Syed Refaat Ahmed and consisting of four judges, issued this order on Tuesday. Barrister Ehsan Abdullah Siddique and Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir represented Jamaat in the court. As a result of today's order, the appeal against the verdict that declared Jamaat-e-Islami's registration illegal will again be heard in the highest court. After the order, lawyer Shishir Monir told journalists, “The Appellate Division had earlier dismissed the appeal during the hearing regarding the cancellation of Jamaat's registration because no lawyer was present on behalf of the party. “However, as constitutional questions were involved in the case, the High Court had referred it directly to the Appellate Division. The petition was made to restore the appeal as its dismissal without a hearing was deemed inappropriate. Along with this, there was also a petition for delayed forgiveness. The Appellate Division granted our petition. Now, the appeal regarding the cancellation of Jamaat's registration will be heard again.” After resolving a writ petition, the High Court issued a verdict on August 1, 2013, cancelling and declaring the registration of Jamaat-e-Islami illegal. Subsequently, on December 7, 2018, the Election Commission (EC) issued a notification cancelling the registration of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. Later, Jamaat appealed against the High Court's verdict. However, since Jamaat's main lawyer was absent during the appeal hearing against the High Court's verdict, the Appellate Division, led by the then-Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan, issued a dismissal order on November 19 last year. Consequently, the High Court's verdict declaring the registration of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami illegal remained upheld. Nevertheless, the appeal that had been dismissed was restored for hearing after the fall of the Awami League government. On September 2, the chamber court set the petition for hearing in the full bench of the Appellate Division on October 21. However, on October 22, the matter came up in the hearing schedule of the Division. Will serve, not rule people if given opportunity: Jamaat Ameer Meanwhile, during the ongoing anti-discrimination movement, on August 1, the then Awami League government declared a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir. The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification banning Jamaat, Chhatra Shibir, and their other affiliated organisations under section 18(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act. However, on August 28, the decision to ban Jamaat and Shibir was revoked through a notification.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud today said that BNP has instructed Jamaat-e-Islami to give statement about resisting the upcoming national election. “The statements made during Jamaat's recent rally reflect BNP's stance. They advocated for resisting the national election, similar to what occurred in 2014 when many people lost their lives in violent clashes. Jamaat is the main partner of the BNP-led coalition, and the directive to resist the election came from BNP itself,” he said while addressing the media at the Ministry of Information's conference room in the Secretariat on Sunday. Also Read: Jamaat holds first rally after a decade, demands polls under caretaker govt He further said, “The people of Bangladesh will not allow a recurrence of the events that took place in 2013, 2014, and 2015. The intentions behind their recent statement were made evident. It is necessary to address this situation.” Responding to questions regarding allowing Jamaat to hold a rally, Mahmud said, “As Jamaat has not yet been banned and has applied for permission for the rally as a political party, they were granted permission.” “Every political party has the right to hold rallies, as long as they are not banned. Any political party's ability to hold meetings is not restricted unless they face a ban,” the minister said. Also Read: BNP behind Jamaat’s protest, meaning they are preparing for arson: Quader Mahmud further explained, “We encourage the participation of all political parties in the election. The electoral process extends beyond the election day itself. With only six months remaining until the election, it is customary for political parties to hold meetings in order to create a conducive environment.” Also Read: Jamaat gets permission to hold rally at Engineers Institute He continued: “Various political parties are currently organizing meetings, but BNP and Jamaat's motives differ. By reviewing their past actions and interpreting their recent statements, it is evident that they are attempting to replicate past events. However, the people of this nation will not tolerate such actions.” Also Read: Hasan Mahmud blames BNP's 'destructive politics' for US visa policy  

Right after returning to Bangladesh, Member Secretary of Gono Odhikar Parishad Nurul Haque Nur has defended Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman — arrested over assisting a militant group — as a “humanitarian” individual. “How could the government arrest such a humanitarian person like the ameer of Jamaat?” — Nur said in a video of a press conference today. According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police, the Jamaat ameer’s son got involved with the militant group Jamatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya. Later, Shafiqur allegedly supported and funded them. Two police officers were injured in a clash with Jamaat-e-Islami activists during their demonstration protesting the arrest of their ameer in Rajshahi city on December 13, 2022. Jamaat, Shibir men also clashed with police on December 30 — leaving several people, including cops, injured. Read more: ‘Free arrested Chhatra Odhikar Parishad activists’: Nur, Saki submit memo to DU VC The latest call by Nur, defending the Jamaat ameer and BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, comes after his return from a much talked about overseas trip, during which he reportedly met an individual named Mendi N Safadi, apparently an agent of Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A sedition complaint was filed against Nur in this regard. "It seems that Nur has been involved in a conspiracy to unseat the elected government in Bangladesh," the complaint says.

A clash broke out between the law enforcers and activists and leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Chhatra Shibir in the capital's Malibagh as they tried to bring out a procession after Juma prayers, police said. Several people, including 10 cops and Jamaat- Shibir men sustained injuries during the clash. The law enforcers detained several Jamaat-Shibir men over the incident. The injured cops were New Market and Ramna zones’ Assistant Commissioners Sharif Mohammad Farukuzzaman and Md Bayezidur Rahman, sub inspectors—Shahidul Osman Masum, Subir Kumar Karmakar, Habibur Rahman, Mohaiminul Hasan, Kabir Hossain, Md Firoz Miah, constables Sourav Nath and Sadi Mohammad.   A police officer said the Jamaat-e-Islami sought permission from the police to bring out a mass procession from the north gate of Baitul Mukarram Mosque as part of the simultaneous movement of the opposition parties and alliances to unseat the current government. "But the party was denied permission." Read more: Simultaneous Movement: Ganatantra Mancha brings out mass procession in Dhaka "The Jamaat men tried to hold a mass procession without police permission in Malibagh. A clash ensued as police had asked the Jamaat men not to go through with the procession, but they had paid no heed to the law enforcers," Shahen Shah Mahmud, additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Ramna Division), said. "The Jamaat-Shibir men hurled bricks at police. The law enforcers then fired tear gas to disperse them and bring the situation under control," he added. "Later, some people were detained from the spot and brought to the concerned police station." Read more: Simultaneous Movement: 33 opposition parties set to take out mass processions in city

Despite its widely documented role as collaborating with the Pakistani occupation forces in committing genocide during the Liberation War in 1971, a spokesperson of Jamaat-e-Islami has claimed that the party, since its formation, is “committed to democracy’. Abu Bakar Molla, EU and UK spokesperson of Jamaat, was speaking on a TRT World current affairs programme, “The Newsmakers”, on December 21, 2022. Jamaat-e-Islami actively opposed the creation of Bangladesh and helped Pakistani forces carry out genocide and crimes against humanity during the nine months of the Liberation War. Read more: PM Hasina wonders how leftists could join hands with BNP and Jamaat In its verdict against Ghulam Azam, the Jamaat ameer in 1971, the International Crimes Tribunal noted that Jamaat-e-Islami – under Ghulam Azam’s leadership – operated as a “criminal organisation” during the Liberation War. Without naming any specific human rights organization, the Jamaat spokesperson said, “What about the international human rights community are saying… they are independent, they are neutral… international human rights community has given statements, saying that human rights are grossly violated in Bangladesh.” Incidentally, Jamaat-e-Islami recently claimed that Indian forces were “behind the killings of intellectuals” at the end of the Liberation War. A claim The Daily Star reported as “yet another blatant attempt to distort history.” During a virtual discussion on the occasion of Martyred Intellectuals Day, Jamaat leaders claimed that Bengali intellectuals were killed so that the country “could not stand without the support of a neighbouring country.” Read more: Jamaat, which was behind killings of intellectuals in 1971, BNP's main associate: Info Minister On the TRT World program, Abu Bakar spoke about supporting Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in its call for restoring the caretaker government system and demand for resignation of the current government. Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, standing committee member of BNP, reiterated his party’s call for national election only under a caretaker government. Also on the show, Barrister Shah Ali Farhad, former special assistant to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said, “The (recent) protests are actually purely political party rallies of BNP. No evidence to suggest that they have any mass involvement. While rising costs of living are impacting citizens’ lives, they are well informed as to the global reasons behind the rise. Their confidence is on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to deliver results, as she has delivered over the last one decade… The government respects the freedoms of assembly and speech of BNP and their allies as long as no public security risk is involved. The fact that BNP organised rallies in all divisional cities is evidence of the government’s cooperation in this regard.”

Police arrested 11 female members of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami from Hajiganj upazila of Chandpur on Sunday night during a secret meeting. They were arrested from 11th floor of a multistoried building at Paschim Bazar,  said Md Nazrul Islam, Officer-in-Charge of Hajiganj police station. A Chandpur court on Monday sent all the arrestees to jail said the OC. Read more: Jamaat Ameer backing new militant group: DMP Commissioner OC Nazrul said the house owned by a retired deputy assistant agriculture officer was under surveillance on suspicion and the Jamaat members were arrested on allegation of planning anti-state activities. The owner however remained absconding, he said. Police seized some materials like books, leaflets, and invitation cards for spreading Jamaat’s ideology during the arrest. Read more: Arrest warrants issued against Jamaat chief, 11 others in sabotage case Chandpur town unit Ameer(chief) of Jamaat Shahjahan Mia said the arrestees were all Jamaat members but they were not planning any anti-state activities rather they went to attend a family programme.

A group of eminent citizens on Thursday issued a joint statement, asking the people of the country to remain alert about any kind of lobbying and propaganda against Bangladesh. Referring to the Al Jazeera report on British lawyer Toby Cadman who has admitted that he tried to persuade the US and the UK governments to impose sanctions on Bangladesh earlier this month, the joint statement said that conspiracy is going on against the country. The statement said that such lobbying started a long time ago and not only Toby, but a US firm was also involved in persuading the US government to impose sanctions on Bangladesh. Read: Toby Cadman, who was Jamaat's legal advisor, tells Al Jazeera he was part of team asking US, UK govts for Rab sanction “Toby Cadman has been working as a lawyer for Jamaat-e-Islami since 2011. Besides, Jamaat had also hired a US-based lobbyist firm named Cassidy and Associates in exchange for $25 million during the war crimes trial in Bangladesh,” the statement reads.  “By doing these things, Jamaat has been trying to malign the image of Bangladesh in front of the international community, especially the US. We ask everyone to remain alert against these plots,” the statement reads. Among the 21 signatories to the statement are dramatist Ramendu Majumder, former advisor to the caretaker government Rasheda K Chowdhury, human rights worker Khushi Kabir and Dhaka University teachers MM Akash and Robayet Ferdous. Cadman admitted to Al Jazeera that his efforts to get the UK to impose sanctions against Bangladesh’s law enforcement officials and expressed disappointment that it did not work out. “I filed the request for sanctions and whilst I am not in a position to discuss the substance, I can confirm that I discussed the request with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO),” Cadman was quoted as saying, referring to the UK Foreign Office. Read: BNP spent a lot on lobbying by US firm: Shahriar Jamaat-e-Islami engaged Toby Cadman as its legal advisor in London in 2011, after the trials of several top Jamaat leaders started – over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War.

Two police officials were injured in a clash with Jamaat-e-Islami activists during their a demonstration protesting the arrest of their ameer Shafiqur Rahman in Rajshahi city on Tuesday. The injured police members are Sub Inspector Abu Haider and Constable Ahad of Boalia police station in Rajshahi city. The Jamaat-e-Islami activists carried out the demonstration led by Jamaat secretary Emaj Uddin Mandal from the New Market area of the city demanding the release of the central ameer of Jamaat. Read more: Jamaat ameer involved in breeding new militant outfit: CTTC chief The clash broke out when police chased them to disperse the procession at the Nagar Bhaban intersection, said Boalia police station officer-in-charge (OC) Mazharul Islam. Two police members were injured as the Jamaat activists hurled brick chips on them and were given first aid immediately, he said. The OC said there was no permission to bring out the procession. Besides, a case will be filed in this regard, said the OC. The Counter Terrorism & Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Shafiqur Rahman in the early hours of Tuesday from his residence in the capital. Read more: Police: Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman arrested He was also placed on a seven-day remand in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act today (Tuesday). On December 10, the ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami announced a 10-point demand largely overlapping with the BNP's, and declared a mass rally on December 24 just after the BNP's announcement. Jamaat-e-Islami made the announcement to build a nationwide simultaneous mass movement based on the 10-point demand to restore democracy in the country and bring back the people's rights, said a media statement.

The Counter Terrorism & Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested the ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Shafiqur Rahman early hours of Tuesday.  Deputy Commissioner (media) of DMP Faruq Hossain confirmed it to UNB but he didn’t disclose the details of the arrest and the allegations against the Jamaat ameer. Acting Secretary General of Jamaat ATM Masum in a statement claimed the arrest was made around 1 am from his residence in the capital. Read more: Jamaat declares overlapping 10-point demand; announces mass rally on Dec 24 He condemned and protested the arrest. He said the government cannot stop the ongoing political protests in the country by such arrests. “The people’s movement cannot be stopped by creating fear, attack and filing cases,” he said in his statement. Masum urged the authority to immediately give unconditional release of arrested Jamaat leaders including Shafiqur and leaders of other political parties. On December 11, the ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami announced a 10-point demand largely overlapping with the BNP's, and declared a mass rally on December 24 just after the BNP's announcement. Read more: Mirza Fakhrul, Abbas shown arrested in Paltan police station case: DB Chief Jamaat-e-Islami made the announcement to build a nationwide simultaneous mass movement based on the 10-point demand to restore democracy in the country and bring back the people's rights, said a media statement..

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said that his party is different from Jamaat-e-Islami in terms of ideology and political principles. “We believe in democracy, religious freedom and religious values of all religions. But Jamaat does politics to establish Islam and it doesn’t match with us,” Fakhrul said in an exclusive interview with UNB at his Uttara residence this week. He, however, said that there are many equations and polarisations in parliamentary politics. “The main issue here is the number or 151 seats,” he said. Read more: US sanctions on RAB made BNP fearless in anti-government protests: Fakhrul Every party, he said, tries to get 151 seats and that's why parties make alliances with Jamaat or reach an understating with Jamaat without forging an alliance. “Awami League had a clear relationship with Jamaat when it waged a movement against us in 1994-1996.” The BNP leader said their party had an electoral alliance with Jamaat, but not an ideological one. “Our politics will depend entirely on our interests. We’re now going to wage our simultaneous movement independently but not under any alliance.” He also said Awami League talks against Jamaat only to make political gains, but it has not so far taken any step to ban the party. Replying to a question, Fakhrul said their party wants all opposition parties, including the left-leaning and Islamic ones, to participate in the simultaneous movement to force the AL government to resign paving the way for holding the next general election under a neutral caretaker administration.