Jamaat hartal across the country on Thursday

The Dhaka Times Desk Today Thursday, Jamaat-e-Islami has announced a hartal across the country from morning to evening and till 12 noon in Dhaka and Chittagong. Yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon in a statement signed by Jamaat's Acting Secretary General Rafiqul Islam Khan announced morning-evening across the country, but later it was changed. This hartal has been called in protest against the non-permission to hold the rally.

The Jamaat wanted to hold a rally yesterday (Wednesday) at three in the afternoon at the north gate of Baitul Mukarram in the capital to demand the cancellation of the war crimes tribunal and the release of the leaders and activists detained across the country. They also applied to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) seeking permission for the assembly. But as no written or verbal permission was received till Wednesday afternoon to organize the rally, the high command of the party decided to strike on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the strike has started since morning. Scattered clashes took place at different places. When they tried to march in Kazipara and Sheorapara of the capital, the police stopped them. Police arrested two people from here. On the other hand, picketers set fire to a covered van in Kadamtali area. Later, the people of the area extinguished it after half an hour. On the other hand, there has been a massive traffic jam on the Dhaka-Comilla road. Thousands of bus-trucks were parked till morning, eyewitnesses said. Here too the strikers vandalized some vehicles. However, there were reports from various TV channels that they could not vandalize many cars. A few picketers were also arrested by the police in Gabtali of the capital.

The morning-evening hartal called by Jamaat-e-Islami is going on with some scattered incidents outside Dhaka. No major incidents have been reported till the time of writing this report (9:30 am).