Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Wednesday said the legal process is ongoing to ban Jamaat-e-Islami and Shibir organizations.
The minister said these while replying to a question from reporters at his office of the Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday evening.
He said: “The legal process to ban these organizations is ongoing. There is a chance that they would be banned under Anti-Terrorism Act. We will take further steps once the decision is made. I can not confirm whether the notification to ban will be issued on Wednesday. However, a decision will come at any time. Then we will issue a notification.”
He further said: “The decision to ban Jamaat-Shibir is coming from the latest incidents that have taken place. Civil society and 14-party alliance also demand to ban Jamaat and Shibir.”
When asked if he had met with the prime minister on Wednesday afternoon, he said: "I always go to the prime minister for various directions. We have discussed many issues, including this one."
Replying to a question whether the situation will deteriorate again if Jamaat and Shibir is banned, he said: "Jamaat and Shibir has already created this mess. They also have a lot of involvement in creating the current situation. Otherwise, this movement is not stopping even after accepting everything in the quota movement of the students. It has turned into violence. Students would never have indulged in such violence if their mentors had not given these suggestions.”
He said: "They destroyed state property. So many casualties, was it just police firing? We will reveal how many people were killed and wounded. Not everything was done by the students. Those behind them are Jamaat, Shibir, BNP and various militant organizations who were involved in it. This is what has become apparent to us. That is why there was a long-standing demand to ban Jamaat and Shibir, that process is going on. We have to inform the people about their activities, we are arranging that. "
Regarding the meeting with the UN Resident Representative Gwyn Lewis, he told reporters: "They (UB) wanted to know how long it would take for the situation to return to normal. We have said that the situation is gradually returning to normal. We thought we could do it in a very short time, the army would be able to go back to the barracks in a very short time. They wanted to know about the deaths of some of the teenagers. We talked about one person, we are trying to find out from his school. He is seventeen and a half. But the wrong thing that the boy has done is very heinous, he was involved in the killing of a policeman in Jatrabari. We were able to identify him in the conversation that was published."
The minister said: "He was pulling on the rope used to hang the policeman. He was encouraged by someone on the other end. We asked the UN resident coordinator where we should take this youth. According to our country's existing laws, we have placed him in a juvenile correctional facility. Legal actions will be taken accordingly.”
The minister further said: "Our prime minister expressed grief over those who lost their lives, went to see the victims. She also helped the families financially. Neither the police nor the security forces did anything. They were forced to open fire to protect people's lives and state property. The police dealt with it with a lot of patience. Individuals who committed violence, set fires, killed people, threw brickbats. Police showed a lot of patience.
“When brickbats were thrown like rain, shots were fired, the police were forced to do what they were compelled to do. Many people may have been injured. When they still did not stop, the police were forced to fire with non-lethal arms. Then we were forced to impose a curfew. I was forced to call down the army. This had to be done to protect lives. It is not just students who have been martyred. People of different classes and professions including police, Ansar, RAB members, journalists were killed and killed. Among the students are Chhatra League members. Awami League men also embraced martyrdomd during recent violence.”
Regarding the use of vehicles with the UN logo, the home minister told Gwyn Lewis that the vehicles were used unintentionally. "The UN logo was removed as soon as the issue was brought to attention. The vehicles were not used for any purpose," he added.