The country should not allow Jamaat-e-Islami’s members to hold top positions in government, or in any social or political bodies because it continues to foster anti-state sentiments, the International Crimes Tribunal-1 observed Monday in the verdict against former Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam.
It sentenced Ghulam Azam to 90-year imprisonment for his role in the genocide of 1971.
The verdict read: “Taking the contextual circumstances coupled with documentary evidence into consideration, we are led to observe that Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party under the leadership of accused Prof Ghulam Azam intentionally functioned as a ‘Criminal Organisation’ especially during the War of Liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.”
The war crimes tribunal urged the government to take necessary steps in this regard. It observed with trepidations that Jamaat never changed their attitude towards the country, and continued to promote anti-liberation and communal sentiments among its young followers.
The verdict said: “…after 42 years, it is noticed that some of the anti-liberation people are still staying in the helm of Jamaat-e-Islami as a result young generation belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami are being psychologically reared up and nurtured with anti-liberation sentiment and communal feeling which is a matter of great anxiety for a nation.”
The tribunal said in the interest of establishing a democratic, non-communal Bangladesh, no such anti-liberation individuals or groups should be allowed at the helm of any government, social or political parties, government and non-government organisations.
“We are of the opinion that the government may take necessary steps to that end for debarring those anti-liberation persons from holding the said superior posts in order to establish a democratic and non-communal country for which millions of people sacrificed their lives during the War of Liberation.”
The tribunal observed Jamaat opposed the births of both Pakistan and Bangladesh because it lacked farsightedness due to fanaticism.
Referring to the creation of Pakistan it said: “As soon as Pakistan got its independence in 1947, the Jamaat-e-Islami claimed itself as only Islamic patriotic political party of Pakistan. While people of East Pakistan again started struggle for self-determination and independence, the Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party whole heartedly tried to resist independence of Bangladesh in collaboration with Pakistan occupation army.”
It added: “But as soon as Bangladesh got its independence in 1971 at the cost of millions of lives then Jamaat-e-Islami claims itself as a true patriotic party of Bangladesh, terming those pro-liberation parties as to be Indian agents.”
“It is an irony to note that during independence of both Pakistan and Bangladesh, Jamaat-e-Islami played a foul role in two great occasions having no contribution to the creation of the said two states.”
Finally the tribunal said in the verdict: “It can be safely observed that Jamaat-e-Islami utterly failed to realise the pulse of the common people in both the historic occasions... probably for the lack of its farsightedness caused by fanaticism.”
