The condition prevailing in neighbouring Bangladesh are far from satisfactory and the net sufferers of this are the 15 crore people who have been struggling hard for decades to break out of the vicious circle of poverty and instability.
The present dispensation under Sheikh HasinaWajid and her Bangladesh AwamiLeague has invited further trouble by victimising the prominent leaders of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the most organised and disciplined Islamic organisation in the country.
At present its former Amir, the 92 plus Professor GhulamAzam, the present Amir and sitting MP and former minister in Khalida Zia’s governmentMotiur Rahman Nizami, DelwarHossainSayeedi, the most popular orator of the country, and several other prominent leaders of the Jamaat have been dragged before a tribunal, on fictitious charges of murders, rapes, executions, etc., crimes which they never committed. They are being tried by the so-called International Crimes Tribunal which does not have any foreign judge or personality even for name’s sake. The British House of Lords has already denounced the sham trial. The evident bias of the presiding judge also has been brought to light.
The insiders have indicated that the judges running the show are being pressurised to sentence the leaders to death. It is noteworthy that all these leaders had never been indicted by any court and their names never appeared in the list of wanted prisoners for crimes during the freedom struggle. What the present government is doing is pure victimisation.
Serious doubts by international human rights organisations,independent observers and media persons are being raised about the working of the tribunal. The resignation of the presiding judge of the tribunal Justice M.Nizamul Haque, on personal reasons, has further raised the doubt about the neutrality of the tribunal.
It would be in its own interest if the Awami League desists from indulging in political vendetta. If Professor GhulamAzam, Nizami and DelwarSayeediare martyred, the people of Bangladesh will not take it lying down. The blood of these venerable leaders will not go waste and result in the downfall of the unjust and tyrant rulers. The writing on the wall of history is clear; the need is to read it with open mind.