1st phase of Jamaat hartal ends

The first phase of 72-hour nationwide hartal (shutdown), enforced by Jamaat protesting capital punishment to its Maulana Ameer Matiur Rahman Nizami for wartime offences, ended at 6:00am on Friday. No major clashes were reported except some stray incidents, including bomb blasts and picketing at a few places during the 24-hour 1st round hartal which began at 6am on Thursday. Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir announced hartal programmes spread into three days (Thursday, Sunday and Monday) to protest the death sentence awarded to Nizami, also a former minister, by the International Crimes Tribunal-1 on Wednesday. Following the verdict, the party, in a statement on Wednesday afternoon, called for the nationwide general strikes from 6am Thursday to 6am Friday and 6am Sunday to 6am Tuesday. according to a news agency.