Jamaat hartal ends amid poor response

The Jamaat-e-Islami’s 2nd spell of 48-hour non-stop nationwide hartal ended at 6:00am on Friday amid poor response. Jamaat called the 2-day shutdown that began at 6:00am on Wednesday to protest the death sentences awarded to its two leaders for war crimes. In the capital, activists of Jamaat and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir brought out a procession at Testuri Bazar in Tejgaon around 6am on Wednesday and they fled the scene after burning their banners when police chased them. Another Jamaat-Shibir procession was taken out from Jatrabari area and the demonstrators left the area as the police arrived. Pickets blasted two crude bombs in front of the National Press Club around 10:00am on Wednesday. Three vehicles were torched in different parts of Dhaka city while a BRTC bus came under bomb attack. Vehicular movement in the city was a bit thinner in the morning during the 48-hour shutdown than usual days. No long-route busses were seen either to leave or enter the city. Inter-district bus service also remained suspended elsewhere across the country, according to a news agency.