Siraj condemns death sentence for Bangladesh JI leader

Sirajul Haq called death sentence political victimisation by Hasina Wajid’s government

LAHORE:

Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul Haq on Wednesday condemned the death sentence awarded to former national assembly member Maulana Abdul Subhan by a tribunal in Bangladesh.

In a statement, he called the sentence political victimisation by Hasina Wajid’s government.

He said Subhan had been convicted for his support for a united Pakistan. He said the tribunal had awarded death sentence to a number of JI leaders. He said former JI chief Ghulam Azam had died in prison after being sentenced to a 90-year imprisonment.

Haq said it was ironic that neither United Nations nor human rights bodies had voiced concern over the tribunal’s ruling.

He said with the exception of the government of Turkey, no Muslim ruler had taken notice of the matter.

He said western nations had called for an end to capital punishment in Pakistan but had stayed silent on the death sentence handed out to a senior politician.

He said Pakistan’s government had also maintained a “criminal silence” on the issue although an agreement had been reached between Bhutto, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Indira Gandhi that there would be no political victimisation following the separation of the east wing.

The JI chief said that the death sentence had handed out to a religious scholar was an insult to humanity and the death of justice.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2015.