Jummah prayers held outside Yunus’s official residence Jamuna ahead of ‘mass gathering’
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
Protesters who gathered in front of the State Guest House Jamuna, the official residence of the chief advisor, to continue pushing for the banning of the Awami League have offered Jummah prayers at the protest location ahead of a “mass gathering”.
Most of the protesters were located in front of a temporary stage set up at the three-way intersection about 150m away from Jamuna, reports bdnews24.com.
A group of protesters led by Hasnat gathered in front of the residence at 10pm on Thursday. Members of Jamaat-e-Islami, AB Party, Islami Chhatra Shibir, Anti-discrimination Student Movement, and leaders and activists of various student organisations are taking part in the protest caused by the NCP’s Hasnat Abdullah.
Protesters marched to the fountain on Minto Road near the InterContinental Dhaka hotel around noon on Friday and began gathering in front of a temporary stage.
Then about 100 protesters returned to the area in front of Jamuna. Around 1:15pm they held their Friday Jummah prayer service there.
The protesters prayed on the road, some using prayer mats, others the Bangladesh flag, and some laying down napkins.
Law enforcers were deployed in front of and behind the barricades at Jamuna. Police and Army personnel were lined up in rows.
When some protesters attempted to leave the scene of the rally and head towards the Jamuna for prayers, they were blocked by law enforcers. After about 10 minutes of engaging in arguments and chanting slogans, the protesters returned to the fountain and prayed there.
Another section of protesters also prayed in front of the temporary stage.
Hasnat Abdullah, chief convener of the NCP south unit, called for a “mass gathering” of people regardless of party or political position at the location around 8:30am on Friday. A temporary stage was set up by pulling a tarpaulin over five trucks parked together.
After the prayers, they gathered near the stage and chanted anti-Awami League slogans.
Hasnat said in the morning, “You have become advisors while standing on blood. If you think that through trickery the Awami League will be brought back – we are forced to stand in front of Jamuna again today to prevent that.”
“Today, after Jummah prayers, we will turn the road from in front of the fountain to the Intercontinental and then to Bangla Motor into a sea of people.”
Shafiqul Alam Masud, secretary of the Dhaka Metropolitan South unit of Jamaat, said: “Of course, you should quickly implement the demand of the students and the people of Bangladesh to ban the Awami League.”
Calls for the Awami League’s ban were revived by various organisations that took part in the July Uprising on Wednesday night after former president Md Abdul Hamid left the country.
A group of protesters led by Hasnat gathered in front of the residence at 10pm on Thursday. Jamaat-e-Islami, AB Party, Islami Chhatra Shibir, Anti-discrimination Student Movement, and leaders and activists of various student organisations have expressed solidarity with the protest.
Around 1am, a group led by NCP Convenor Nahid Islam and Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain joined the protest.
Once the protest began, police started to restrict traffic at the Kakrail intersection, InterContinental crossing, and Minto Road intersection.
However, small processions were allowed to enter the area.
The protest continued into Friday, with protesters chanting slogans calling for a ban on the former ruling party.
Ex-president Hamid was accused alongside ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina in a murder case connected to the July Uprising.
Following his departure from Bangladesh, Sub-Inspector Azharul Islam – the investigating officer in the case – was temporarily suspended. Kishoreganj Superintendent of Police Mohammad Hasan Chowdhury was withdrawn.
Tahsina Arif, additional superintendent of police in charge of immigration at the airport during Hamid’s departure, has also been withdrawn. ATSI Md Solaiman has been dismissed.Hasnat Abdullah, anti-discrimination student movement, Awami league ban, protest.