Bangladesh Bans Islamic Parties From Leading Up In The Aftermath Of Riots Protesting The Job Quota That Killed 150 People

JAKARTA - Bangladesh will ban major Islamic parties and its student wing, which the government calls responsible for this month's violence that killed 150 people during student-led protests over the job quota.

The decision, which was denounced as 'inconstitutional and illegal' by the Jamaat-e-Islami party, came after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina blamed the party and the main opposition to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for the violence that forced it to impose a curfew.

The ban will be passed by executive order on Wednesday, July 31, Anisul Huq, Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, told Reuters.

"For the sake of the state, a decision has been made," added Huq.

The Jamaat Party condemned the decision of the ruling alliance led by the Awami League as an 'illegal' decision, outside of legal and unconstitutional processes.

"By using state engines, they blame each other Jamaat and other opposition parties," said Shafiqur Rahman, chairman of the party, who together with the opposition, denied the government's statement about them fueling violence.

The Jamaat Party is actually prohibited from participating in elections based on a 2013 court decision stating that its registration as a political party is against the secular constitution of the South Asian state.

Bangladesh previously cut off internet access and sent troops to impose a national curfew as demonstrations spread.

Thousands of people were injured when security forces fired rubber bullets, tear gas, and threw sound grenades to disperse tens of thousands of protesters who were flooding the streets.

The violence is the biggest test that Hasina, 76 years old, has faced since winning her fourth consecutive term in January which BNP boycotted and also undermined by deadly protests.

He first led his party to victory in the 1996 election, serving a five-year term before regaining power in 2009, and never losing again.

Human rights groups and critics say Hasina has become increasingly autocratic over the past 15 years of her power, marked by the arrest of political opponents and activists, forced disappearances and killings beyond legal proceedings, accusations she denies.