JAKARTA - Police in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, used tear gas to disperse hundreds of members of the banned militant group Hizbut Tahrir who demonstrated demanding that the country's secular democracy be replaced by Islamic caliphate.
Hundreds of activists chanted 'Khilafat', Khilafat gathered for the 'Pawai for Khilafat' procession at the Baitul Mukarram Mosque after Friday prayers.
Police were unable to control the crowd and were forced to use tear gas and stun grenades to disperse them, witnesses said.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police warned banned organizations on Thursday against holding meetings and documenting the public.
Hizbut Tahrir, who has been banned in Bangladesh since October 2009 for posing a threat to national security, frequently organizes protests and parades that oppose the government's ban on public gatherings.
London-centric Hizbut Tahrir seeks to unite Muslims in a pan-Islamic country but says its ways are peaceful.
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This Muslim-majority country with 170 million people is one of the largest and poorest democracy in the world.
The country has been grappling with political unrest since the interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, took power after protests that led Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee the country.
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