Dhaka, Aug 19 (PTI) A writ petition seeking a ban on the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League party and cancellation of its registration was filed on Monday at the High Court, citing its alleged involvement in the indiscriminate killing of student protesters in Bangladesh earlier this month.
Arifur Rahman Murad Bhuiyan, the executive director of the rights organisation Sarada Society, who filed the petition, also requested a directive from the court to extend the tenure of the current interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to a minimum of three years, state-run BSS news agency reported.
A writ petition was filed with the High Court, pleading to ban the Bangladesh Awami League (AL) and cancel its registration as a political party for mass killing of student protesters during the Anti-discrimination Student Movement, the UNB news agency reported.
In the petition, he sought an order on the authorities concerned to change the names of the institutions which are in the name of deposed prime minister Hasina and bring Tk 11 lakh crores allegedly laundered abroad back to the country.
The petition also asked the court to transfer the officials appointed on a contractual basis during Awami League’s regime, the Daily Star newspaper reported.
The case is expected to be heard on Tuesday, the reports said.
More than 230 people were killed in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5, taking the death toll to more than 600 since the massive protest by students first started in mid-July.
The writ petition to ban the former ruling party comes amid individuals filing a spate of murder charges against 76-year-old Hasina, who resigned and fled to India on August 5 following a massive protest by students against a controversial quota system in government jobs.
Hasina served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024.
The Awami League, founded in 1949, is one of the oldest political parties in Bangladesh. It played a large role in achieving independence both before and after the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.
It is also one of the two most dominant parties in the country, along with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by former prime minister Khalida Zia. PTI AKJ AKJ
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.