Molla’s execution: JI to stage Pakistan-wide protests today
LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami has announced to observe Friday as a day of protest against the capital punishment of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh leader Abdul Quader Molla, Medias reported.
In a statement issued here Jamaat-e-Islami chief, Munawar Hassan, decried his Bangladeshi comrade’s execution as deplorable.
“Molla embraced martyrdom with a smile on his face. His unflinching spirit is commendable. His execution at the hands of a "slanted" war tribunal is nothing but a mockery of justice,” said he.
JI will also offer Molla’s in-absentia funeral prayers in various cities across Pakistan today.
Going forward, JI Ameer also picked apart the government of Pakistan for being 'criminally silent' over Molla’s unjust hanging.
“Had the government wanted it could have convinced Dhaka to spare Molla by referencing the agreements between former premier Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and the then Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Mujeebur Rehman”, said Hassan.
He added that Molla indeed became a victim of patriotism.
Bangladesh on Thursday hanged Molla, making him the first person to be put to death for massacres committed during the bloody 1971 war of independence.
Deputy Law Minister Quamrul Islam announced the execution, saying Abdul Quader Molla, 65, a senior leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami, was hanged by the neck at 10:01 pm (1601 GMT) in a jail in Dhaka.
The execution is expected to further inflame tensions in Bangladesh after weeks of deadly violence, and there were reports of fresh clashes soon after the announcement.
The hanging took place just hours after the Supreme Court dismissed Molla´s appeal for a final review of his death sentence, removing the last legal obstacle to his execution. His wife and children were allowed a final meeting with him at the prison hours before the execution, and found him to be “calm”.
“He told us that he is proud to be a martyr for the cause of the Islamic movement in the country,” Molla´s son Hasan Jamil said after the meeting. Shortly after the execution, Molla´s body was driven by police escort to his hometown, where he will be buried.
