Editorial
Amended ICT Bill 2013 welcome
Lacunae addressed
Following president's signing of the amended International Crimes (Tribunals) Bill 2013, it has now become a fully-fledged law. The special aspect of this law is that it will enable complainants to put to trial individuals as well as organisations involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971.
It is worthwhile to note that inadequacies in the original law in the form of International Crimes (Tribunals) Act, 1973 came under public scrutiny, especially following Shahbagh protestations. By allowing complainants, government and informant, to appeal against any inadequate verdict by the ICT, those legal loopholes have been addressed.
We support the amended Act allowing for suing an organisation because Jamat-e-Islami as a party had a policy of genocide and helping the Pakistani occupation forces during the Liberation War in 1971.
And that party created Razakar, Al-Badr, Al-Shams and their cohorts who carried out widespread arson, looting and killing of people sympathetic to Liberation War as well as committed rapes.
Jamaate-Islami and similar other anti-Liberation forces collaborated with Pakistani occupation forces in the most abominable manner.
Thankfully, with the inclusion of organisation as punishable under the amended ICT Act, the legal inadequacy to prosecuting such organisations for their crimes in 1971 have thus been removed.
However, we may add that the Jamat-e-Islami of 1971 is guilty of war crimes. But can Jamat-e-Islami of 2013 be held responsible for war crimes of1971? Evidently, many post-independence recruits of Jamat-e-Islami were not involved in war crimes and cannot be characterised as such.
Now that the lacunae have been removed, the government should proceed vigorously to apply the new provisions with judiciousness and transparency.
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