Election 2008Pirojpur-3 Ticket By Grand Alliance

Martyred FFs' families say no to 'war criminal'

4 December 2008, 18:00 PM

Our Correspondent, Barisal

Abdul Jabbar

Family members of the martyrs of 1971 and freedom fighters in joined by common people formed a human chain at Mathbaria town yesterday protesting nomination by Awami League-led Grand Alliance to a "war criminal" for the upcoming parliament election. The human chain stretched from Shahid Minar to the upazila parishad. The protesters demanded cancellation of the nomination and trial of Engineer Abdul Jabbar under existing laws of the land and the International War Crimes Tribunal Act, 1973. They said that vice chairman of Jatiya Party central committee Engineer Jabbar, listed by the Sector Commanders Forum as a war criminal, would contest the elections for Pirojpur-3 constituency on a JP ticket. Mujibul Haq Maznu, commander of Ashad Nagar claimed that Jabbar was the chairman of the 'Peace Committee' in the district and chief of Mathbaria Razakar forces, an auxiliary force formed by the Pakistan occupation army with their local collaborators during Bangladesh's war of independence. The local freedom fighter also alleged that during the liberation war, Jabbar had handed over some 38 students of Dhaka University, including Ganapati Halder, Anwarul Kader and Golam Mostafa, to the Pakistani forces. The students were killed. The war victims' family members said, "Our sorrow multiplied when we heard that Pakistani collaborator Jabbar had been nominated to run in Pirojpur-3." Accused in a case under collaborators' act he became a fugitive after the liberation till political change over of August 15, 1975. Abdul Jabbar, when contacted over phone, denied the allegation of being a war criminal and told The Daily Star that he heard about the case lodged against him in this connection after liberation, but never received any summon from the court or warrant from law enforcing agencies. "If I was a war criminal, how I was elected as lawmaker four times before and after the independence? How could I get nominated by the political parties of Bangladesh?" he posed a question. Jabbar claimed that branding him a war criminal was a political stunt and rose only after his receiving nomination. The Sector Commanders Forum launched by the commanders of the 1971 independence war, on November 5 made public their preliminary list of 50 war criminals, including the name of Engineer Abdul Jabbar, and demanded their trial under the International Crimes Tribunal Act, 1973.