Bangladesh on Thursday banned Islamist political party Jamaat-e-Islami and its student organisation Islami Chhatra Shibir under an anti-terrorism law following nationwide student unrest, reported PTI.

The government cited threats to public security as the reason for banning the outfit, an important ally of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

The ban was imposed by means of an executive order under Section 18(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has blamed the Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir for inciting violence during last month’s protests against quotas for families of freedom fighters in government jobs.

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The Jamaat-e-Islami on Thursday called the ban unconstitutional and denied any involvement in the violence, the Associated Press reported.

“The government carried out massacres by party cadres and state law and order forces in the country to suppress the non-political movement of students,” party chief Shafiqur Rehman said. “The country’s teachers, cultural personalities, journalists and people of different professions are protesting against this genocide of the government.”

A High Court ruling in June had reinstated the 30% quota in government jobs for family members of freedom fighters of the 1971 Bangladeshi Liberation War. The reservation system had been abolished in 2018 after widespread protests.

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On July 21, the Bangladesh Supreme Court scaled back, but did not abolish, most of the quotas that had triggered the protest.

Nevertheless, the reinstatement of the quota led to anger among young job seekers and students who feared that they would be deprived of opportunities because of it.

In July, the protest snowballed into one of the largest agitations against the Sheikh Hasina-led government, which has been in power uninterrupted since 2009. The protests left over 200 persons dead.

Also read: What India is getting wrong about Bangladesh student protests