BANGLADESH

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), which is dealing crimes against humanity involving the Liberation War, took into cognisance charges against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla on Wednesday.

The tribunal, headed by Justice Nizamul Huq, said the hearing on the charges against Molla will start on Jan 12.

It ordered the prosecution to submit necessary documents within Sunday.

Meanwhile, the tribunal asked the prosecution to resubmit charges against Jamaat assistant secretary-general Kamaruzzaman on Jan 12 and secretary-general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed on Jan 16.

The three-judge panel said the charges were not in order and asked to rearrange them.

The order on taking into cognisance the charges against Jamaat chief Matiur Rahman Nizami, however, will be issued on Jan 9 as the tribunal could not complete hearing the charges on Wednesday.

The prosecution submitted the charters of charges against Nizami, Kamaruzzman and Mojaheed on Dec 11 and Molla on Dec 18.

Earlier, the tribunal had ordered to submit charges against former Jamaat chief and key war crimes suspect Ghulam Azam.

The ICT investigation agency had launched investigation into the charges against the chief, the secretary-general and the assistant secretaries-general of the party in July last year.

The four leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, a key ally of BNP, had been shown arrested in August last year for the charges of crimes against humanity committed in the 1971 war against Pakistani forces.

Charges against executive council member of the party Delwar Hossain Sayedee have already been framed and recording of witnesses' deposition started.

BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury is behind the bars for similar charges. Former BNP leader Abdul Alim, a member of the BNP founder Ziaur Rahman's cabinet, was also arrested and later freed on conditional bail for his age-related complications.

Noted writer and Dhaka University professor Razia Khan Amin passed away in a city hospital on Wednesday. She was 75.

Amin is survived by her husband, a son and a daughter.

She died at 7:30pm at Shahabuddin Medical College Hospital in Gulshan, according to her daughter Aasha Mehreen Amin, magazine editor at the English newspaper The Daily Star.

Amin was a professor of English and American Literature at Dhaka University. She was the daughter of politician and social activist Moulvi Tamizuddin Khan.

Born in 1936, Amin started writing short stories and novels at the age of eight. Her first novel was Bot Tolar Upannayash (1958).

Using her pen name, Razia Khan, she authored at least 12 books including novels, poems, and plays.

Her literary works include the novels Chitrokabbya, Bot Tolar Upanyash, Anukalpa, Padobik and Draupadi. The last one has been translated into English as well. Her collections of poems include Argus Under Anaesthesia (1976) and Cruel April (1977), among others.

For her contribution in Bangla literature, Amin won the Bangla Academy Award in 1975. She also won the Ekushey Padak (1997), Ananya Award (1998) and Shilpakala Academy Award for her contribution to theatre in Bangladesh.

The 12th session of the ninth parliament will start on Jan 25 amid uncertainty on return of main opposition BNP abstaining from the House.

The session is scheduled to begin at 3:30pm.

President Zillur Rahman summoned parliament into session as per Article 72 (1) of the Constitution, said a press statement of the Parliament Secretariat on Wednesday.

The 11th session of the House was prorogued on Nov 30 with a call from speaker M Abdul Hamid to BNP to return. The session that lasted for 13 working days since Oct 20 carried out its business in the absence of the largest opposition.

The last session passed seven bills including Local Government (City Corporation) (Amendment) Bill, 2011 and Vested Properties Return (Amendment) Bill, 2011 as recommended by the parliamentary standing committees.

The ninth parliament began its journey on Jan 25, 2009.

BNP last joined the House on March 23 during the eighth session and walked out the same day. It has been abstaining on the ground of not having 'congenial atmosphere' in the House.

The opposition chief has said she will announce new anti-government movement programmes at Chittagong.

"On Jan 8 and 9, we will march to Chittagong," she told reporters on Wednesday. "From there we will announce our new programmes. BNP is not an underground or banned party. We tell the people what we are planning to do."

Members of the Christian community called on the BNP chairperson at her Gulshan office to exchange Christmas greetings.

She cut a Christmas cake with them and exchanged greetings, saying, "If BNP comes to power, we will consider Christian community's representation in our government."

She talked of "oppression of minorities" under the present government, particularly the "usurpation of church and temple properties".

Khaleda also held the government responsible for the recent "secret killings" and said, "Let me spell it out, these killings will be judged. No one will get away with manslaughter."

She accused the government of anarchy.

"We believe in organised movement and are pursuing peaceful programmes. In three years, we held nine general strikes, and in our term Awami League had 173 hartals," she said.

"The government did not keep any of its promises to the people. They are busy with looting and corruption," she added.

She also said the government had systematically planned the incidents that took place in the capital on Dec 18.