Bangladesh orders arrest of Islamic party chief
A Bangladesh court issued an order on Thursday to arrest the chief of the countrys biggest Islamic party and five other former ministers on graft charges, officials said on Thursday.
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Moulana Matiur Rahman Nizami was industry minister in the government of detained former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia during 2001-06, when his party was the largest coalition partner of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party. The order was issued after the Anti-Corruption Commission filed charges against them on Tuesday, an official of the Dhaka Metropolitan Judges Court said.
The were charged in a case involving Khaleda, her detained younger son, Arafat Rahman, and 12 others in alleged corruption in the awarding of container a handling contract to a local firm in 2003. A leading member of Jamaat-e-Islami said the party was aware of the order, but declined to comment further.
Posted by: Fred 2008-05-16 |