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Nizami claims of playing only political role in ‘71
Reported by: UNBconnect
Reported on: May 28, 2012 08:03 pm
Reported in: National

Dhaka, May 28 (UNB) -“I had no role other than political one during the 1971 Liberation War,” claimed detained war crimes accused Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Matiur Rahman Nizami before the International Crimes Tribunal on Monday.Before pleading himself ‘not guilty’ of war crime charges following a tribunal order, Nizami said that after the general election in 1970 he had demanded transfer of power to the representatives of the majority party as president of Islami Chhatra Sangha (ICS) and  Jamaat-e-Islami also raised the same demand.  “No one can be identified as war criminal for one’s political role,” claimed Nizami, adding, “I don’t think so.”Had the power been transferred to the representatives of the majority party following the general election, the greatest historic excruciating misfortune would not have taken place, said Nizami, the then commander-in-chief of All Pakistan Al Badr, a secret killing squad of Jamaat.“Who had created the impediment? It was not Jamaat, but Bhutto,” recalled Nizami, adding that either then Pakistan president General Yahyia Khan had used Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto or Bhutto used Yahyia.  Admitting the verity of genocide taken place during the Liberation War, Nizami, a former minister of the past BNP-Jamaat alliance government, denied his association with the reasons leading to genocide in Bangladesh.  “I had relinquished from the post of ICS president in the last week of September in 1971 at a conference in Multan, West Pakistan,” he said, adding that he had later engaged himself in a research work.”   Defending himself against the charge of organising auxiliary forces of Pakistan occupation army, Nizami said Ansar Bahini was transformed into Razakar and its officers were made Razakar commanders. At one stage, Justice M Nizamul Huq, chairman of the three-member tribunal, interrupted the accused and said, “Why do you defend yourself, your engaged lawyer is here and now reply to our question whether you plead  guilty or not.”   Despite tribunal’s interruptions time and again, Nizami did not take note of it and continued making statement for about 20 minutes.About his statement he made during the wartime inciting his followers to annihilate freedom fighters, the enemies of Pakistan as alleged by the prosecution, Nizami partly owned the text of his statements.Denying all the allegations made against him, Nizami said not a single crime had committed in his presence, instigation and knowledge, terming the allegations as the most awful falsehood of history.“I’m a victim of political vengeance. Any incumbent government is not the last one and the current trial is also not the end, and we all will have to face the last trial,” he said.   

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