The government yesterday banned all kinds of activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh in the interests of public security.
"The organisation has been banned as it has been carrying out anti-state, anti-government, anti-people and anti-democratic activities for long in the country," Home Minister Sahara Khatun told The Daily Star.
She said a circulation would be issued soon to this end.
"The file on banning Hizb ut-Tahrir came to me today [Thursday] and I signed it," Sahara said adding some other similar organisations, which have been carrying out subversive activities, would be banned step by step.
Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder said, "From today [Thursday] the organisation's activities have been banned for the sake of public security."
Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international Islamist political party founded in Jerusalem in 1953.
The party started its activities in Bangladesh in 2000. According to Hizb ut-Tahrir's website (www.khilafat.org), Mohiuddin Ahmed is the chief coordinator and spokesman of the party and its central office is located at HM Siddique Mansion, 55/A Purana Paltan, 4th Floor, Dhaka.
The previous BNP-Jamaat government had banned four organisations --Huji, Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh and Shahadat-e Al Hikma -- for their connection with militancy.