News & Comment
High Court Verdict on the Nightmarish Pilkhana Massacre shows that the Awami League Government was certainly behind the Nefarious Plot

Death Sentences of 139 Soldiers are upheld but the Real Masterminds are still at Large

 News:

On 27 November 2017, Bangladesh High Court upheld the death sentences of 139 soldiers for their involvement in 2009 BDR mutiny and their role in the massacre of 74 people, including 57 Army officers, in the country’s biggest-ever criminal case. The court has also upheld the life imprisonment of 146 soldiers and different terms of rigorous imprisonment to 256 people, mostly BDR soldiers convicted in the case.

Comment:

The mutiny was staged on 25 and 26 February 2009 in Dhaka by a section of the then Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), a paramilitary force mainly tasked with guarding the borders of Bangladesh. The rebelling BDR soldiers took over the BDR headquarters in Pilkhana, killing the BDR Director General and some 57 army officers. The mutiny ended as the mutineers surrendered their arms and released the hostages after a series of discussions and negotiations with the government.

In its observation part of the judgment, the High Court said that it appears from discussion and reviews before and after the BDR mutiny that it was a conspiracy by a quarter with vested interest to hamper the stability of the state and socio-economic safety. The court also observed that it was “an attempt to destroy a trained and skilled professional force through conspiracy.”   Though, the High Court rightly pointed out the conspiracy and the involvement of external forces in the said mutiny, it could neither reveal the actual objective of the conspirators nor punish them for such heinous plot. The Pilkhana carnage sent shockwaves across the county and people of Bangladesh still feel the pain and hold those memories with deepest emotion. The current regime attempts to heal the pain and extinguish the anger people are nurturing with the trials and sentencing. But for many, these farcical trials and judgments are nothing but eyewash. It is apparent now as the ruling party leader Torab Ali was acquitted even though he was convicted earlier by the trial court based on his statement where he confessed that he knew about the conspiracy the night before the carnage as the BDR men held clandestine meetings at his residence.

Immediately after the Pilkhana carnage, Hizb ut Tahrir Wilayah Bangladesh launched an extensive campaign to unveil the conspiracy of polytheist state India and make the people aware that the so-called mutiny was part of a long-term plot and was carried out by India and her agents inside and outside the government. Consequently, the righteous party got banned by the regime for raising voice against the conspiracy.

People of Bangladesh must be aware that the same culprits and their agents are still active, making plots against our integrity and security and under the current corrupt system they have a stronghold in almost all the sectors and institutions of our country. A carnage of the magnitude of Pilkhana may happen at any time. People must raise their voice for true liberation and get united for re-establishing the Righteous Khilafah (Caliphate) on the way of the Prophet (saw) - a State that will not be subject to undue political influence of a polytheist state and that will ensure security and justice for all of its citizen irrespective of religion and race.

﴿وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا﴾ 

“And whoever relies upon Allah - then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a [decreed] extent.” [At-Talaq: 3]

 Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Mohammad Kamal
Member of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Bangladesh