Law Minister withdraws 23,865 political cases in Parliament

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md. Asaduzzaman said that a total of 23,865 harassment cases filed for political reasons during the former fascist Awami League government have been withdrawn so far. The Law Minister said this in response to a question from opposition party (Jamaat-e-Islami) MP Muhammad Ali Asgar today (April 30).
The Parliament session began at 11 am under the chairmanship of Deputy Speaker Kaiser Kamal. As per the agenda of the day, the question and answer session was raised for oral answers. MP Muhammad Ali Asgar wanted to know from the Law Minister how many harassment cases were filed against BNP and Jamaat leaders and workers across the country during the former fascist government. Is there any plan to withdraw the cases?
In response, the Law Minister said, “The party identity of the accused is not mentioned in the complaint at the time of filing the case. As a result, it is not possible to determine the exact statistics of how many harassment and false cases have been filed against BNP Jamaat leaders and workers across the country, and the government does not have any specific information in this regard.” However, citing information received from the BNP central office, Md. Asaduzzaman said, “A total of 1,42,983 false and harassment cases have been filed against BNP leaders and workers from 2007 to January 11, 2025.” He said that after coming to power, the current government formed a four-member committee at the district level under the chairmanship of the District Magistrate on March 5, 2026, which would recommend the withdrawal of harassment cases filed for political reasons. Later, the government formed a six-member ‘central committee’ on March 8, with him as the convener, to review the recommendations received from the district committee and take steps to withdraw the cases. The Law Minister said that so far, a total of 23,865 harassment cases filed for political reasons have been withdrawn. And the process of withdrawing the harassment cases that have not yet been withdrawn is ongoing.