National

Jamaat calls hartal for Wednesday

Jamaat-e-Islami has called a 12-hour countrywide hartal (shutdown) for Wednesday after the Supreme Court upheld death penalty awarded to the party’s leader Mir Quasem Ali for his 1971 war crimes.The hartal will begin from 6am to 6pm on Wednesday, Jamaat said in a release on their website.Ambulance, fire-service and hospital vehicles, press and other emergency services will be outside the purview of the hartal, according to the website release. The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death penalty awarded to war criminal Mir Quasem Ali for his wartime crimes, dismissing his review plea against the gallows.