Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan. File photo

DHAKA, Oct 10, 2025 (BSS) -  Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan has said Awami League should be held accountable as a party for the killings carried out during the July-August 2024 uprising.

"We believe the Awami League must be tried as a party for the massacres it carried out during the July 2024 uprising," he said.

Asif Mahmud was responding to a journalist's query on Thursday  on the International Crimes Tribunal premises, following his testimony as a prosecution witness (PW) in a case lodged over the killing of six civilians in the city's Chankharpul area on August 5, 2024.

He said "Many who benefited under Awami League rule are now trying by various means to rehabilitate the party.

"However, after more than 1,500 deaths and nearly 30,000 injured, the people of Bangladesh will not allow the guilty party to be rehabilitated. If the struggle must continue, we are ready to do so," he added.

Answering questions about two cases related to enforced disappearances that occurred under Awami League rule, the adviser called recent developments a milestone.

He said the International Crimes Tribunal and the Enforced Disappearance Commission have been working on these matters and faced various obstacles over the past year.

"Our Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus gave clear instructions that those involved in these heinous acts, responsible for disappearances and failing to return hundreds of people, must be punished. Yesterday, we reached a milestone in that process with the issuance of arrest warrants against them," he said.

Describing the warrants as a victory for the government and the justice system, Asif Mahmud urged that the arrest process and subsequent proceedings be conducted properly.

"There must be no effort from any quarter to shelter or protect the offenders," he said.

On repatriating fugitives accused of crimes against humanity, he said the government will take all necessary measures.

"The government will take appropriate steps, in line with the law and existing prisoner-exchange agreements with other countries, to bring them back," he added.