Dhaka: The countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal enforced by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami protesting the arrest and remand of its top leaders, including Ameer Maqbul Ahmad, is underway on Thursday in a slacked manner.

The shutdown that began at 6:00 am will continue till 6:00 pm.

Vehicular movement was seen normal in the capital.

Significant number of law enforcers was deployed at important points of the city to fend off any unwanted incidents.

In Sylhet, the movement of vehicles in the divisional city is normal. No picketing or procession in support of hartal, was seen in the morning.

The students of schools and colleges were seen going to their institutions but the presence of students in the educational institutions was poor.

Besides, long route buses left the city but the number of vehicles is less than the other normal days.

A large number of law enforcers were kept deployed in various places of the city.

Earlier on Tuesday, Jamaat announced the shutdown in a statement soon after a court put nine of their top leaders on a 10-day remand in two cases filed against them with Kadamtali Police Station.

On Monday night, detectives arrested Jamaat Ameer Maqbul Ahmad, its Nayeb-e-Ameer Mia Golam Parwar, also a former MP from Khulna-5 constituency, Secretary General Dr Shafiqur Rahman and six other party leaders from the city’s Uttara area.

The Jamaat statement said ambulance, fire service and hospital vehicles, media and other emergency services will remain outside the purview of the hartal.