A top leader of the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami party was sentenced to death on Wednesday by a special Bangladeshi tribunal for committing "crimes against humanity" during the country's 1971 liberation war.
In a tit-for-tat, Bangladesh and Pakistan have reportedly detained each other's diplomatic staff amid a spat between them over the 1971 war crimes trial.
Much of Bangladesh was paralysed on Monday by the latest strike called by Jamaat-e-Islami, with two powerful explosions rocking Shahbag Square, the epicentre of a massive campaign demanding toughest punishment for leaders of the fundamentalist party for war crimes during the 1971 war.