, Nov. 10 -- The government will withdraw any criminal case, except rape cases, filed during the Awami League government if those are found to be politically motivated, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Md Asaduzzaman said in Parliament on Tuesday.

"Except rape cases, any other case, even a murder case, will be withdrawn if those are political in nature and pass through our screening process. There are no ifs and buts in this regard," he said.

The minister was responding to a supplementary question from BNP lawmaker from Noakhali-2 Zainul Abdin Farroque during the question-and-answer session.

He said cases were not labelled as political when they were filed, which is why political leaders and activists facing such cases h...