Staff Reporter :
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday urged the government to withdraw all cases against the party’s acting Chairman Tarique Rahman to pave the way for his return to the country soon.
“We asked the government that all cases against Tarique Rahman must be withdrawn soon so that he can return to the country.
If the cases filed against BNP activists are not withdrawn, there will never be a neutral field for holding inclusive polls,” Mirza Fakhrul also said at a meeting in Gazipur held in memory of the late BNP Standing Committee Member Brigadier General (retd) Hannan Shah.
Tarique Rahman went into self-imposed exile in London soon after the BNP lost the 2008 national elections. He has been convicted in multiple cases during the Awami League regime.
Last year, he was sentenced to nine years in a case filed over accumulating illegal wealth. In 2016, Tarique was handed down a seven-year jail term in a money-laundering case.
He was also sentenced to prison for life in 2018 over a plot to assassinate Hasina in 2004 when she was in the opposition.
Meanwhile, speaking at the memorial meeting Mirza Fakhrul also warned the interim government not to take too much time to hold elections.
“Logical time does not mean too much time. The sooner elections are held, the better off the country will be
. [The interim government] must hand over power to the people through elections after reforms. If necessary, we will protest on the streets again to establish democracy,” he said.
“People might not tolerate any dilly-dallying in this regard,” he said.
The BNP secretary general said Bangladesh is yet to overcome the democratic crisis despite Sheikh Hasina fleeing the country.
“People believe that democracy should be established through free elections,” he said, calling for holding an election as soon as possible.
Alleging that the Awami League is still trying to hatch conspiracies, Fakhrul said, “They’re trying to destabilise the country.”
“Awami League might try to create various unstable situations centring the upcoming Durga Puja. Everyone should be alert. Hindu brothers are citizens of this country. I assure you, any incident will be dealt with united efforts,” he said.
