Staff Reporter :
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced on Monday that the BNP will give the Dr Muhammad Yunus-led Interim Government the necessary time to create a conducive atmosphere for holding a national election.
“We have given this interim government the time required to create a proper environment for holding an election,” Fakhrul stated while speaking to reporters after a meeting between the Chief Adviser and senior BNP leaders at the State Guest House, Jamuna, in the capital.
This marks the first formal meeting between the head of the interim government and BNP leaders since the government’s formation on 8th August.
Fakhrul clarified that the issue of the election was not directly discussed during the meeting but emphasized that the BNP has allowed time for the interim government to prepare for the next national polls.
“We did not specify any particular timeframe for conducting the election,” he added.
The meeting was attended by BNP Standing Committee Members Dr Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar, Mirza Abbas, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, Salahuddin Ahmed, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, and Selima Rahman.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Dr Shafiqur Rahman on Monday said that his party asked the interim government to return siphoning money from abroad and reshuffle administration as soon as possible.
He asked the government to identify the corrupted officials and bring them before justice.
He has said that his party wants to give time to the newly formed interim government to formulate plans to move the nation forward.
Dr. Shafiqur Rahman said it after holding a meeting with Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus at his government office at the state guest house Jamuna.
Dr Shafiqur Rahman said, “You know that the nation is currently at a turning point. We came here at the invitation of the chief advisor.
We discussed what steps should be taken to move the country forward.”
“The country belongs to all of us. If the country is well, we will be well.
If we work with a positive attitude and cooperate with each other, and if we support those who are currently in charge, I believe the country will move towards order and prosperity.”
“In the meeting, we expressed sympathy and wished for the recovery of those who have been injured. We discussed various good and bad aspects of the country,” he said.
An 11 member delegation, led by Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman, attended the meeting inculding Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeebe Ameer Syed Abdullah Md. Taher and Maulana A.N.M. Shamsul Islam, Secretary General Professor Mia Golam Parwar, Assistant Secretary General Maulana Rafiqul Islam Khan, Hamidur Rahman Azad, Advocate Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair, Central Executive Council Member Saiful Alam Khan Milon, Central Executive Council Member and Publicity and Media Department Secretary Matiur Rahman Akand, Central Executive Council Member and Amir of Dhaka Metropolitan South Nurul Islam Bulbul and Dhaka Metropolitan North Ameer Md. Salim Uddin were present, among others.
While Law Advisor Professor Dr Asif Nazrul, Adviser for Industries Adilur Rahman Khan, Adviser for Posts, Telecommunication and Information Technology Md Nahid Islam and Adviser for Youth and Sports Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan were present.
Following the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina amid a student-led mass uprising, the interim government was formed under the leadership of Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus.
In a related development, the BNP has strongly criticised what it described as false propaganda regarding attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, asserting that these incidents are being staged to undermine the achievements of the student movement.
“It is completely false and fabricated propaganda that Hindus are being attacked in Bangladesh.
These rumours are being spread deliberately to make the student movement and the interim government appear as failures,” Fakhrul told journalists.
“I believe that no one in Bangladesh or the world believes these claims.”
The BNP leader further accused those spreading such claims of attempting to create chaos and instability by echoing false and baseless propaganda about attacks on minorities.
Earlier in the day, Fakhrul and other party leaders conducted prayers at Banani graveyard in the capital for the late Arafat Rahman Koko, the younger son of the late President Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, on his 55th birth anniversary.