Khaleda backs Hifazat

Opposition chief Khaleda Zia has extended her support to Hifazat-e Islam’s siege of Dhaka on Sunday.

“The religious leaders have come down to the streets to protest, to demand punishment of those who insulted the Prophet. That is why I am supporting their cause”, said the BNP Chairperson.

She reminded the government that the Hifazat agitation was a peaceful one and the government should not oppose it.

“I will ask the government to refrain from plans to remove Alems and Ulamas from the country if they can’t remove the seditious bloggers from Shahbagh. They are not the ones to retreat,” Khaleda said.

She termed the supporters of Hifazat-e Islam as religious devotees who love their country.

On Militancy and Shahbagh

The BNP chief claimed the government was wrong to portray Hifazat as militants to foreigners. She said the people of Bangladesh are not militants, but mere devotees.

“Awami League has militants. Shayekh Abdur Rahman is son-in-law of Awami League’s Mirza Azam. They supported militancy when BNP was in power. We had taken measures to arrest terrorists/militants like Shayekh Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai.”

The opposition chief came down heavily on the Shahbagh protestors.

“Shahbagh’s youths don’t speak of the government’s corruption … Hall-Mark, Destiny, Padma Bridge scam. They just repeat one thing like parrots.”

“We know who made them sit at Shahbagh. The people of Bangladesh also know by now," she added.

On War Crimes Trials

The BNP chief insisted that the war crimes trials should be transparent and fair .

“The government always says I am trying to hamper the trials. This is a lie. I want trial of those who committed crimes against humanity. But that has to be transparent and meet international standards.”