BNP acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will hold a press conference on Wednesday amid the ruling party’s criticism over Khaleda Zia’s statement.
Published : 22 Jan 2014, 11:06 AM
The media briefing will be held at the party’s Naya Paltan headquarters around 12 noon, BNP’s Deputy Office Secretary Abdul Latif Jony said.
Fakhrul is likely to clarify the party’s stance on recent issues like torture of the party’s leaders and activists during raids by security forces and the High Court’s order asking Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman to surrender even after his acquittal in a money-laundering case, he said.
It will be Fakhrul’s first formal press conference after the party office remained closed for around two months due to huge police cordon around it before the Jan 5 elections.
Security forces launched raids in Satkhira to nab Jamaat-e-Islami activists in the wake of widespread violence there since party leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee's death sentence in February last year in a war crimes case.
BNP chief Khaleda Zia at a rally in Suhrawardy Udyan on Monday raised question about the raids.
“Nobody can say for sure if only security forces were there in Satkhira operation. People have doubts (about it).
“Seeing the activities of the government, it doesn’t seem that the country’s independence and sovereignty are protected,” she said.
Ruling Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam claimed on Tuesday Khaleda Zia had ‘lied’ over the raids by security forces.
He said the BNP Chairperson’s remark was tantamount to sedition and said, “She must withdraw her statement within 24 hours and apologise to the nation.”