One petition was filed by Supreme Court lawyer Yunus Ali Akhand on Mar 14 and the other by the editor and publisher of Daily Morning Post, Habibul Bashar, on Mar 18. Orders on the petition were scheduled for Wednesday.
The orders had been scheduled for Wednesday even according to the court’s cause list, but former BNP leader and prominent lawyer barrister Nazmul Huda stood up to say, “My Lord this is a national issue. I have been talking about this for a long time. So I have a say in these writs. I want to do a hearing for this case.”
The court replied the leader saying, “We have already scheduled an order. How do we incorporate your hearing?”
Huda said, “Allow me one day. Deliver your order tomorrow (Thursday) after hearing what I have to say.”
The court then decided to postpone the order until Thursday.
Akhand and Bashar, the two petitioners, had conducted their own hearings on Tuesday.
Akhand’s petition requested a rule from the High Court to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition chief Khaleda Zia into a dialogue, to find a way out of the politics of confrontation and also to ensure a fair and peaceful general election.
The 14-party alliance led by ruling Awami League, BNP-led 18-Party Alliance, Election Commission, incumbent government and the Ministry of Home were made defendants in this petition.
The petition by Habibul Bashar also asked for similar directives for the two top leaders of Bangladesh.
Akhand said during the hearing, “More than 150 people died during the recent political unrest. An order is absolutely required to initiate a political dialogue between the two leaders for the sake of the nation’s people and also to ensure a free, peaceful and acceptable-to-all general election.”
Court at this stage said, “Dialogue and elections are already mentioned in the Constitution.”
But a court order was required since the two main political parties were currently in a hostile relationship, the petitioner replied.
The main opposition BNP has been in a campaign to bring back the provision for caretaker government ever since it was abolished by the current Awami League-led government in 2011.
Diplomats and business community have made several calls for dialogue to put an end to bridge the divide between the two political parties.
LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam recently said, “Awami League does not oppose dialogue, but BNP will have to come to the table without conditions.”
Meanwhile, BNP chief Khaleda Zia dismissed the possibilities of talks earlier this week and reiterated her stance of agitation to remove the government.
Nazmul Huda, amidst a fiery argument between the two sides, said on Mar 9 that the two leaders should sit for talks without any preconditions. He was widely discussed and criticized for advocating talks even while he was in the BNP.
He left BNP last year to enter a new party but was dismissed from there.
