BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul speaking at a human chain in the city on Monday. -AA
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) yesterday said the government must release its chairperson Khaleda Zia from jail to demonstrate its intention of holding a fair and acceptable national election. "We would likely to clearly say the election will never be acceptable to people if Khaleda Zia remains in jail," said BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
Speaking at a human-chain program, he said, "The government must release our leader (Khaleda) from jail. If they do it, we will understand they want an acceptable election."BNP leaders and activists staged the protest program in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka to demand the release of party chief Khaleda Zia.
The hour-long program began around 11:00am and ended at 12:00pm. The party announced that it will conduct a two-hour symbolic hunger strike in Dhaka, metropolitan areas and district towns on September 12.
BNP activists and leaders began to gather at the Press Club around 10am with banners and placards. They chanted various slogans calling for Khaleda's release.One side of the road in front of the Press Club had been blocked by the protests. Police have arranged for traffic to be diverted on the other side.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee members Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, Nazrul Islam Khan, Mirza Abbas, Vice Chairman Abdullah Al Noman, and Advisory Council members Jainul Abedin Farooq, Abdus Salam and Ataur Rahman Dhali joined the demonstration at the National Press Club on Monday.
Khaleda has been serving a five-year prison sentence in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case since the verdict was announced on February 8.
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