Signatures for Khaleda's release -The Asian Age

BNP is seeking signatures as part of a public petition for the release of party chief Khaleda Zia.BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir launched the program at the party headquarters in Dhaka's Naya Paltan at 11am yesterday by signing the form.

It was then signed by BNP Standing Committee members Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, Moudud Ahmed, Mirza Abbas, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

The party will continue collecting signatures on the public petition until Khaleda is released, Mirza Fakhrul said.
BNP activists chanted slogans calling for Khaleda's release. Several top leaders of the 20-party alliance leaders also signed the petition.

An additional police presence was deployed in the area during the program. Vehicles carrying water cannons also stood at the ready. On February 8, Khaleda was sentenced to five years in prison in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case. The BNP held two days of protests immediately afterwards.

The second round of protests began on February 12 and continued for three straight days. The signing of the public petition kicks off the third round of protests, which are also scheduled to run for three consecutive days.

BNP is to issue a memorandum to the country's deputy commissioners today and hold protests in all districts and cities in Bangladesh aside from Dhaka on February 20.BNP has also applied to the police for permission to hold a rally at Dhaka's Suhrawardy Udyan or its Naya Paltan headquarters on February 22.

-AA Correspondent