Maintaining its ‘no-comment policy’ over verdicts against war criminals, BNP refrained from making any comment about its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami’s death sentence for his war crimes.
BNP spokesman and party acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was tight-lipped about the verdict though journalists insisted to have his comment on the issue.
Reporters sent slips to Fakhrul seeking his comment on the verdict of International Crimes Tribunal-1 against Nizami while he was addressing a discussion at the Jatiya Press Club, but he refrained from making any remark on it.
Later, the reporters approached Fakhrul when he was leaving the Press Club hall room and again sought his comment. Fakhrul parried it further and hurriedly left the place.
Earlier in the day, the ICT-1 condemned Nizami to death for crimes against humanity, including genocide and the murder of intellectuals, during the Liberation War in 1971.
Hours after the judgment, Jamaat-e-Islami called a staggered 72-hour countrywide hartal in two phases from Thursday protesting the death sentence to their ameer.
Contacted, senior BNP leaders also declined to make any comment on the verdict, saying they should not say anything about the judgement of the court.
BNP has made no comment, officially or unofficially, on the verdicts so far delivered by the Supreme Court and the International Crimes Tribunals against the war criminals, including its two leaders.
Though the party leaders after every verdict had said they would officially come up with their reactions, but that did not happen.
BNP also did not make any comment or issue any condolence message over the death of ex-ameer of the Islamic party and war crimes convict Ghulam Azam.
Though the party has questions about the standard and neutrality of the International Crimes Tribunals, it has long been maintaining its ‘no-comment policy’ over the court’s verdicts against war criminals.
Contacted, BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, who is also the party office secretary, said he did not get any instruction from the BNP high-ups to give any reaction of the party to it.
He also said it will be their personal opinions if the party leaders give any reaction to the verdict.
BNP standing committee member Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman said, “There’s no scope for making any comment over court matter.”
BNP chairperson’s adviser Shamsuzzaman Dudu and party joint secretary general Barkatullah Bulu also declined to give any reaction to it.
Source: UNB
