Amid BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia’s threat to call a series of hartal and blockade programmes if the government does not quit, the BNP-led 18-party alliance is going to enforce a 48-hour nationwide hartal from Monday.
The opposition alliance enforces the shutdown at 6am Monday as the government did not release its all leaders and activists, arrested from BNP’s Nayaplatan central office during a police raid on March 11, by their deadline that expired on Thursday.
Addressing a public rally at Charigram village in Singair upazila of Manikganj on Saturday, Khaleda threatened to call a series of hartals and blockades again if the government does not step down. “There’s no point in holding dialogue with a killer government. Now it’s necessary to oust this regime. This killer administration must quit,” she said.
Meanwhile, panic gripped the city dwellers as at least 15 vehicles were torched at different parts of the capital on the eve of the hartal. However, there was no report of any casualty in the arson attacks.
Police detained 15 suspected pro-hartal activists from different of the city till 7:30 pm on Sunday.
Traffic in the city turned thin following the pre-hartal street violence, prompting the panic-stricken people either to rush back home or stay indoor. The city wore almost a deserted look amid an uneasy calm.
Huge police, Rab and BGB members started guarding the city streets in the evening to maintain law and order.
Sources at the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said additional 10,000 police will be on duty in the city during the hartal hours on Monday and Tuesday to avert any untoward incident and ensure the security of people and their property.
Besides, plainclothes police with still and video cameras will be put on alert at a number of strategic points in the city during the hartal hours to identify the troublemakers. Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) will also be posted at a number of places along with the police in uniform.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir on Sunday said BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia must take the responsibility in case of any loss of life during the nationwide 48-hour shutdown.
The minister came up with the strong remark in response to BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s recent comment that there may be more loss of lives (in the coming days). “We might face more losses, but we’ll have to take to the streets to save the country and its people,” she told a rally in Manikganj on Saturday.
Besides, State Minister for Home Advocate Shamsul Haque Tuku said terrorism in the name of hartal will not be tolerated. “BNP-Jamaat activists carried out arson attacks by torching several vehicles at different parts of the capital today ahead of what they claimed their peaceful hartal …these are not at all peaceful activities …setting vehicles afire is a terrorist act,” he told UNB over phone on Sunday.
Warning that such activities will be dealt with a strong hand, Tuku said the members of law-enforcement agencies will employ all the force against the troublemakers in case of any attempt to create chaos in the name of hartal.
BNP sources said BNP, Jamaat and other partners of the alliance have taken an all-out preparation to make the hartal a success.
Alliance chief Khaleda Zia, who will coordinate the programme, has already held meeting with the leaders of city unit BNP and its associate organizations, and directed them to bring pro-hartal processions from every thana unit of the party.
On Sunday, top leaders the 18-party alliance at a meeting decided to strengthen their ongoing one-point ‘oust-government movement’ and spontaneously observe the hartal staying on the streets.
On March 11, police raided the BNP office and arrested over 150 leaders and activists of BNP, including its acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, vice chairmen Sadeque Hossain Khoka, Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abedin Farroque, BNP joint secretaries general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Amanullah Aman.
Later in the day, BNP standing committee members following an emergency meeting threatened to enforce countrywide hartals on March 18 and 19 if their arrested leaders are not released and valuables ‘looted’ from BNP’s Nayapaltan central office not returned by Thursday.
However, three of the BNP leaders — Fakhrul, Khoka and Altaf Hossain Chowdhury — were released on Tuesday keeping all others behind the bars.
On Wednesday, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia addressing an unscheduled gathering of party activists in front of its Nayapaltan office renewed their threat that if the detained leaders and activists are not released by Thursday the 18-party would enforce an all-out hartal.
Source: UNBConnect
