A Narail court has issued an arrest warrant against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, for her comments questioning the number of martyrs in the Liberation War of 1971.
Narail Sadar’s Senior Judicial Magistrate’s Court of Judge Md. Jahidul Azad issued the arrest warrant as Khaleda Zia did not appear before the court even after being summoned.
On 25 July, the court had summoned the BNP chairperson as a case was filed against her for distorting the history of the Liberation War.
Lawyer of the plaintiff’s side, Abdus Salam Khan said the court had issued the arrest warrant as Khaleda Zia was not present in court even after summons. The court has set 31st October for further proceedings of the case.
Md Rayhan Faruki Imam, a member of a Freedom Fighter’s family from the Narail district’s Kaliya Upazila, had filed the case against Khaleda Zia on 24th December last year.
According to the case description, on 21st December, 2015, Khaleda Zia had said in a Freedom Fighter’s rally that there is ‘controversy’ over the number of martyrs in the Liberation War. Other than that, the BNP chairperson had referred to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and said that he ‘did not want independence’.
Khaleda Zia had indicated that Bangabandhu wanted to be the Prime Minister of Pakistan, and did not want an independent Bangladesh. The statement of the BNP chief was circulated in all media platforms and was criticized immensely.
Plaintiff Rayhan Faruki had read the news filed the case on 24th December, 2015. The Judge took ruled the case and ordered a judicial inquiry into the case on February 2, 2016.
Faruki had said he had filed the case as he was respectful to the Liberation War and was hurt by the comments of Khaleda Zia that disrespected the martyrs.
Source: Ittefaq
