BNP wants quick elections. However, they do not want to give any time to the internal government for this. On the other hand, on the other hand, the party is yet to take a final decision on the return of BNP Acting Chairman Tariq Rahman and chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia going out of the country for treatment. They are still calling these two issues “in progress”.
BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said, “I think it may take six months maximum for the reforms required for fair elections. Elections should be the target of reform.”
BNP is facing a different situation as Khaleda Zia and Tariq Rahman are not in the political field. Several BNP leaders said that there is no political alliance between Jamaat and BNP. It is already known that the distance between BNP and Jamaat has started increasing. On the other hand, the formation of a new political party of the anti-discrimination student movement, which led the mass uprising, has also made BNP worried.
Even though BNP wants quick elections, Jamaat is on a slow-moving policy. And seeing that on August 28, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir pointed to the Jamaat and said, “Those who do not have public support, the people do not think that they can run the government, they have such different thoughts. The biggest thing is that our fight is to restore democracy.That’s what elections are for. It is our right. We have been fighting for elections for so long, we have been struggling.”
He also criticized the excessive media coverage of Jamaat. He expressed apprehension about the possibility of a depoliticization process like an eleven.
BNP leaders had earlier said that elections would be held within three and a half months. But now he has moved away from there. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir along with three leaders held a meeting with the chief adviser and other advisers about this situation on Thursday.
There they urged the Chief Adviser to start a quick dialogue with the political parties for the elections. As a result of their insistence, the interim government is holding talks with the political parties on Saturday.
One of the three BNP leaders who held a meeting with the chief adviser on Thursday was the party’s standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed. He said, “Discussions with us have made it clear that the Chief Adviser has a plan for reforms. Among them are Election Commission, Administration, Police Administration, Judiciary, ACC and some other organizations.By doing this, he may reveal a roadmap of how long it might take for a fair election. We also told him, ‘Since you have expressed your desire to publish the election roadmap, then talk to the political parties.’ From his perspective, the talks with the political parties have started from Saturday. We talked. Then if you call again we will go.”
He said in reply to a question, “I think it should not take more than six months to complete the necessary reforms by targeting the elections and complete the democratic elections.”
The subject is Khaleda Zia and Tarek Zia
Regarding Tariq Rahman’s return to the country, Salahuddin Ahmed said, “He has some lawsuits and legal issues. We want to resolve them through legal process. Then I think he will plan to come back home.”
It is known that the plaintiff has already withdrawn a case against Tariq Rahman. Now the rest are waiting for the legal process to be completed. On the other hand, it is also uncertain when Chairperson Khaleda Zia will be able to go abroad for treatment.
Regarding sending Begum Khaleda Zia out of the country for treatment, he said, “Only the doctors can tell whether she is physically fit to move or fly long.”
Khaleda Zia was released by executive order in 2020 but could not be taken abroad for better treatment. Despite repeated appeals from the family, the Awami League government turned it down. However, the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left the country after resigning in the student uprising on August 5. The President released Khaleda Zia on August 6.
Currently, there is no obstacle for him to go abroad for treatment. On behalf of BNP, it has been said that he should be sent out of the country for treatment. Passport Directorate withheld Khaleda Zia’s passport on various pretexts at the top level of Awami League government. Khaleda Zia was given a renewed Machine Readable Passport (MRP) on the night of her release on August 6.He is now staying at his residence in Feroza. He left the hospital on July 2.
Khaleda Zia’s personal physician and member of the BNP standing committee. AZM Zahid Hossain said, “We are maintaining contact with some hospitals in England and the United States. But he is not yet physically fit enough to fly for a long time. He is healthy. But he does not have the fitness to fly.
He has to fly for 18-20 hours to take the US. If taken in an air ambulance, it will be stressful during the flight. Whether he can take that pressure or not, there is also the pressure of ups and downs.”
He said, “The medical board will take the final decision in this regard. We are waiting for their green signal.”
Barrister Kaiser Kamal, legal affairs secretary of BNP said, “Tareek Rahman is a son of this soil. He grew up and studied here. He must return to his native country. We have started the process of dealing legally with the false cases given by the fascist Hasina government.”
He further said, “Several of these false cases are now being withdrawn by the plaintiffs. On January 7, 2015, the High Court banned the publication of Tariq Rahman’s speech. But the petitioner for the ban has since withdrawn his case. And he has been punished by the lower court in four cases, including the so-called August 1st case.
Among them are false cases of corruption. We are looking at them in the legal process. Justice was analyzing and taking action.”
“He will return to the country only after the legal process is over,” he said.