20-party curtails tomorrow’s hartal by 12hrs
BNP-led 20-party alliance will enforce a 12-hour countrywide hartal tomorrow instead of 24 hours considering the ongoing O- and A-level examination and Biswa Ijtema.
Now, the alliance will observe the hartal from 6:00am to 6:00pm, said Syrul Kabir Khan, a staff of BNP chairperson’s media wing.
Earlier, it called a 24-hour nationwide hartal for tomorrow protesting the gun attack on BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's adviser Reaz Rahman at the capital's Gulshan-2 last night.
Reaz was on way to his Bashundhara residence after meeting Khaleda at her Gulshan office, where the BNP chief remains confined for the past 11 days.
The alliance is observing a nonstop blockade across the country since January 5 in protest against Khaleda’s confinement.
In the wake of growing violence and loss of lives, the Unites States, United Kingdom and European Union have urged all the sides to show restraint and engage in “genuine dialogue” to solve the crisis.
They also demanded that the government probe Tuesday night’s gun attack on former foreign secretary Reaz Rahman and try the attackers.
BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi in a statement declared the hartal hours into the attack which left Reaz Rahman injured in Gulshan of Dhaka.
The BNP Chairperson's adviser Reaz Rahman was shot in his car by unidentified people who also torched the vehicle at the capital's Gulshan-2 on Tuesday night.
The injuries are not life threatening, said his daughter Amina Rahman, quoting doctors.
The action movie-style attack happened around 8:40pm and it took no more than three minutes, witnesses said, adding that eight attackers on three bikes then fled the scene.
All the eight were wearing helmets.
Deputy Commissioner (Gulshan Division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Lutful Kabir confirmed the shooting incident to The Daily Star. But he would not elaborate.
The motive behind the attack remains unclear.
A former foreign secretary, Reaz was passing through lane no-46, just opposite the Hotel Westin.
He was on way to his Baridhara residence after meeting Khaleda at her Gulshan office, where he came around 7:10pm.
When he entered the narrow lane after coming out of Khaleda's office around 8:30pm, the attackers followed him and then waylaid him with their bikes.
The attackers first asked him to come out of the car. But before he could come out, they broke the windshields with hammers and started shooting him simultaneously. Before fleeing, they firebombed the car, said Titu Das, an electrician of a nearby building.
The BNP leader then got down from the car and crawled to a nearby building for shelter.
On information, police later took him to the hospital.
BNP leader Nazrul Islam Khan demanded an immediate investigation to find out the culprits.
Comments