Fakhrul hits back at PM

The hands of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are stained with the blood of several hundred innocent youths of the country, said Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday.

“Awami League is a killer party and its president Sheikh Hasina is a killer too,” the BNP acting secretary general told a press conference at the party's Naya Paltan central office in the capital. 

The press conference was organised to give the party's formal reaction to a recent remark by the PM that BNP chief Khaleda Zia, her son Tarique Rahman and her cabinet members were involved in the gruesome August 21, 2004, grenade attack on an AL rally.

Hasina made the allegation at a public meeting on the 10th anniversary of the attack on Thursday.

The August 21 attack killed 24 AL leaders and activists and injured over 300 people. Hasina, who was the opposition leader, narrowly escaped the assassination attempt.

Fakhrul yesterday said such remark by the PM involving Khaleda, Tarique and the former cabinet members were not only influencing the ongoing trial in the case, but also creating confusions.

However, Law Minister Anisul Huq on Saturday said the PM's statement would not influence the ongoing trial.

“Such remark by Hasina is also tantamount to contempt of court,” claimed the BNP leader yesterday.

Terming the grenade attack heinous and dreadful, Fakhrul said the BNP while in power had condemned the incident and tried to identify the real perpetrators with the help of Scotland Yard and FBI.

“But Sheikh Hasina did not cooperate with the foreign investigating agencies,” he said.

On the “Joj Mia drama”, the BNP leader said,” It was BNP's political decision to launch a proper investigation into incident, but the investigations were mainly carried out by a law enforcement agency.”

He, however, did not say anything further about the issue and urged all to wait and see what happens in the case.