Delwar permitted to meet Khaleda as counsel

A Dhaka court yesterday ordered allowing BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain, Sanaullah Mian and Nawshad Jamir to meet detained party Chairperson Khaleda Zia as her counsels.
They will conduct the Gatco and Nico related cases against the former prime minister filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Earlier, nine lawyers had sought permission to meet Khaleda for discussion on the cases but court yesterday allowed three of them including Delwar Hossain, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court.
BNP leaders hoped that Khaleda-appointed party Secretary General Delwar will also get an opportunity to discuss party matters when he meets her at the sub-jail.
The leaders said they could not get permission to meet the party chief since her arrest. Even her lawyers were not allowed to meet her in the last two months. All this has created confusions regarding the party.
Delwar, who is facing pressure from different quarters to forge unity with pro-Saifur BNP leaders, had earlier said he had no objection to this but he would only go by the decisions taken by Khaleda.
Previously, Khaleda had sent messages to party leaders and workers through her lawyers that in her absence, the party would run under the leadership of Delwar Hossain and Hannan Shah.
Even after the much-talked-about meeting of BNP's standing committee at Saifur Rahman's Gulshan house on October 29, which appointed him acting chairman and Hafiz Uddin Ahmed acting secretary general of the party, Khaleda reportedly reiterated her earlier decision.
Party leaders say Khaleda will now come to know from Delwar the actual situation of the party. The party will also get her decisions on different important matters and this will help the party men to remain united.
Meanwhile, Awami League acting President Zillur Rahman is leading the counsels in the cases filed against detained party President Sheikh Hasina.