Delwar doubts claim of Khaleda's unity order

The unification process of BNP apparently came to a halt as Delwar, the Khaleda-appointed secretary general of the party, yesterday ruled out the message conveyed by Khaleda's lawyer.
Khandaker Delwar Hossain in a press briefing at his Nam flat said the party chairperson did not convey any such message to him through her lawyer.
On Friday, Khaleda's lawyer Mahbub Uddin Khokon, after visiting BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia at sub jail, told reporters, "She has asked to unite the party and urged the nationalist forces to unite for the sake of the party and the country."
Meanwhile, most members of BNP standing committee decided to inform the court of their opinion regarding the party leadership before the hearing of the writ petition Delwar had filed against the decision of the Election Commission to invite the Saifur-led faction for electoral dialogue, said party insiders.
Legal wing of the pro-Khaleda faction will prepare statements on behalf of the standing committee members, sources said.
Standing committee members RA Goni and M Shamsul Islam -- who were present in the Oct 29 meeting of the standing committee held at Saifur Rahman's residence -- yesterday discussed the matter with Delwar, said party leaders.
At the press briefing, Delwar termed the lawyer's comment to the media 'intentional'. "I did not get any such message. I don't even know anything about it.... I just saw the news in newspaper," Delwar said.
"I have no objection against the unification of the party. But since she [Khaleda] did not assign me [with the task], ...I cannot take any decision," he said.
"I don't know if political discussion is possible inside jail," Delwar said adding that even if it was possible, questions are being raised because the matter was made public without first informing the secretary general of the party.
"Her relatives and other lawyers also met her earlier, but she did not convey any [such] message [to them]. What has happened now that she had to convey the message through Mr Khokon?" said Delwar.
"He [Khokon] also spoke with Saifur Rahman before meeting the chairperson. So what can I do if questions are raised?" he added.
Delwar also said he could not do anything about the ones expelled by the chairperson.
He did not however make any comment regarding the meeting between Saifur Rahman and Rizvi Ahmed, acting office secretary of the party.
Rizvi met Saifur Rahman on Friday morning at his Gulshan residence as an envoy of Delwar for finding ways to reunite the party.
Blaming the pro-Saifur leaders for frequently changing their position, Delwar said although Saifur and Maj (retd) Hafiz had claimed that they would quit their posts from the party, some preconditions they set are creating obstacles in the unification process.
Responding to a query, he said forming of a national government before holding the election is unconstitutional. "The country now needs an elected government. A national government could have been formed after the Liberation War," he said.
Claiming that Tarique Rahman has been physically and mentally devastated as he was tortured during remand, he said torture in the name of interrogation is a violation of the laws of the land and existing international rules of human rights.
“Physical condition of Tarique and Koko is serious," Delwar said. He urged the authorities to arrange better treatment for them or release them so that they can get better treatment themselves.
Delwar also insisted on Khaleda's freedom for creating a suitable environment for dialogues and a meaningful election.
Meanwhile, Khaleda's lawyer Mahbub Uddin Khokon in a press briefing at his Dhanmondi residence yesterday evening rejected the allegation raised by Delwar, saying that he did not give any false statement using Khaleda Zia's name.
"I have only said what Khaleda Zia had asked me to [convey]," he said adding, "A few people, who are hatching conspiracies to split the party, have misguided him [Delwar]."
He also noted that Khaleda had written a letter to the Election Commission urging it to invite Khandaker Delwar for the upcoming electoral dialogue.