BNP calls for removal of national security adviser Khalilur Rahman

BNP has called upon the interim government to immediately remove National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman from his post.

Protesting the security adviser's remarks made yesterday about the party's acting chairman Tarique Rahman, BNP condemned the statement and called for an immediate withdrawal.

"There is no room for experimenting with the state. Khalilur Rahman must be removed immediately from the post of National Security Adviser. The details of his whereabouts, both at home and abroad, must be made public," said BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

He made the statement at a press conference at the party's central office in Nayapaltan this morning.

"Where was Dr Khalilur during one and a half decades of fascism? Where was he living? In which country? What was his status abroad? What role did he play against fascism? The answers to all these questions must be made known to the public," Rizvi said.

The BNP leader said Khalilur's remarks about Tarique Rahman have left the country's people "stunned, shocked, worried, and outraged."

He added that the security adviser's statement is, in the public's view, a "repetition of fascist rhetoric."

Rizvi accused Khalilur of making the remarks with an intention to "destroy" Tarique Rahman's political credibility, confuse the public, and tarnish his reputation.

Khalilur Rahman's way of presenting the matter of Tarique Rahman's exile in the UK is entirely deliberate and misleading, he said.

Citing the adviser's remarks, Rizvi said: "Who told you (Khalilur) this? You may have had conversations with those who said it. How did Tarique Rahman come here?"

"…How did he become relevant in this discussion? How did he become the topic? He is leading the largest political party in Bangladesh. He is its chairman. Why did you bring him up out of context?" he asked.

Saying that public doubts are mounting, Rizvi added, "How did someone as controversial as Khalilur Rahman—known as an architect of the conspiracy to hand over corridors, channels, and ports to foreigners—get appointed as the national security adviser?"

"I want to tell Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus: You have appointed someone as the national security adviser who has no visible contribution to the country."

"He is not for Bangladesh—people are beginning to question whether he works for foreign interests."

Addressing the interim government, Rizvi further said, "Some among those in power seem eager to pick a fight with BNP."

"No one has heard the name of Dr Khalilur Rahman during the long decade and a half of anti-fascist struggle," he added.

Rizvi said that the security adviser suddenly "flew in and sat down" to assume the position now that the times are good.

"People have a right to know whether the country's security is in safe hands under him."

Rizvi questioned whether Khalilur was "trying to undermine the country's sovereignty".

Earlier on Wednesday, speaking at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, Dr Khalilur Rahman had said, "If I'm being labelled a foreign citizen simply for residing in the US."

He continued, "Then by the same logic, BNP Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman – who has lived in the UK for years – could be similarly labelled."

"If you throw a stone at me, it could end up others too," he said, urging those who raised questions about his citizenship to make comments judiciously.