BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is undergoing treatment at two hospitals in Singapore. On the advice of doctors, his physical examination started on Wednesday.
His wife, Rahat Ara Begum, is also undergoing treatment in Singapore.
Mirza Fakhrul will return to the country by the end of the second week of this month. “It may take at least two more weeks for Mirza Fakhrul to return to the country. After returning home, he can join the BNP’s regular activities along with iftar parties during the month of Ramadan,” Shayrul Kabir Khan, a member of the BNP's media cell, told this reporter.
According to party sources, two schedules for iftar parties have already been finalized. On the first day of Ramadan, an iftar party will be organized in honour of political leaders, where orphans and Muslim scholars will be present. The event will be organized at the Ladies Club in Dhaka, where the party plans to host another iftar party on March 28. It is assumed that the BNP secretary general will join both parties.
On Monday (March 4), Mirza Fakhrul went to Singapore to receive treatment following his release from prison on February 15. He was arrested at his Gulshan residence on October 29 of last year. Since then, he has been seen walking with the help of a stick. After getting out of jail, Mirza Fakhrul consulted doctors at a private hospital in the capital twice.
Mirza Fakhrul met BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on February 19 at her Gulshan residence. Sources said that the meeting was emotional in nature, and seeing Fakhrul with a stick, Khaleda Zia instructed him to take good care of himself and stay strong mentally.
Sources also said that the chairperson and the acting chairman have conveyed to Mirza Fakhrul that he should take care of his health first. They also suggested that Mirza Fakhrul cannot be mentally weak in any way.
On February 24, Mirza Fakhrul held a meeting with Afreen Akhter, the visiting US Department of State deputy assistant secretary for South and Central Asia, in Dhaka. Then on March 2, he held meetings with Ganatantra Mancha and the 12 Party Alliance, who are in a simultaneous movement with the BNP. The meeting with Ganatantra Mancha was held at his own residence, while the other meeting was held at the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan residence.
Saiful Haque, general secretary of the Biplobi Workers Party, also a leader of the Ganatantra Mancha, said: "We went there on a courtesy call. Many complications have arisen as he has been in jail for a long time. He said he would go to Singapore for treatment.”
After his release from prison, Mirza Fakhrul apparently remained silent, apart from a media interview. Although he participated in a standing committee meeting of the BNP, he did not attend any other party activities. Speaking to this reporter on February 28, Mirza Fakhrul said: "I will be able to speak after completing the treatment."
This silence of Mirza Fakhrul has been seen as mysterious in the BNP.
There are discussions within the party about whether Fakhrul is resigning from his post, and if so, then who will replace him? According to rumours, a member of the standing committee will replace Fakhrul if he resigns. While talking to this reporter, influential leaders and officials of the BNP said that the party naturally has leaders who support and oppose Mirza Fakhrul. In this case, a section from within the party is trying to reap the benefits of the silence and is working to hurt Mirza Fakhru mentally to make him weaker.
Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, a member of the Standing Committee, stated to this reporter: "Those who are pro-government are spreading such propaganda about Mirza Fakhrul. There is no truth in it. The spokespersons of the Awami League are spreading these lies.”
There was opposition even when Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir took office as the party's acting general secretary. Khaleda Zia announced Mirza Fakhrul as the acting general secretary of the party on March 20, 2011, after the then-secretary general, Khandaker Delwar Hossain, passed away. Some senior party leaders questioned Fakhrul’s promotion. They said that there is no mention of any position as acting general secretary in the constitution of the BNP.
On March 21 the same year, Khaleda Zia officially announced Mirza Fakhrul as the acting secretary general after a visit to Saudi Arabia. Then the confusion ended. On March 19, 2016, Mirza Fakhrul was elected the party's secretary general at the party's sixth national conference.
What is the secret of Mirza Fakhrul's silence?
An official of the BNP said that the way people responded to the divisional gatherings and programs in the capital before the 12th national elections, there was hope that this would bring about a change. But it did not happen, people's expectations fell. Mirza Fakhrul is trying to understand what can be done to bring those people forward again with the same conviction. According to the source, people's expectations will not be met by opposing the government through traditional speeches or words, as the BNP secretary general believes.
That is why Mirza Fakhrul spoke to the party leaders after coming out of prison. He heard the views of different political parties. He took the matter of his health seriously, especially since he had lost six kilograms after getting out of jail.
Mirza Fakhrul was in jail for three and a half months. There are 112 cases filed against him with different police stations. Of them, 25 are currently under trial, sources said.