Khaleda: Lower courts under grip of govt

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on Saturday said country's the lower courts are now under the grip of the government and they do not have the power to deliver proper judgements. The BNP Chief said: "The Supreme Court said that the lower courts are under the grasp of the government. They can't work independently ....can't deliver proper verdict.” She was speaking at the inaugural daylong session of the party's national executive committee meeting that started at Hotel Le Meridian in the morning. "We have seen the consequences of delivering proper judgements. A chief justice had to leave the country for delivering the right verdict in Tarique Zia's case," she said. The inaugural session of the meeting started around 11am where a condolence motion was adopted for the eminent personalities and party activists who have died recently. The BNP leaders and activists observed a one-minute silence to show respect to the departed. Organizational reports will be placed by the party's secretary general at the session and the BNP chief is expected to give fresh directives to her party leaders and activists about the party's next course of action and future movement centring the next general election. In the concluding session of the meeting, a closed-door meeting will be held between Khaleda Zia and the party's top leaders. Around 450 leaders, including standing committee members, executive committee members, and vice-chairmen, chairperson's advisers and presidents and secretaries of the party's different associate bodies, attended the meeting.