Leaders and activists of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its associate bodies braced themselves for according a reception to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia as she is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka today by an Emirates flight from London.
She will land at the Dhaka airport at 5:20pm, according to party sources.
The BNP chief has been in London for medical purposes for over three months since July 15.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told reporters that leaders and activists of the party have eagerly been waiting to have a glimpse of Khaleda and greet her.
They are, however, apprehensive about the arrest of the party chief as three courts recently issued arrest warrants against her in three different cases including for an arson attack that had killed eight people in February 2015, during a countrywide blockade enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance.
Asked about the execution of the warrants, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said law enforcement agencies would take actions according to the law.
The BNP sources said Khaleda is scheduled to appear before a Dhaka court on October 19 in a case filed against her, and on October 23, she will hold a meeting with Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj in Dhaka.
Party insiders said BNP men are mulling over a massive rally to show off their strength and would try their utmost to deter law enforcers from arresting her at the airport.
However, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Alamgir said he believed the law enforcers would not arrest her.
Contacted, Awami League Joint Secretary Abdur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune: “Whether or not Khaleda will be arrested is a legal matter. The Awami League has nothing to do in this regard.”
SM Mustaque Ahmed, deputy commissioner (Gulshan division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said they had not received any warrants as yet against Khaleda.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
