BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will address a press conference today to explain the position of her party and the 20-party alliance in the context of the latest political scenario.
This alliance of political parties has been conducting a violent anti-government campaign of blockades and general strikes calling for the government to step down and call for new elections.
“The press conference will be held at the chairperson’s Gulshan office at 4pm,” Maruf Kamal Khan, press secretary to Khaleda, said in a press release.
Khaleda had held a press conference on Jan 19 at that office where she has been living since Jan 3.
She declared the ongoing non-stop blockade of streets and waterways on Jan 5 when law enforcers prevented her from going out to join a rally marking one year of the national elections that BNP had boycotted and the Awami League swept virtually unopposed.
She announced continuous blockade until the government took the initiative to resolve the prevailing political crisis at that press conference.
Khaleda has not spoken to the media since.
She last appeared before the media on January 27 soon after her younger son Arafat Rahman Koko’s body arrived in Bangladesh.
The decision of Khaleda’s press briefing comes on the heels of the issuance of a warrant for her arrest.
Khaleda might call upon the government once again to create a congenial atmosphere for a dialogue and stop repression of opposition members, said a party insider.
She might also reiterate her vow to continue with the blockade and shutdowns until and unless the government shows an inclination for talks.
“She is still rigid on her stance and will reiterate her position once again at the press conference,” a senior leader seeking anonymity told the Dhaka Tribune.
“What else can we do if the government does not make any positive gesture towards the opposition? Khaleda Zia will not bow down. We are just waiting for the government’s response,” the senior leader said.
Meanwhile, a central party leader seeking anonymity said another Joint Secretary General, Barkatullah Bulu will speak as a party spokesperson from now on as Salahuddin Ahmed was missing.
BNP claimed that law enforcers had picked up Salahuddin from a house at Uttara on Tuesday night. The law enforcers, however, denied the claim.
Salahuddin had been announcing programmes through press statements from an undisclosed location since his predecessor, another Joint Secretary General, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi was arrested.
