The opposition alliance led by the BNP yesterday called another 72-hour nationwide hartal beginning today to press for fresh elections under a non-partisan interim government.
The BNP’s newly assigned spokesperson, Joint Secretary General Barkatullah Bulu, announced the three-day general strike a day after party chief Khaleda Zia said the alliance’s anti-government agitation would continue.
The party demanded the immediate release of Joint Secretary General Salahuddin Ahmed – claimed to be in custody by his family – who has been missing since Tuesday night.
The nationwide 72-hour hartal will come in to effect on top of the continuing indefinite transport blockade called by BNP chief Khaleda Zia.
The BNP chief called the transport blockade on January 5 after she was prevented from attending a rally in Dhaka on the first anniversary of the general elections her party boycotted.
The blockade has been in force since January 6.
Her party has demanded an international investigation, under the supervision of the United Nations, into the sabotage, firebomb attacks, extra-judicial killings, abductions and killings allegedly committed during the BNP alliance’s blockade and strike programmes.
Countering a denial by the ruling party that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had said parliament would be dissolved if a consensus was reached over a poll-time government, Bulu said: “On December 19, 2013, Awami League President Sheikh Hasina made the comment at Ganabhaban. Khaleda Zia made a reference to that statement.”
