IANS
Dhaka
The opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP) has hinted that the indefinite transport blockade called by party chief Khaleda Zia on January 5, is no longer in force, media
reported yesterday.
BNP member Jamiruddin Sircar dropped the hint after a meeting with the chairperson on Monday, bdnews24 reported.
“There is no more strike in the country. I suppose this is clear enough,” he said after the meeting.
The party did not make it clear if the blockade has ended with their chief returning home following a three-month stay at her Gulshan
office in Dhaka.
Zia had called for the indefinite blockade from January 5 after police stopped her from leaving office.
She was scheduled to attend an anti-government rally on the anniversary of the Awami League-led alliance coming to power for a second
consecutive term.
Police apparently barred her from doing so fearing a confrontation between the ruling bloc and the
20-party opposition coalition.
The police posse was removed after a few days, but Zia refused to go home and instead continued with what the BNP called was an oust-government movement.
In a March 29 statement signed by its joint secretary general Barkatullah Bulu, the party declared it was lifting shutdowns but said the
blockade would continue.
More than 150 people have died, mostly from burns in the agitation marked by arson, firebombing and vandalism.
The World Bank has put economic losses over the past three months at $2.2bn.
The BNP chairperson visited her party’s Nayapaltan office yesterday to attend the Pahela Baishakh celebrations, the first day of Bangla New Year 1422.
Additional police were deployed in the area to ensure peaceful Pahela Baishakh
celebrations.
“They have arranged the programme inside the party office and the use of loudspeaker was not allowed. Party men were not permitted to stay on road or footpath,” Paltan police station in-charge Golam Morshed said.
It was Zia’s first visit to her office since the January 5 election boycotted by her party and alliance.
