BNP, allies mull hartal for July 6-7

Bangladesh's main opposition party calls for 48-hour non-stop hartal from July 6

DHAKA : The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies are likely to announce today a general strike for for July 6, 7 as part of their programmes against the government.

The alliance at its first-ever meeting after the 2008 general elections on Saturday planned the action programmes.

Sources attending the meeting said that the alliance had also decided to extend support of for the general strike called by the Islami Andolan Bangladesh for July 10–11.

The BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, also the leader of the opposition in the parliament, presided over the meeting.

The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s acting secretary general ATM Azharul Islam and its Dhaka city unit chief Rafiqul Islam Khan, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (Naziur) chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partho and secretary general Shamim Al Mamun, Islami Oikya Jote secretary general Abdul Latif Nejami and Khelafat Majlish president Maulana Mohammad Isahaq and secretary general Ahmed Abdul Quader attended.

BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan and acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also attended.

The meeting that began about 9:00pm continued till 10:00pm.

Khaleda met senior leaders of like-minded political parties after the meeting and discussed with them the present political situation in the country.

After the meetings, ATM Azharul Islam told newsmen that the alliance meeting had discussed its strategy after the passage of the 15th amendment to the constitution that scrapped the caretaker government provision.

He said that the four parties would announce ‘tougher action programmes’ at separate press conferences today.

The sources said that the BNP and its allies were planning to enforce non-stop general strike in two phases in July in addition to demonstrations across the country in protest at the cancellation of the caretaker government provision that paved the way for holding the next general elections under a political government.