Bangladesh News

Release of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman will thaw the relations between BNP and the caretaker administration, paving the way for the party’s participation in talks and the ninth parliamentary election, said BNP insiders.

Following an ‘understanding’ between the two sides, the mother and son, both detained on corruption charges, are now expected to be freed in less than a week, they added.

BNP leaders claim the way the military-backed administration had been dealing with them after 1/11 is quite ‘discriminatory’, and led to a growing gulf between the party and the government.

BNP Vice-president MK Anwar, however, yesterday said Khaleda would not be released on government orders, but through a legal process. Tarique will be freed once all papers on his bail reach the jail authorities.

In a major development, the Election Commission (EC) yesterday sent a letter to Khandaker Delwar Hossain, inviting him to represent BNP in talks on registration.

Pro-Khaleda leaders consider the invitation as recognition of Delwar being the secretary general of mainstream BNP.

Inviting Delwar to the dialogue is widely viewed as a complete about-face by the EC in its stance on BNP factions.

Earlier, it had invited Major (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed, a pro-reform leader and acting secretary general appointed at a controversial standing committee meeting on October 29 last year.

Meanwhile, well-wishers of Zia family and the BNP faithful living abroad have expressed readiness to bear the cost of overseas treatment for Tarique, said party sources.

There have been offers of help from Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United States and some European nations.

Tarique, also senior secretary general, might be released anytime soon, they added.

“He might opt for Germany,” said a highly placed source.

Arafat Rahman Koko, Khaleda’s younger son, who was released last month, is now in Bangkok for treatment.

Arrested on March 7, Tarique has been undergoing treatment at a prison cell at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Hospital.

If he is finally allowed to leave the country for treatment abroad, the possibility of his returning home in near future is remote, a source close to Zia family told The Daily Star last night.

Tarique has got bail in all 13 graft and extortion cases filed against him. Trial of the cases however will continue like the way it is going on in the case of Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina.

“So far, we have got seven bail orders in hand. We hope to receive the rest ones by Sunday afternoon,” Deputy Inspector General of Prisons Major Shamsul Haider Siddiqui told The Daily Star.

He added that the jail authorities will not delay releasing Tarique once all the bail orders reach them.

One of the two major parties that dominate the political landscape of the country, BNP has been in a shambles with most of its top leaders detained on graft charges in January last year.

According to sources, the party would join the dialogue and participate in upazila and parliamentary elections following the release of Khaleda and Tarique.

It boycotted the recent polls to four city corporations and nine municipalities, and has been bitterly opposed to the government and EC plans for upazila polls before the national election.

A major shift in its stance on election and dialogue looks like a real possibility following the latest developments with regard to release of its chairperson and senior joint secretary general.

Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed-led administration is keen to ensure participation of all major parties in the long-stalled parliamentary election planned for the third week of December.

As part of efforts to that end, the government has lately been busy trying to bridge the gap with BNP, whose participation is crucial to determining acceptability of the election.

Khaleda Zia, who has been detained in a makeshift prison on Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban complex since her arrest in September last year, will leave for Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah within a couple of days of her release, her close aides said.

Before flying for the Middle Eastern country, she will stay at her cantonment residence.

“She is not going to be abroad for a long time,” said a source in touch with the Zia family.

The first thing, the source continued, she would do is uniting the party. “The expulsion orders of Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and ex-whip Ashraf Hossain might be cancelled to forge unity.”

On return home, Khaleda will meet the party’s rank and file to boost their morale.

“Madam is not happy with the role of Khandaker Delwar, who has failed to keep the party united in her absence,” observed the source, adding that a good number of leaders do not want Delwar to continue as the secretary general.