Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader Wednesday said BNP founder and military dictator Ziaur Rahman had planted the poisonous tree of communal politics and militancy in Bangladesh.
“Conscientious people of the country are ashamed seeing the falsehood that BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is making over militancy and terrorism,” he said in a statement.
Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said Fakhrul stated that the government staged a drama over militants to attract India and the western world, and this statement was nothing but the BNP’s mockery with the country’s people.
“It is normal that the efforts to prevent militancy would seem like a drama to them (BNP) as the network of militant organisations is being operated in the country with support from BNP. With assistance, direct support and patronage of BNP, radical-communal politics, terrorism and militancy emerged in this country,” he said.
During the BNP-Jamaat regime, the AL general secretary said, Bangladesh turned into a sanctuary of terrorism and militancy.
The entire Bangladesh was shaken by the terrible acts of notorious militant leaders Shaykh Abdur Rahman and Siddiqur Rahman Bangla Bhai, he said, adding that the then BNP leaders claimed that Bangla Bhai was the creation of media.
But, Quader said, later it became clear and was proved like daylight that Bangla Bhai emerged and militant organisations flourished under the patronage of the BNP’s top leadership and direct supervision of the then administration and law enforcing agencies.
Militant forces of Bangla Bhai carried out armed showdown at broad daylight in Rajshahi with the support from administration, he said.
He added that photos of the then BNP ministers’ and lawmakers’ meetings with militant leaders were published in local and foreign media.
In the statement, the AL general secretary said military dictator Zia planted the tree of communal politics and militancy in Bangladesh, while Zia reestablished radical-communal forces into politics by lifting restriction on religion-based politics and amending the country’s constitution.
“The journey of radical-communal politics began in this country under the patronization of BNP. The seeds of communal politics were planted by Ziaur Rahman, while it spread with a strong base during the reign of his wife Khaleda Zia,” he said.
Quader said Bangabandhu’s self-declared killers formed a fascist organisation named ‘Freedom Party’ with support from communal forces of the Middle East.
He said Begum Khaleda Zia gave the status of the main opposition party in Parliament to ‘Freedom Party’ by holding a voter-less polls on February 15, 1996.
Militant outfit Harkatul Jihad al-Islami made its official debut by holding a press conference at Jatiya Press Club during the BNP regime on April 30, 1992, the road transport minister said.
He said the evil forces carried out many terrorist attacks, including bomb attacks at Jessore’s Udichi function, on Ahmadiyya Mosque in Khulna, near Sheikh Hasina’s rally ground and helipad in Kotalipara of Gopalganj, at Ramna Batmool, at the church in Baniyachar in Gopalganj and on AL office in Narayanganj.
Quader said on August 21, 2004, a barbaric grenade attack was carried out at AL rally at Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka, under direct supervision of BNP vice-chairman Tarique Rahman, aiming to kill the AL national leaders, including AL President Sheikh Hasina.
Tarique was proved to be the mastermind of the grenade attack as Mufti Hannan, accused in the grenade attack case, gave testimony in court to this effect, he said.
