The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Wednesday said that an early national election and establishing a political government were the only ways to overcome the ongoing unrest.
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the remarks while speaking to reporters following a meeting with the leaders of Bangladesh Nationalist Ethnic Minority Party at the BNP chairperson鈥檚 office in the capital鈥檚 Gulshan area.
Fakhrul said that the chief adviser invited political parties for discussions and BNP reiterated its earlier commitment to fully cooperate with the interim government.
鈥榃e told him that the election process must be accelerated and that the pledge to hold the national election by mid-February should be fulfilled without any delay,鈥� he said.
Fakhrul said that the chief adviser assured that steps would be taken accordingly.
鈥榃e believe that only an elected political government can resolve these ongoing issues. Without this, the problems will intensify,鈥� he said.
Fakhrul said that, in his view, the government appeared to be on course to meet the mid-February target.
He also emphasised the need for more regular dialogue between the political leaders and the interim administration.
鈥楾he chief adviser calls us during a crisis, and we attend [meetings with him]. But, I believe, such engagements should be more frequent. If that were the case, perhaps many of these problems would not arise,鈥� he said.
Fakhrul criticised the recent political developments in Gopalganj, alleging that Awami League supporters had created a reign of terror.
He claimed that although fascist forces had been pushed back through the political programmes in July and August, now there were signs of their resurgence.
鈥楶erhaps this is why the chief adviser invited those of us who have long fought against such fascism for discussions. We have reaffirmed our position to extend full cooperation to the interim government,鈥� Fakhrul said.
