Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader and former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar on Sunday met the home adviser at his ministry to discuss several issues, including those relating to the security of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman.
Babar, who served as state minister for home from 2001 to 2006 during the BNP-led regime, held a two-hour meeting with home adviser retired Lieutenant General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury at the secretariat.
Emerging from the meeting, Babar told journalists that BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman was expected to return to Bangladesh soon, and his security was the main agenda of the discussion.
鈥楾he meeting was fruitful,鈥� he added.
Witnesses said that Babar arrived at the secretariat around 4:15pm and readily headed for the home ministry where he had last set foot 19 years ago.
Babar, who told journalists that the meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere, also said, 鈥榃e talked about assisting the current government though there are some concerns鈥�.
When asked about his concerns, Babar claimed that ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, now in a neighbouring country, had recently attended a meeting with businessman S Alam (Muhammad Saiful Alam) aiming at disrupting the coming elections.
鈥楾his is a matter of concern, and we discussed it with the adviser,鈥� he said, adding that matters, including illegal arms and unrecovered looted weapons, also came up in the meeting.
When asked about his views on the country鈥檚 current law and order situation, Babar stated that the government was trying to do well.
Lutfozzaman Babar served as the state minister for home during the BNP-Jamaat alliance government.
He was implicated in a number of cases, including the seizure of 10-truck arms at Chittagong鈥檚 CUFL jetty in 2004, as well as the August 21 grenade attack case.
Though convicted by trial courts in several cases, after the fall of the Awami League regime on August 5, 2024 amid a student-led mass uprising, Babar was acquitted by the High Court in the cases.
He also secured bail in eight cases pending in the Speedy Trial Tribunal.
Having been in jail since 2007, Babar was released on January 25 this year.
