'We're under pressure'

The BNP is now under pressure over partnership with Jamaat-e-Islami while building a national unity against terrorism, said BNP standing committee member ASM Hannan Shah yesterday.

“Definitely, we are under pressure. Different political parties and individuals are making open objections over Jamaat. Is it not pressure?” Hanna Shah told the BBC Bangla.

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He also said the party's policymaking body might hold a meeting as soon as possible to take a decision regarding Jamaat issue before organising an anti-militancy national convention.

Meanwhile, when reporters asked BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir while he was visiting ailing BNP leader Rizvi Ahmed at Dhaka's Square Hospital about Jamaat's involvement and said the ruling Awami League rejected BNP's call for the unity, Fakhrul walked away without any comment.

BNP insiders said there were opposing views on Jamaat in the party. Some think the move may fall flat if Jamaat is invited to the initiative.

BNP is already in the process of forging a national unity to fight against terrorism in the country, said Fakhrul.

“BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has already called for a national unity against terrorism and militancy, and as part of her efforts, she has begun talks with people from all quarters,” the BNP leader said.

Khaleda will set a strategy on the basis of the outcomes of the talks, he said.

A day after the Holey Artisan siege, the BNP chief at a press conference called upon all to unite against terrorism without further delay.

She later sat with the BNP-led 20-party alliance chiefs who suggested holding a national convention.

Khaleda also sat with pro-BNP intellectuals and professionals at her Gulshan office on Thursday and they told her that her move to unite the nation against terrorism would not succeed if Jamaat, a key component of the BNP-led alliance, did not apologise to the nation for its role during the Liberation War.

If Jamaat refuses to do so, the BNP should form a platform excluding the Islamist party, they told the BNP chief.

During the 1971 Liberation War, Jamaat opposed the birth of Bangladesh. There are allegations that the party sponsors various militant outfits, something it denies.