BNP calls nationwide hartal tomorrow

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has called a dawn-to-dusk hartal across the country on Sunday.

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the announcement minutes before the police dispersed their grand rally in the capital's Naya Paltan area on Saturday.

The police fired tear gas shells and sound grenades to drive out the BNP leaders and activists from the Naya Paltan area, creating a battle-like situation there.

Earlier, clashes erupted between the police and the BNP men in the Kakrail and Bijoynagar areas.

Through its verified Facebook handle, BNP initially declared a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal for Sunday, protesting the police actions during the peaceful grand rally.

However, the post was pulled down later and a subsequent press release clarified that the hartal is for the capital, not across the country.

Meanwhile, the party issued a second press release and said the hartal will be enforced across the country.

Jahir Uddin Swapan, chief of the party's media cell, also confirmed the nationwide hartal tomorrow.

Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered to participate in the BNP rally at Naya Paltan on Saturday.