Abbas clarifies his comment on Ilias Ali’s disappearance

BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas on Monday sent a letter to the party clarifying over his recent statement on the disappearance of Ilias Ali.

The BNP leader sent the letter to party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in the afternoon, reports UNB.

Talking to UNB, Abbas said his party had sought an explanation from him about what he said at a virtual discussion on 17 April about the disappearance of former BNP MP Ilias Ali. "I clarified my position to our party secretary general."

He, however, declined to elaborate on the content of the letter. Speaking at the discussion programme on 17 April, Mirza Abbas said he thought neither the government nor the Awami League made Ilias Ali disappeared. "But who did it? I want to know this from this government."

He also called upon Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to find out the BNP leaders who had engaged in an altercation with Ilias Ali the night before he went missing.

As his remarks sparked various speculations and discontent within the party, Fakhrul sent a letter to Abbas on 22 April seeking an explanation as per the directive of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman.

Earlier on 18 April, Abbas at a press conference claimed that some media distorted his remarks about the disappearance of their party leader M Ilias Ali.

"It was published in a newspaper quoting me that some BNP leaders are responsible for the disappearance of Ilias Ali. Can anyone prove I made such a remark? It's not possible to do so. I want to make it clear that my statement was distorted," he told a press conference at his residence.