48-hr hartal by BNP, other opposition parties, begins

A 48-hour shutdown (hartal) enforced by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) began across the country at 6:00am on Sunday

BNP imposed the shutdown protesting the ‘unilateral’ announcement of the schedule of the 12th parliamentary election. The party called people to take to the streets to observe the shutdown peacefully.

The hartal will in place until 6:00am on Tuesday.

Along with BNP, other like-minded political coalitions and parties, as well as Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami also enforced hartal separately.

This is the second spell of shutdown enforced BNP and other oppositions parties since 28 October. BNP called a nationwide dawn-to-dusk day-long shutdown a day after police foiled its grand rally in Dhaka on 28 October.

Meanwhile, BNP and other parties imposed five spells of nationwide blockade on roadways, railways and waterways for 11 days.

On 15 November, chief election commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal announced the date while unveiling the election schedule during a televised speech in the evening amid the nationwide blockade by opposition parties.

An hour later, BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced a 48-hour nationwide hartal beginning at 6:00am on 19 November, Sunday.

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said, “I am declaring the hartal protesting against the one-sided schedule announced by the election commission, demanding the resignation of the government and establishing a neutral caretaker government.”

Other like-minded coalitions and parties also imposed hartal for the same day.