AB Party expresses solidarity with 3-day blockade BNP, Jamaat announce

The Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party, held a rally in the city in protest of the police crackdown on the day of Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s grand rally, vandalising AB Party’s central office and mass arrests afterwards.

AB Party joint convenor Abdul Wahab Minar said, “The entire nation is against the prime minister now. The country is united against this unelected government.”

He also urged people, who fell “victim” to the law enforcement agency under this government, to come forward in the protest against the “misrule” of the incumbent government.

Mojibur Rahman Monju, member secretary of the AB Party, said, “We urge the administration to take action against the miscreants, members of ruling party and police involved in the attack and vandalising our central office.”

“Unfortunately, there is no institution left in the country where we can seek justice, except the common people. Therefore, we will continue with our peaceful and nonviolent movement against this autocratic government,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami lent its support to de facto opposition BNP by announcing a three-day all-out blockade across the country from Tuesday, 31 October on road, rail and waterways.

ATM Masum, acting secretary general of the party, made the announcement in a statement on Monday.

The statement said that Jamaat-e-Islami announced the blockade demanding reinstating the caretaker government system, unconditional release of all political and religious leaders and containing the price hike and in protest of the attack on opposition party’s programme, killing of newspersons and political activists and arson attacks in different parts of the country by the “pro-government miscreants”.

Acting Jamaat secretary general ATM Masum said in the statement, “The Awami goons attacked the peaceful grand rally of the opposition. The law enforcement agencies fired teargas and bullets and charged batons on opposition party activists to thwart the programme. Some four people, including journalists and BNP activists, were killed after sustaining injuries from tear shells and bullet wounds fired by the police.

The police arrested around 2,000 leaders and activists of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami ahead of the grand rally and the strike held on Sunday.