Donald Lu not so important to BNP: Nazrul Islam Khan

The US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Donald Lu, is not that much important to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), remarked the party’s standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan Monday.

“The behaviour of Chittagong Hill Tracts’ armed group ‘Kuki-Chin’ is more important than Donald Lu to us. This is because the government has failed to curb the activities of this armed group,” he added.

Nazrul Islam Khan said this in response to a question of a newsperson on Donald Lu’s visit to Bangladesh Tuesday.

Speaking about Donald Lu’s Dhaka visit, governing Bangladesh Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader at a press conference remarked, “There is no such condition that someone from outside would support the BNP and revitalise them. Those who would show their power are already narrowed in the Middle East.”

Nazrul Islam Khan was addressing a media conference after a meeting with the leaders of the like minded pirates and alliances at party chairperson’s Gulshan office in the afternoon.

When newspersons drew his attention to the AL general secretary’s statement over the BNP and Donald Lu’s visit, Nazrul Islam Khan said, “We do not care about his despair. If we had thought the Donald Lu issue was that important, we would have said that; but we did not say anything in this regard. You raised this question. This is (Donald Lu) not so important to us as the behaviour of Kuki-chin. The government is practically failing to control the situation.”

Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) emerged as an armed insurgents in the Chittagong Hill Tracts through opening a Facebook page around two years back. Recently different quarters expressed their concerns over the activities, including looting banks, of the group. Different agencies have been conducting raids against them.

Nazrul Islam Khan said, “Donald Lu is a person from far away. We are concerned about the situation in our own country. We are worried about the government’s efforts to free the people who looted the banks of our country. People of Bangladesh themselves have always solved their problems. The mass uprisings in the 69 and the 90’s, the great liberation war - we did those. We thank those who want to support the people’s justified movement. And we condemn if anyone opposes it.”

The AL general secretary indicated that through its back to back rallies, the BNP is trying to commit violences. Speaking about this, Nazrul Islam Khan said, “Neither the BNP nor its allies believe in violent movements.”

“The government committed violences and shifted the blame on to us. Everyone knows that they killed our leaders and activists, and harassed them by implicating in trumped up cases… Maybe they have been planning something like that in the future too. But we are not scared of those,” he added.

Earlier, Nazrul Islam Khan led a meeting of the nationalist like-minded alliances. BNP standing committee member Selima Rahman and vice chairman Md. Shahjahan were present in the meeting.