DHAKA, Aug 14, 2023 (BSS)- Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today said that BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul’s statement over the recent arrest of some militants in Kulaura upazila of Moulvibazar district proved that he himself and his party larders are the main patrons of militant outfits.

Condemning Mirza Fakhrul’s remarks that the government staged a drama to divert the people’s attention to other direction, the information minister said this as the chief guest at a discussion at Jatiya Press Club (JPC) today.

“We strongly condemn this statement of BNP secretary general. We have suppressed the militancy, we could have eliminated the menace if they had not patronize the militant outfits,” said Hasan, also ruling Awami League joint general secretary.  

Muktijuddher Chetonay Sangbadik Forum organized the discussion, marking the 48th martyrdom anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen addressed the discussion as the special guest while Daily Observer Editor Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury was in the chair.

The information minister said: "BNP secretary general is like as its chairperson. When the government was taking strict action against the militants and many militants were being arrested, Begum Zia told that some people were arrested and kept confined for a few-days and when their beard became long, they were labeled as terrorists".

That is why when they were in power, bombs were exploded in 500 places across the country; Shaikh Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai came into existence, he said, adding that Hawa Bhaban was built by militants and they (militants) were hired to carry out the 21st August grenade attack.

Noting that when the country is now moving forward under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, BNP and their allies are hatching multifaceted conspiracies, Hasan said they (BNP) hired lobbyists spending millions of dollars and brought a few occasional statements from them.

"When asked at the White House about the statements of the congressmen, they (White House authorities) said that they did not know anything about it. But millions of dollars were spent for writing this letter," said the AL joint general secretary.

Since it has been clear that hatching conspiracies and running after the foreigners will not yield any good result, he said, BNP has now started speaking in a different tone.

"Now they are saying it doesn't matter what India says, it doesn't matter what the US says, it doesn't matter what the UK says and it doesn't matter what China says," the information minister added.

He said: "As you know, Tarique Rahman was not granted US visa. A report was sent from the US Embassy here to the US State Department to deny visa to Tarique Rahman. When that Tarique Rahman becomes the acting chairperson of a party (BNP), no one can support that party."

BNP has been declared as a terrorist organization for five times in a row by Canadian courts, Hasan said, adding that a US department has termed BNP as a four-tier militant organization, "which you have printed in newspapers".

"No foreign power supports those who nurture militants and patron militant groups. And the people of the country are not with them too. So no one with them," he said.

Speaking about 15 August carnage, the information minister said there were two masterminds behind Bangabandhu's assassination- Khandaker Mushtaq and Ziaur Rahman.

Zia and her family were the biggest beneficiaries of Bangabandhu's assassination, he said, adding, "Immediately after the assassination of Bangabandhu, Khandakar Mushtaq assumed power and appointed Ziaur Rahman as the chief of army. And Ziaur Rahman rehabilitated all the killers of Bangabandhu in the country and abroad, and gave them jobs in Bangladesh missions abroad".

The Indemnity Ordinance Bill was placed on the first day of the first Jatiya Sangsad (JS) session after the 1979 parliamentary elections and subsequently the bill was passed to block the trial of Bangabandhu killing, the AL leader said, adding that these are the evidences of how Ziaur Rahman was involved in the Bangabandhu killing.

Underscoring the need for bringing the masterminds behind Bangabandhu murder, he said, "If we don't do this, after hundred years from today, future generations could not know who created the background of Bangabandhu killing and who were the masterminds behind Bangabandhu's assassination. If it remains unexposed, the real facts will not be written in the pages of history".

The JPC, journalist community and eminent citizens demanded bringing the masterminds of Bangabandhu murder to justice, Hasan said, adding, "I think that bringing the actors behind the killing to justice is a demand of time and it should be made".

Addressing the discussion, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said the government will reward those who can give information whereabouts the killers of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

"The identities of those who had harbored the killers and the people behind the killers for 21 years should be unmasked," he added.

Pointing that Canada and the United States are the countries with very strong rule of law, the foreign minister said they should not give shelter to the killers.

"The government has written several letters to the governments of the United States and Canada seeking extradition of the killers," he added.

Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) President Omar Faruque, former BFUJ President Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul and Secretary General Abdul Jalil Bhuiyan, JPC President Farida Yasmin, former JPC President Saiful Alam, Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) President Sohel Haider Chowdhury, former DUJ President Kazi Rafiq and General Secretary Azizul Islam Bhuiyan,

DUJ Vice-President Manik Lal Ghosh, the Bangladesh Post Editor Sharif Shahabuddin and senior journalists Rafiqul Islam Ratan, Tarun Tapan Chakraborti, Kartik Chatterjee and Safiqul Karim Sabu spoke at the discussion, among others.