The BNP-led 18-party alliance has extended its 72-hour nationwide hartal, scheduled to begin at 6 am today (Sunday), by 12 hours to 6pm Wednesday in protest against Friday night's arrest of five senior BNP leaders, report agencies.
BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi made the announcement on Saturday at a press briefing at BNP's Naypaltan central office at noon.
"The government arrested the party's top leaders to implement its own agenda. Police also raided the houses of many leaders. We've decided to extend our declared shutdown by 12 hours in protest against it," Rizvi said.
However, Rizvi said his party has called for a separate dawn-to-dusk countrywide strike on Wednesday to 'raise voice against the arrests'.
He said this call for strike on Wednesday was a BNP call, not by the 18-party opposition alliance it heads.
The government has taken the move to foil the opposition's movement by terrorising the opposition leaders and activists, he observed.
The BNP leader warned that the government will not be able to suppress the opposition by arresting senior BNP leaders. "The last siren for the fall of this regime has started ringing. People at village and union levels have taken their preparations to ensure the fall of this government," he added.
Rizvi, who had taken shelter at the Jatiya Press Club on Friday night amid the apparent crackdown on the opposition leaders, said he left the Press Club at the dead of night and managed to enter the BNP office dodging the law enforcers after being chased by them.
He alleged that the law enforcers harassed the staff of their party office asking them how Rizvi entered it. They also asked the office staff to tell him to leave the office immediately.
Mentioning that the lives and security of the opposition leaders and activists are at stake, he also sought cooperation from journalists, human rights activists and lawyers for their safety.
Meanwhile, huge law enforcers were deployed around the BNP central office.
The law enforcers also raided the houses of a number of BNP leaders, including its standing committee members, Jamiruddin Sircar, Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Dhaka city unit BNP convener Sadeque Hossain Khoka, opposition chief whip Zainul Abedin Farroque and Dhaka district unit president Abdul Mannan.
Meanwhile, another report adds: At least nine vehicles were set afire and more than 20 crude bombs exploded by miscreants in different areas of the capital on Saturday ahead of the BNP-led 18-party sponsored 84-hour countrywide hartal.
Witnesses said hartal supporters set a BRTC bus ablaze in front of Government Titumir College in Mohakhali around 11:45am.
On information, a firefighting unit rushed in and doused the blaze.
At about 8:45 am, activists of BNP and its front organisations brought out a sudden procession in North Badda area.
Police went to the spot and dispersed the procession firing rubber bullets.
Later, pro-hartal elements exploded 18-20 crude bombs and set fire to a bus at North Badda bus stand at about 9:10 am.
Meanwhile, pro-hartal elements exploded 2-3 crude bombs in front of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court in Old Dhaka around 2:40pm.
In another incident, a double-decker bus was set ablaze at Kutubkhali under Jatrabari police station at about 9:15 am.
A firefighting unit rushed to the spot and doused the flame.
Unidentified miscreants also set alight a private car near Razarbagh Police Lines Hospital in Fakirapool area at about 12:15pm, Fire Service and Civil Defence sources said..
Meanwhile, pro-hartal activists also set alight a passenger bus near Golap Shah Mazar in Gulstan around 5:10pm.
Fire Brigade Control room sources said miscreants torched a bus near Agargaon bus stand at about 6:58 pm, while another was set ablaze near Sarkari Karmachari Hospital at Fulbaria around 6:20 pm.
