Remain calm and patient, Hasina urges people

FE Team | Published: November 20, 2009 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called upon people to remain calm and patient following Thursday's verdict, report agencies.
Hasina, eldest daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, expressed satisfaction with the final judgment on her father's killers, PM's Deputy Press Secretary Nakibuddin Ahmed told reporters.
She also asked all to offer prayers for the just verdict, Ahmed added.
Hasina cut short her visit to Italy to return home just hours before the landmark verdict that upheld the death sentences of five convicts, rejecting their appeals.
She was at her official residence Jamuna when the verdict was delivered.
AL's advisory council members Amir Hossain Amu, Suranjit Sengupta, Tofail Ahmed, Abdur Razzak, presidium member Matia Chowdhury, general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam and joint general secretary Dipu Moni were with her.
Hasina offered Nafal prayers on hearing the verdict, a leader said.
Nation gets relief, says Moudud
BNP leader Moudud Ahmed MP said the nation felt relieved following Thursday's Supreme Court verdict on the Bangabandhu murder case, which he observed, paved the way for establishing the rule of law in the country.
The former law minister made the remark as reporters sought his instant reaction at his Motijheel chamber shortly after pronouncement of the final judgment of the historic case by the Appellate Division at noon.
"The rule of law has been established in the country through this verdict," said the veteran lawmaker from the opposition party whose founder, former army chief and President Ziaur Rahman, was also slain in a revolt by military men.
"We all have to accept this verdict of the highest court of the country. It would not be wise to see this judgment with a partisan attitude, it would have to be seen in overall perspective," Barrister Moudud, member of the BNP standing committee, told the reporters.
He termed the August 15, 1975 killings a big tragedy for the nation. After 21 years of the carnage the trial process started in 1996 and the verdict from the highest court was now delivered after 13 years of the filing of the case, he said, indicating the pitfalls on the way.
Replying to a question regarding allegation of involvement of Ziaur Rahman in Bangabandhu murder, the BNP leader said after pronouncement of judgment such an allegation was "totally baseless and politically motivated".
FBCCI hails verdict
An FE report adds: The country's apex trade body Thursday hailed the Supreme Court verdict that confirmed death sentences to 12 former army men in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman assassination case as a significant milestone in establishing rule of law.

In their immediate reaction, leaders of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) expressed satisfaction over the verdict in the murder case of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members, who were killed on August 15, 1975 at road No 32 of Dhanmondi residential area.
"The verdict is a significant milestone in establishing rule of law in the country," said a FBCCI statement signed its by FBCCI secretary general Mir Shahabuddin Mohammad.
The FBCCI leaders believe that the nation has been freed from a long black chapter of the history with the passing of verdict, it said.
"The image of the country will develop further in terms of rule of law and in establishing democratic practice," the statement added.