'Enough is enough, sit together'

Barrister Rafiqul Haque, one of the eminent lawyers of the country, urged Tuesday Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia to sit together in utmost national interests, report agencies. brEnough is enough and there should be an end to mutual bickering of the leaders of the two main political parties, said Barrister Rafiqul Haque who is defending both former prime ministers in the highest court of the country in alleged graft-related cases. brThey should sit together in the interests of the country and democracy. They can meet at my place, the lawyer told reporters at the Supreme Court, after Khaleda had secured bail in the Niko and GATCO cases against her, reports bdnews24.com. brThere has been enough bickering. The Awami League and the BNP have to stop this and work together in the interests of the country, Haque said. brThe lawyer said the two leaders should behave like politicians. They must learn from great politicians of the subcontinent such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. brIf they fail to realise this, even after the experience of the last one and a half years, incidents like 111 will continue to take place, he said. brSheikh Hasina is the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Khaleda Zia is the wife of former president Ziaur Rahman. I am very lucky to represent both of them in the court of law, Barrister Rafique added. brHe stated that he was making this appeal to both the former prime ministers in the hope that the rule of law would prevail. I do not see it as an issue either of Awami League or the BNP. brOn AL's opposition to senior BNP joint secretary general Tarique Rahman's bail, the lawyer said They should keep in mind that (AL's general secretary) Abdul Jalil too will have to come to the High Court to seek bail. brBarrister Haque said Khaleda had secured bail in all the cases against her through due legal process. brHe came down hard on the government saying it had arrested many people in violation of human rights. brI have been working to establish the rule of law, he asserted. brEarlier, the High Court has granted three-month bail to former premier Khaleda Zia in GATCO and Niko corruption cases, clearing what lawyers say the last legal barriers to her freedom from prison. brThe vacation bench of Justice Mirza Haider Hossain and Justice Mamnun Rahman gave the order just before midday Tuesday. brThis removes the last barrier to her release from detention, her lawyer Rafiqul Islam Miah said.brAdditional attorney general Monsur Habib later told reporters that the government would appeal against the bail orders in GATCO and Niko cases. brWe have already appealed to the Appellate Division for a stay on the bails in two other graft cases involving Barapukuria and Zia Orphanage Trust. The hearing will be held on Sept 15, he said. brKhaleda's chief counsel Barrister Rafiq-ul-Huq said as all other accused in the case had got bail, there was no reason to keep the BNP chief anymore in detention. brWe hope she will be able to see her son in hospital after getting released by tomorrow (Wednesday), he said. brThe cases were filed against Khaleda with a political motive that did not have any basis, Huq said. brIf cases are filed in such a way the people who are now in power will also face the same fate, he said. brThe hearing on GATCO bail appeal started shortly after 11am. brBarrister Rafiq-ul-Huq during the hearing said the High Court on July 9 halted the case proceedings for two months and extended the stay order by three more months on Aug 28. brKhaleda was arrested on Sept 3 last year and shown arrested in the case on Dec 21 the same year. brEleven people were currently on bail out of 24 people accused in the case. brAs the Appellate Division did not stay their bail, the trial of the case would not finish soon, Barrister Huq said. brAdvocate Abdul Aziz Khan, who stood for the Anti-Corruption Commission, said in the hearing that Khaleda could not get bail in line with a section of the Emergency Powers Rules. brThe court said if the case was filed with an ill motive, it could grant bail. brAziz Khan said the bail appeal did not mention that the case was filed with an ill-motive. brAdditional Attorney General Monsur Habib also agreed with the ACC lawyer. brLater, the hearing on Niko bail appeal took place. brThe court asked the defence about the total number of accused persons in the case and how many of them had been given bail. brBarrister Miah said five of a total of 11 accused got bail in the case. brThe court asked defence counsels whether the Appellate Division stayed their bail. The lawyers replied in the negative. brThe court then granted the former prime minister three months' bail in the two cases. brOn Sunday Barrister Rafique-ul-Huq appealed for bail in the GATCO case, while the petition for bail in Niko graft case had been made earlier. brThe BNP chairperson secured bail in two other graft cases involving Barapukuria coal mine and Zia Orphanage Trust. brThe GATCO case was filed on Sept 2 last year and the Niko case on May 5. Khaleda and some members of her cabinet were accused in the cases. brIt has been alleged that the accused persons by misusing power handed the work of operating Chittagong port and Kamalapur Inland Container Depot to Global Agro Trade Company (GATCO), causing a loss of close to Tk 10.0 billion (1,000 crore) to the state coffer. brThe Niko case alleged that the agreement with the Canadian company on exploration of oil and gas made the state count about Tk 137.77 billion (13,777 crore) in losses.br