Govt using al-Qaeda issue to seek US favour: Fakhrul

Claiming that his party has no link with al-Qaeda’s so-called audiovisual message, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Monday alleged that the government is trying to get close to the USA by speaking about al-Qaeda threat. “The government has resorted to a strategy to get US favour by talking about al-Qaeda threat as the entire democratic world has rejected the January 5 election,” he said. The BNP spokesman came up with allegation at a press briefing at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office. Fakhrul said BNP had never pampered terrorism and militancy and they will never do it in the future, either. He alleged that the government is forcing a section of media to run false news. “The government may confuse the country’s people sometimes with false news but it won’t be able to mislead the world opinion.” Mentioning that they have long been raising their voice against the forced disappearance and killing by the government and its repression and oppression on the opposition leaders and activists and Alem-Ulema, he said  opposing the government’s repressive acts against Alem-Ulema does not demonstrate BNP’s connection with the al-Qaeda,’’ he said. An audiovisual message, said to be from al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, has urged the Muslims in Bangladesh to wage an intifada (popular uprising) to confront the “crusader onslaught against Islam”.