DHAKA NEWS
The BNP-led 18-party alliance has cancelled a mass procession which was scheduled for Monday evening as police did not permit it for the programme.
The opposition, meanwhile, staged a massive rally in front of BNP's Nayapaltan central office in the capital to press home its demands including return of missing BNP leader M Ilias Ali.
"The programme has been cancelled on the instruction of the party chairperson (Khaleda Zia)," BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said while addressing the rally in the afternoon.
Masudur Rahman, an additional deputy police commissioner, however, told that BNP sought permission for a rally and a mass procession. "But we only permitted them to hold the rally."
The opposition alliance was scheduled to bring out a mass procession after the rally from the Nayapaltan and end at Moghbazar touching Shantinagar and Malibagh.
In another development, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia called a standing committee meeting at her Gulshan residence at 8:30pm, the sources of BNP chief's media wing said.
She will also hold another meeting with the leaders of the 18-party alliance at the same venue after the standing committee meeting, the sources added.
The other demands of the alliance include withdrawal of "false cases" filed against top shots of the alliance, including BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, unconditional release of its arrested leaders like Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Kamruzzaman Ratan and public security through an end to "abduction, killing and torture".
Earlier on April 17, BNP Organising Secretary M Ilias Ali and his car driver Ansar Ali went missing from the capital. His party termed the incident as “forced disappearance” and blamed the government.
The opposition enforced five dawn-to-dusk shutdowns from April 22 to 30 and then threatened to launch agitation programmes harsher than hartal.
The party has so far held four demonstrations this month, including yesterday's.
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