Staff Reporter :Hours after the withdrawal of police barricade from her political office in city’s Gulshan, BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia has said that the on-going countrywide non-stop blockade programme would continue until further announcement. “Release our leaders and workers, including BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Withdraw cases against them. Return the voting rights of the people and create atmosphere for an inclusive election. Otherwise, the blockade will continue,” she said at a press conference at the Gulshan office on Monday evening.Blaming the ruling Awami League and government for all criminal activities including arson and crude bomb attacks during the blockade, the BNP Chief said, “The government has got desperate to foil our peaceful programme. Now the government has chosen the path of sabotage to thwart the programme. The agents of the government are torching vehicles and killing people by hurling petrol bombs. The ruling coalition restored the suicidal path to create a bad impression abroad about the peaceful programme.” Earlier, police withdrew the barricade from the office in the early hours on Monday, 16 days after their strong vigil. Additional law enforcers were deployed around the office with water cannon and police van since then. Minutes after besieging of the Gulshan office, the law enforcers also put the BNP’s Nayapaltan central office under lock and key which is still remained locked.Khaleda Zia had been kept confined in her Gulshan office since January 3. Having failed to come out of the office to join a planned rally in the city on January 5, the BNP Chief announced the ongoing countrywide blockade programme from January 6.The BNP Chief did not come out of the office till filing of this report. She said that she would stay there for her official and party needs. Before addressing the press conference, she held a meeting with the party’s senior leaders at the office. Dr RA Gani, Barrister Moudud Ahmed, Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman, MK Anwar, Barrister Jamiruddin Sircer, Brig Gen (retd) ASM Hannan Shah and Begum Sarwari Rahman attended the meeting, among the senior leaders. Khaleda Zia at the press conference condemned the January 13 gun attack on her adviser Reaz Rahman. “The attack has been done with an intention to kill him,” she said. Referring to the government’s hard-line position against the blockade supports, she called upon the leaders and activists and the countrymen to continue the programme despite repression of the government.
