Staff Reporter :Besieged BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia spent her sixth day in her Gulshan office in the city on Thursday. She was in the office till filing of the report at about 10:30 PM.Meanwhile, the law enforcers unlocked the main gate of the office, three days after they put it under lock and key on Monday morning. But it was locked again in the night.Although the gate was unlocked, huge law enforcers, including female and plainclothes ones, were still deployed around the office while water cannons, police vans and trucks were kept on both sides of the road. The road No 86 of Gulshan-2 was partially opened to traffic.Khaleda Zia had been kept confined to her political office since January 3 night as she threatened to hold mass rally in the city to mark ‘Democracy Killing Day’ on January 5, the first anniversary of the 10th Parliamentary polls. Having failed to come out of the office on January 5 to join the planned rally, the BNP chairperson announced the ongoing countrywide non-stop blockade programme from Tuesday.Khaleda Zia is rigid on her stance to continue the non-stop blockade. She cleared that they will continue the ongoing blockade until their demand for holding a fresh election under non-party government is met. “Besieged Khaleda Zia has urged the countrymen to continue the blockade programme until further announcement to put an end to the current misrule and restore obliterated democracy,” said a party statement, signed by BNP joint secretary general Salauddin Ahmed, issued on Wednesday late night.In the statement, it was alleged that the government is trying to make people confused by carrying out a false campaign that the 20-party’s blockade programme is going to be postponed. BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi in a separate statement on Thursday also threatened to continue the ongoing blockade. “We want to make it clear the blockade will continue as ong as the ongoing repression and torture on us are not stopped, and our demand for holding a fresh election under a non-party administration is met,” he said in the statement. Sources said that the 20-party alliance would not withdraw the blockade during the three-day Biswa Ijtema, the second largest Muslim congregation, to begin from today (Friday). Khaleda Zia, however, is thinking of relaxing the ongoing indefinite blockade for several hours on the third day, the day of Akheri Munazat. The 20-party may announce that the vehicles carrying the devotees of Ijtema will be out of the preview of the blockade. Meanwhile, Khaleda Zia fell sick due to the impact of pepper spray that was used by police on Monday on the premises of her office. She on Thursday urged all to pray for her early recovery. “She (Khaleda Zia) urged the countrymen to pray for her so that she can quickly recover from her illness,” said cultural personality Gazi Mazharul Anwar, who is also an adviser of BNP’s cultural wing JASAS. He said this while talking to reporters after visiting the BNP chief. He along with some other leaders of the JASAS visited the Gulshan office. He said that Khaleda Zia is very ill caused by the adverse impact of the pepper spray.
