BNP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia on Tuesday night said that Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, masterminded the recent audio-message in the name al-Qaeda.Addressing a view exchange meeting with Pro-BNP and Pro-Jamaat journalists at her Gulshan residence in the city, she claimed that al-Qaeda does not exist in Bangladesh. Jahangir Alam Prodhan, general secretary of a faction of Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ), who attended the meeting, told this to media, quoting the BNP chief, after the meeting. Pro-BNP and pro-Jamaat journalists and their leaders took part in the meeting that began around 10:00 PM and ended after 12:00 AM. Among the journalists, president of the National Press Club Kamal Uddin Shabuj, its general secretary Sayed Abdal Ahmad, president of a faction of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) Ruhul Amin Gazi, general secretary of Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU) Elias Khan, among others, were present in the meeting. Khaleda Zia said that the BNP-led 19-party alliance would launch a fresh anti-government movement soon. The ongoing upazila polls and some other recent issues were also discussed in the meeting. The BNP chief was quoted by the journalists as saying that the government wanted to make the local body elections one-sided. However, it (the government) is now upset to see the candidates, backed by the BNP and its alliance partners, vying in the polls. After the meeting, Elias Khan said that Khaleda Zia told them that she would visit Rajbari district on March 1 as part of the anti-government programme. The government will step down in the face of the fresh agitation, he said quoting Khaleda Zia.
