Court Correspondent :
A Dhaka court on Monday scrapped a libel case filed against BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia for terming her husband late President Ziaur Rahman as the first president of Bangladesh.
After a brief hearing on the case, Magistrate Shamsul Arefin of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court of Dhaka passed the order at about 3.50 pm. The court said the plaint of case lacked substantial elements and could not be maintained as a case.
Earlier in the morning, AB Siddiqui, President of Bangladesh Jananetri Parishad, a pro-Awami
League organization, filed the defamation case with the CMM Court of Dhaka.
Advocate Rawshan Ara Shikdar filed the case with the CMM Court on behalf of AB Siddiqui, on the charges of “distorting the history of Liberation War,” saying her husband Ziaur Rahman was the first president of Bangladesh.
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia termed Ziaur Rahaman as the first president of Bangladesh while addressing a meeting of Jatiyatabadi Muktijoddha Dal, a pro-BNP organisation, on March 27, marking the Independence and National Day.
Meanwhile, BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman also claimed his father Zia was the first President of Bangladesh at a programme in London last week.
