Case involving Zia a political conspiracy: Fakhrul

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday alleged that the filing of a case involving Ziaur Rahman in the killing of three freedom fighter army officers, including Col Khondkar Nazmul Huda Bir Bikram, in November,  1975 is part of a "far-reaching political conspiracy of the government".

"A complete omnipresent lie was brought to the fore again after 48 years. It's totally intentional. The only purpose behind it is to mislead people when they (people) have started taking to the streets to restore their democratic rights," he said.

Speaking at a press conference at the BNP Chairperson's Gulshan office, Fakhrul said  the case was filed also to confuse people as there is a strong national and international pressure on the government to hold the next election under an impartial government."

"An attempt is being made to mislead the nation by raising such a falsehood and a 48-year-old issue. They (govt) have a far-reaching political conspiracy behind this. This is part of their plot," he observed.

Earlier on Thursday, Col Khondkar Nazmul Huda Bir Bikram's daughter Naheed Izaher Khan filed a case with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station in Dhaka over the killing of her father on November 7, 1975.

In the case, Naheed made Maj (retd) Abdul Jalil of the 10th East Bengal Regiment accused and claimed that the killing was carried out as per Ziaur Rahman's instruction.

Protesting the filing of the case against their party founder, Fakhrul said Naheed, an MP of the current parliament formed through the night-time rigged voting and a beneficiary of the current 'fascist' government led by Sheikh Hasina, may not have read the book written by her own mother Nilufar Huda about the incident happened on November 7, 1975.

In her book titled "The War of Colonel Huda and Me", he said Nilufar Huda clearly mentioned that Ziaur Rahmann ordered Colonel Nawazish that day to protect Khaleda Musharraf, Col Nazmul Al-Huda and Major ATM Haider.

On page no. 134 of the book written by Nilufar Huda, the BNP leader said the involvement of Colonel Taher (Abu Taher) behind the killing (of three army officers) was described in clear language.

"It was also revealed (in the book) that JSD Ganobahini circulated among the members of the army that Col Huda and others were Indian spies as per the instruction of Col Taher, four days before the killing incident.  "Major General Amin Ahmed Chowdhury also wrote the same in the introduction to the book," he said.

Fakhrul bemoaned the cruel irony of history is that Col Huda's daughter Naheed is raising her voice in the same tune with her father's 'killers' JSD- Ganobahini deputy chief Hasanul Haque Inu and Colonel Taher's brother Waresat Hossain Belal as MPs of a Parliament.

"She made Ziaur Rahman accused of ordering the killing of her father, who actually had given the order to save her father… In fact, Naheed Izaher Khan has filed a case against martyred President Ziaur Rahman mentioning him as order giver for her father's killing as she was used as a pawn of the fascist Awami quarter," he observed.

The BNP leader alleged that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her cohorts are continuing various conspiracies to divert the anti-fascist movement in a different direction. "This case is just a disgusting example of that conspiracy."

He warned the party rank and file that such plots by the government will continue in the future. "We would like to say that we'll foil all the plots together with people by establishing a non-partisan caretaker government ousting fascist regime."