'Give us my father's last remains': Son of disappeared Ctg BNP leader Siraj Chairman pleads

A human chain was formed in Chattogram demanding the whereabouts of BNP leader and former chairman of Fatikchhari's Lelang Union Parishad, ASM Shahidul Alam Siraj, who went missing on 6 March 2012, while attending BNP's "Cholo Cholo Dhaka Cholo" programme.

The demonstration, organised by fellow journalists of Siraj Chairman's son, journalist Azim Anon, was held in front of Chattogram Press Club today (5 February), with Chattogram Metropolitan Journalists Union (CMJU) General Secretary Saleh Noman presiding over the event.

During the demonstration, Azim Anon expressed his family's ongoing suffering, stating, "My father travelled to Dhaka for BNP's program on 6 March 2012, but he never returned. Over the past 15 years, countless individuals with opposing political views have been forcibly disappeared, murdered, or taken to secret detention centres. My father is among them. We sought answers from authorities countless times, but after 12 years, we still have no information about his fate."

"My mother and younger brother have been waiting for his return. We have seen others come back from secret detention centres, but even after nearly six months since the fall of the autocratic Sheikh Hasina regime, we still don't know where my father is. I want to know—whether alive or dead—his final whereabouts. My family will hold on to whatever remains of him for the rest of our lives," he added.

The event, moderated by journalist Imran Emi, saw the participation of political and media figures who expressed solidarity with the demand. Among them were former General Secretary of Chattogram Metropolitan BNP Abul Hashem Bakkar, Interim Member Secretary of Chattogram Press Club and CDA Board Member Zahidul Karim Kochi, Chattogram Metropolitan BNP's Joint Convener (in charge of the office) Shawkat Azam Khwaja, and Chattogram South District BNP Joint Convener Mishkatul Islam Chowdhury Pappa, among others.

Speaking at the demonstration, BNP leader Abul Hashem Bakkar stated, "Siraj Chairman disappeared for standing against fascism. Anon was just a child when it happened, and now he is on the streets demanding justice for his father. Many others were abducted while protesting on the streets, just like Siraj Chairman. We have always spoken out against enforced disappearances, and we will continue to do so. Despite cases, attacks, and imprisonment, we have never feared the fascist regime's intimidation. Over the past 17 years, we have remained steadfast in our fight. The state must take responsibility for those who have been forcibly disappeared under Hasina's dictatorship. Their families deserve to know their final fate."

The demonstration highlighted the ongoing pain of families of the disappeared and renewed calls for accountability for enforced disappearances committed during the past regime.