In Bangladesh, a 48 hour countrywide blockade of road, rail and waterways, enforced by Bangladesh Nationalist Party and like-minded opposition parties, was marked by stray incidents of violence including clashes with police and torching vehicles. The blockade that started at 6am on Sunday will end at 6 pm on Monday.
Miscreants set four buses on fire in different areas of Dhaka on Saturday evening ahead of the countrywide 48-hour blockade enforced by BNP-led oppositions. At least four men of BNP and its affiliated organisations were injured and five vehicles were vandalised during a clash with police on the Bogura-Dhaka highway this morning. Several crude bombs were exploded and police fired tear gas canisters to disperse the party men, witnesses and police said.
Twenty-seven platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been deployed in Dhaka and adjoining districts to maintain law and order situation.
Like the first spell of the blockade, the members of the frontier battalion have been performing their duties alongside police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Ansar to ensure public safety and security in Dhaka and other parts of the country.
Banned Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is also enforcing a 48-hour blockade simultaneously, demanding the current government's resignation and installation of a non-party neutral administration to oversee the 12th parliamentary election.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi called upon the country’s people along with BNP supporters to observe the programme spontaneously to make it successful.
Vehicles of the newspapers or media, ambulances and vehicles transporting oxygen cylinders and medicines remain out of the purview of the three-day blockade.
Meanwhile, Shariah-based political party Islami Andolon Bangladesh on Friday unveiled a four-point charter of demands, including resignation of the incumbent government and dissolution of parliament by November 10.
The party's leader, Mufti Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim issued the ultimatum from a rally held at Suhrawardy Uddyan in Dhaka on Friday afternoon, reports UNB
Earlier the opposition parties observed a day-long hartal on October 29 and a three-day blockade from Oct 31 to November 2 demanding their one-point demand and protesting the attacks on its October 28 rally by police.
At least three people died amid sporadic incidents of clashes, arson attacks and arrests during the hartal. The three-day countrywide blockade was also marked by clashes and widespread incidents of torching and vandalising vehicles that left four people killed.
Meanwhile, The Election Commission of Bangladesh on Saturday invited 44 registered political parties in two groups in the morning and afternoon to inform them about the election preparations.
Among the 44 invited parties, the representatives of 26 political parties including the Awami League and Jatiya Party participated while BNP and 17 like-minded political parties did not participate.
Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal on Saturday urged the BNP to participate in the national polls to be held in the second week of January.
Navalsang Parmar (DHAKA)
