Khaleda wants to know fate of Salahuddin

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday expressed deep concern over the fate of the missing party joint secretary general Salahuddin Ahmed.

The law enforcement agencies are yet to make any headway in finding out his whereabouts in spite of the High Court's directives to trace him, she said.

“Members of the law enforcement agencies had picked up one of the top BNP leaders, Salahuddin Ahmed, from a residence at the capital's Uttara.

“Two months have already elapsed but there is no trace of Salahuddin, which has led to much anxiety among the family members of Salahuddin and us,” Khaleda said in a statement.

Apart from Salahuddin, many other party leaders, including M Ilias Ali, Chowdhury Alam, former MP Saiful Islam Hiru and former organising secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal Anisur Rahman Khokon, have been subjected to enforced disappearance during the tenure of the Hasina-led government since 2009, she alleged.

“It could not be known what has happened to them as there has been no trace of them since their disappearances,” reads the statement undersigned by Asaduzzaman Ripon, BNP's secretary for international affairs.

“The relatives of the missing BNP leaders are still waiting for their near and dear ones to return home. They don't know whether their loved ones were murdered without trial,” it said.

“Their relatives could not even know the dates of death of their loved ones. They did not get the opportunity to visit their graves or offer prayers,” the statement said. 

“In this backdrop, we and the family members of Salahuddin are very much concerned about his fate. Salahuddin's wife, also a former BNP MP, has repeatedly appealed to the prime minister to get her husband back. But instead of taking any measure, the premier made a cruel mockery of Salahuddin going missing,” it said.

“Where is the security of common people if the government remains silent on the missing of a BNP leader like Salahuddin, a former state minister?” Khaleda questioned.

The BNP chief reiterated her demand for safe return of Salahuddin and “restoration of law and order”.

Last evening, a BNP delegation, led by party standing committee member Moyeen Khan, visited Hasina Ahmed, wife of Salahuddin Ahmed, at her Gulshan resident to console her.

Talking to the reporters, Hasina Ahmed called upon the government not to do politics on the issue of her husband going missing and ensure his safe return.

She reiterated her call to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for instructing the law enforcement agencies to “return” her husband, alleging that the detectives had picked him up.