Khaleda to sit with 20-party leaders tonight

After meeting with her party's policymakers, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will sit with 20-party alliance leaders tonight as a Dhaka court is set to deliver verdict in a graft case filed against her on February 8.

The meeting is scheduled to begin around 8:30pm at the BNP chairperson's Gulshan office, said party Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

He said the meeting was convened to discuss the overall situation of the country following the court's decision to pronounce the verdict in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

On Thursday, the Special Court-5 in Dhaka fixed February 8 to deliver the verdict in the corruption case against Khaleda, her son Tarique Rahman and four other people.

The ACC filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on July 3, 2008 with Ramna Police Station accusing Khaleda, Tarique, now living in the UK, and four others for misappropriating over 2.10 crore that came as grants from a foreign bank for orphans.

Khaleda will be disqualified for the next general election if she is convicted in the case.

Yesterday, Khaleda had a meeting with her party's standing committee members at the same venue and discussed the issues relating to the probable court verdict in the graft case and worked out the party's next course of action.

Briefing reporters about the outcome of the meeting, party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the BNP policymakers said the entire nation has got worried and aggrieved over fixing of date for pronouncing the verdict hurriedly.

They also observed that the move was taken as part of a conspiracy to "destroy democracy and foil an inclusive national election. We urge people to get united and be vocal against the government's plot in the name of trial."

Under the circumstances, the BNP standing committee members urged people to get united and be vocal against the government's 'plot in the name of trial'.