Khaleda to ‘surrender if security ensured’

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will surrender to court tomorrow on condition that the government allows her to return to her office after her bail, her defense lawyer Khandker Mahbub Hossain said.

But the Law Minister Anisul Huq called Khaleda a "fugitive accused" and said she cannot give any conditions.

Mahbub, also an advisor to Khaleda, told The Daily Star that the former prime minister must get adequate security on her way back to her Gulshan office after getting bail. He said that he had discussed the issue with Khaleda.

The BNP chief has been staying at her office since January 3.

Mahbub said, "They would not let Khaleda return to her office."

"To isolate her from politics, the government has obtained the search and arrest warrants from the courts," said Mahbub, who is also the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president.

Meanwhile, Law Minister Anisul Huq said Khaleda has violated laws by not appearing before the court in the graft cases for "56 times".

"Therefore, she cannot give any condition," he told The Daily Star this afternoon.

Anisul said Khaleda always gets enough security.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the respective police stations and the home ministry are yet to receive the search and arrest warrants against Khaleda.

"We will act as per the instructions of law. We will not deviate from the law even by an inch," Kamal said while talking to The Daily Star.

He added that they are also waiting for High Court directions as two petitions of Khaleda expressing no-confidence in a trial court judge, who is dealing with Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable Trust corruption cases, remain pending with the HC.

"If she appears before the court tomorrow and is granted bail, then we will have nothing to do in this regard," said the state minister.

A Dhaka court on March 1 issued a warrant allowing police to search Khaleda's Gulshan office for communication devices allegedly being used for carrying out subversive activities across the country.

The warrant also authorises police to look for suspects in a case filed for carrying out a crude bomb attack on a procession led by Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan on February 16 in Gulshan.

Earlier on February 25, the court issued arrest warrants against the BNP chief for skipping court hearings on four consecutive dates in the two graft cases against her and eight others.

The Anti-Corruption Commission filed Zia Orphanage graft case in 2009 for embezzlement of over Tk 2.1 crore. The other case was filed in 2011 for abuse of power in creating the charitable trust.