BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today alleged that the arrest of veteran journalist Shafik Rehman was motivated from a political cause.

Condemning the arrest and demanding his immediate release, Fakhrul said: “His arrest stirred up the whole country – even the ones who do not support his ideology.”

“This is because he spoke of the beauty and love,” Fakhrul said. He also condemned the fashion of arresting Shafik Rehman. “The manner of arrest was a cheat.”

Fakhrul was speaking at a programme organised to drum for the release of Shafik Rehman, by Gonotantrik Party, at Photo Journalist Association auditorium in Dhaka.