B'desh interim govt, political parties condemn military action against political outfit

Dhaka/New Delhi, Aug 30 (PTI) Bangladesh's interim government and the political parties on Saturday condemned an overnight military action against a political outfit aligned with last year's student-led movement that toppled the government of then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

The army joined local police in a crackdown on Gano Odhikar Parishad activists after its chief Nurul Haque Nur, along with his supporters, reached in front of late president H M Ershad’s Jatiya Party central office at Purana Paltan area “to hold a press conference” on Friday night.

Video footage on social media and local newspaper reports said police and military jointly cracked down on Gano Odhikar activists with batons and bamboo sticks after the law enforcement forces’ initial call asking them to move away appeared futile.

Nur, who was critically wounded, and several others are now being treated at local hospitals. Nur is popular as VP Nur as he is the former vice president of Dhaka University Students Union (DUCSU).

On Saturday, the interim government chief's office, headed by Muhammad Yunus, issued a statement condemning the security forces' actions harshly on Friday night.

“It (the interim government) strongly condemns the brutal attack on Nurul Haque Nur, the president of the Gono Odhikar Parishad and a prominent leader of the July Uprising and also a tireless advocate of democracy, justice, and the rights of the people,” it said.

“Such acts of violence are an assault not only on Mr Nur but also on the spirit of the democratic movement that brought the nation together in its historic struggle for justice and accountability,” the statement read.

'July Uprising' is used for the massive student-led protests that resulted in the ouster of Hasina's government. She fled the country on August 5, 2024, three days after which Yunus took over as the interim government chief.

The interim government promised to launch a “thorough and impartial investigation into this heinous incident” with “utmost urgency” and no individual, “regardless of influence or position, will be spared from accountability”.

Yunus’ administration simultaneously called for unity among all political and social forces that took part in the July Uprising, saying “this unity is essential to protect the gains of our struggle, to resist all conspiracies against the people’s mandate, and to ensure our successful transition to democracy.” Earlier, the military in a statement on Friday night said, “The People's Republic of Bangladesh has adopted a zero tolerance policy against mobs of all sorts.” “Bangladesh Army reiterates this government decision and remains prepared to stand sternly against all sorts of mob violence to bring a sense of relief and security in the public mind. The military is pledge-bound to maintain public security, law and order and peace,” the statement read.

The statement also explained the backdrop of military intervention at the scene, saying the troops went to the scene after the police called it as the situation went beyond their control.

“After exhausting all peaceful means, the security forces were compelled to use force in the interest of public safety,” it added.

Former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), now the single major party since the government disbanded Hasina's Awami League activities under an executive order, also protested the attack on Nur.

BNP's self-exiled acting chairman Tarique Rahman and secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir issued separate statements condemning the incident.

The newly floated student-led National Citizen Party (NCP), whose leaders were instrumental in last year’s violent movement resulting in Hasina's ouster, blasted the security forces for what they described as the “heinous attack.” Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami and several other religion-based or Islamic groups also protested the attack, while activists of the Gano Odhikar Parishad and NCP vandalised Jatiya Party offices at places outside Dhaka and enforced temporary roadblocks at different parts of the country.

The development came amid speculation that Jatiya Party could emerge as one of the major parties in parliament after the impending February 2026 elections, while Hasina's Awami League leaders also could contest the polls under the banner of its ally, which is not banned yet.

Despite Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman’s previous warning against mob violence, the military has rarely intervened to contain perpetrators of such attacks. One such incident where the troops came down heavily was on Awami League supporters in July this year to save NCP leaders in the southwestern Gopalganj district.

The visiting NCP leaders left aboard the military’s armoured personnel carriers to evade the wrath of Awami League supporters in Gopalganj, the birthplace and scene of the shrine of Bangladesh’s founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. PTI CORR NPK ZH NPK NPK