Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader today (February 9) said BNP will have to pay for the mistake it made by not joining the January 7 polls.

He made the remark while speaking at a press conference at the AL president's Dhanmondi political office in the capital this afternoon.

Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said Bangladesh's democracy is far different from Pakistan's democracy. 

No country in the world has a caretaker government but Pakistan retains the so-called caretaker government system, he said. 

The AL general secretary said the difference between the two countries is that foreign powers, particularly the western world, voice loud over the elections of Bangladesh but there is no excitement in case of Pakistan.

About the absence of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in the field of politics, the AL general secretary said: "As far as I know, he has been granted bail in many cases. A case for attack on the Chief Justice's residence caused a little difficulty for him. He may be granted bail in any time." 

He said the government does not want a person to be detained without trial too.

Regarding BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia's medical treatment abroad, Quader said, "Let her family submit an application and then it can be said whether she can go abroad. It depends on how the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Law Ministry recommend to this end."

BDST: 2114 HRS, FEB 09, 2024
MSK