DHAKA: Opposition leader and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia warned that the government would be held responsible if any unwanted situation arises through impeding the dawn-to-dusk hartal on June 27, as her minions in the party and allies prepared to enforce the shutdown.

“We want to hold a peaceful hartal against the ruling government and the programme should not be interfered with,” she said at a press conference at her Gulshan office on Friday afternoon.

The former PM also called upon all to come forward to make the hartal a success.

The party would make public the next course of action after the hartal, she told the journalists at the news conference, where senior leaders of BNP were present.

Earlier on May 19, the opposition leader from a grand rally at Paltan Maidan had announced a three-tier programme of anti-government movement, including the June 27 hartal.

The hartal has been called on a number of issues and demands that include ensuring supply of gas, electricity and water, to stop extortion, tender manipulation and grabbing allegedly by the ruling party `terrorists`, scrapping `anti-nation` agreements signed with India and containing the price hike of essentials.

Out of the three-phased programme, a mass sit-in was staged in the capital city on June 9 and countrywide demonstrations on June 20.


BST 1913 HRS, June 25, 2010
AZ/NS/ARF/SMS/MUA