BNP won’t hold any talks with PM: Fakhrul

Staff Correspondent: BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said the party is not willing to engage in any dialogue with the prime minister claiming that she does not live up to her commitments.
“We will not hold any dialogue with her [Sheikh Hasina], because she does not keep her promises,” Fakhrul made the remarks at the BNP chairperson’s office in the capital’s Gulshan in response to the prime minister’s comment on ruling out the possibility of election talks with the BNP.
Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina indicated that she will not engage in any dialogue with other political parties ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections.
BNP Secretary General also said, “The prime minister asked whom shall she speak to and what would be the result. Well, we [BNP] have the same question, what will be the result?”
Before the 2018 election, BNP, under the leadership of Dr Kamal Hossain, held talks with the prime minister.
Fakhrul said, “In that dialogue, the prime minister said that there will be no more arrests [of BNP activists], no police harassment, and no cases filed. But after three days, our candidates were arrested and tortured.”
He further said, “On Monday, the prime minister said that there is no pressure surrounding her. Through this, we can tell that she shoulders no responsibility of the country and the people. She has no real concern for the future.”
“Where will the pressures even come from? Because in the last election, AL came to power illegally by preventing voters from going to polling stations as well as committed all kinds of fraud and terrorist activities,” he alleged.