BNP, IAB agree on 10 points election issues

Staff Reporter:
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Islami Andolan Bangladesh yesterday agreed on 10 points including national elections after completing the minimum necessary reforms.
“We have acceded to about 10-point issues,” BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said after meeting with the Islami Andolan Bangladesh Ameer and Charmonai Peer Maulana Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim yesterday afternoon.
He enunciated the 10 points including building national unity to form an independent, sovereign, sustainable state free from authoritarianism, expansionism and imperialism, speedy trial of cor-rupts, terrorists, murderers and money launderers, building a national consensus to protect all hu-man rights including voting rights, completing the minimum necessary reforms and taking measures to hold elections as soon as possible.
The issues also included preventing the rise in commodity prices and establishing the rights of all deprived people, normalizing law and order, working together with all anti-Awami fascist forces, not using attacking words against each other, remaining politically united so that fascist forces like the Awami League cannot come to power in the future, and quickly removing the existing fascist allies from the administration.
Both parties have even expressed their consensus on not taking any decision against Islamic Sharia and not saying anything against Islam, the BNP secretary general said.
When asked about the earliest possible elections, Islami Andolon Ameer Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim said they want elections within a reasonable period not taking too much time.
“And six months have almost passed. We mainly demand a beautiful national election within a year. The discussions between our two parties will continue,” he said.
Earlier, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and BNP Vice Chairman Barkat Ullah Bulu came to the cen-tral office of Islami Andolon Bangladesh at Purana Paltan at 12 noon. They took lunch with the Charmonai Pir there.
Islami Andolon Secretary General Principal Maulana Yunus Ahmad, Senior Presidium Members Principal Syed Mosaddek Billah Al Madani and Professor Ashraf Ali Akon, Senior Joint Secretary General Maulana Gazi Ataur Rahman and Joint Secretary Generals Ashraful Alam and Maulana Imtiaz Alam also joined the meeting, among others.
Earlier, on January 22, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and BNP Standing Committee Member Nazrul Islam Khan met with a 9-member delegation including the Ameer, Secretary General of the Khelafat Majlis.
The Khelafat Majlis was once a partner of the BNP-led 20-party alliance. In October 2021, they left the alliance in a ‘special context’. The January 22 meeting was held almost three years later.
After this meeting, the BNP said it has taken the initiative to enhance communication with all anti-fascist political parties, especially religious-based Islamic parties.
As part of this, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir held a meeting with Ameer of the Islami Andolon Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim.