DHAKA

Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said BNP has secret ties with Israel and its intelligence agency. “BNP has secret relations with Israel and its intelligence agency. The meeting of a representative of the Israeli intelligence agency with a senior BNP leader was exposed to media. BNP is always involved in such anti-state activities,” he said in a statement. Quader, also the and road transport and bridges minister, said with a view to creating confusions, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has made a false statement about the use of Israeli technology to hack the phones of opposition leaders. Such an irresponsible statement, delivered by a political leader, is very shameful, he said. The AL general secretary said Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was vocal in favour of the liberation movement of the people of Palestine and Bangabandhu’s daughter Sheikh Hasina is also vocal in establishing the rights of the Palestinian people.  Recalling Bangladesh’s historic relations with Palestine, he said Sheikh Hasina had invited Yasser Arafat, the then president of Palestine, to the in celebration of the silver jubilee of the Bangladesh’s independence.  Quader said Mirza Fakhrul could not present any specific evidence about phone hacking and that is why it is illegal to make sweeping comments on such a sensitive issue without any evidence.  Calling upon the BNP secretary general not to throw stones in the dark to confuse the country’s people, he said Fakhrul’s concocted statement is nothing but the continuation of their ongoing propaganda and rumour. Fakhrul has been involved in conspiratorial activities aiming to influence the country’s people and foreigners with false and fabricated information, the road transport and bridges minister said. Mentioning that all the public agencies are run by specific laws, he said the Awami League government’s courage and bold role in suppressing terrorism and militancy has been lauded at home and abroad. Quader said the government agencies are always active to suppress anti-state subversive activities and ensure peace and law and order, while the government shows respect to all rights of the people as per the country’s constitution. He said the Awami League has established the voting rights of the people of this country through a long struggle. The ruling party came to power with people’s mandate and this constitutional and democratic process would continue in the future too, he added. The AL general secretary said any ill-effort of evil forces to obstruct the electoral process will be resisted. In the recently held city elections, he said, there was no impediment in exercising the voting rights of the people. Quader said even BNP had boycotted elections in the past, but their anti-election activities were resisted by the people.  “So, we urge BNP leaders to shun their anti-election stance and participate in the upcoming national elections and focus on democratic politics,” he said.