Hefazat-e Islam Bangladesh (HIB), an Islamist organisation, based in Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Muinul Islam Madrasa of Hathajari upazila in Chittagong district, is adamant to hold its May 5 Dhaka siege programme. The government tried its best to convince the HIB leaders to postpone or cancel their programme but failed. The government made its last try on Wednesday night by sending a delegation comprising some ruling party leaders of Chittagong to HIB Ameer (Chief) Ahmed Shafi. But there was no outcome.
Local Awami League leader and Hathajari upazila chairman Principal Ismail Hossain, also member of the deligation, told The Independent, they had tried their best to convince the Hefazat leaders. “The meeting with the Hefazat leaders ended without any fruitful result,” he added.
He said, “We, on behalf of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, made the request to the HIB Ameer to suspend the May 5 programme saying the government is considering some of their demands,”
During the meeting, the HIB Ameer showed his adamant attitude about the programme saying his organisation only can postpone the Dhaka siege programme if the government would make a formal declaration to meet their 13-point demand charter, Hathajari upazila chairman informed The Independent.
Chittagong Zilla Parisad chairman and general secretary of Chittagong north district Awami League M A Salam and leader of Chittagong city Awami League Advocate Ibrahim Hossain Babul attended, among others, the meeting.
Meanwhile, hundreds of activists of HIB have started leaving Chittagong and its adjacent districts including Cox’s Bazaar and Feni for the capital to make May 5 a grand success.
Besides, leaders and activists of Jamaat-Shibir have also started leaving Chittagong for Dhaka boarding on different modes of transports in a bid to confirm their presence in the siege programme, following the directive of the party’s top brass.
More than five thousand leaders and activists of the two organisations have already reached Dhaka and its adjacent districts from Chittagong region.
According to different intelligence agencies and insiders of HIB, to avert transport crisis like April 6 long march programme and any other obstacles from the government, the high-ups of HIB decided to send most of their leaders and activists of different far-flung districts to Dhaka as well as the leaders of nearby districts ahead of the siege programme.
To ensure maximum presence from Chittagong, local leaders of HIB have been working hard to hire most of the buses plying on different routes connected with Chittagong.
A local HIB leader preferring anonymity told The Independent, they have already rented 300 vehicles, mostly buses of different routes, for accommodating at least 25 thousand people.
“We’re trying to hire more vehicles for the Dhaka siege programme. Most of the rented vehicles carrying our activists will leave Chittagong one day ahead of the programme,” he added.
To take the final decisions about the programme, two separate meetings comprising the senior leaders of the organisations were held on Thursday afternoon in Dhaka and at Hathajari in Chittagong.
HIB has been demanding punishment to the Shahbagh bloggers and stoppage of anti-Islamic activities in the country. It has also been demanding capital punishment to the people involved with blaspheming Islam and Prophet Muhammad (SM).
-with The Independent input
