Bangladesh opposition protests attack on party chief adviser

The opposition alliance-led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Thursday (January 15) protested against an attack on BNP chief Begum Khaleda Zia's adviser Riaz Rahman.

Rahman was shot at and his car was set on fire on the night of January 13. He was returning from a meeting with Khaleda, who police have illegally confined at her office in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave for more than a week.

The government, however, denies Khaleda is being held against her will, and says she is free to leave the premises.

Agitators torched a car, while bombs were hurled in the old part of Dhaka city during the BNP-sponsored strike and the ongoing blockade that has been going on since January 5.

The shops remained closed and traffic movement was less than usual. The Bangladesh ruling Awami League held protest march against the opposition's strike and blockade.

Bangladesh's Minister for Relief and Disaster Management, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury, denounced the opposition's stand.

"Those who don't believe in liberation war, don't believe in democracy, don't believe in Bangladesh's independence and the Constitution. They kill children and people. We will form committees in every ward and in the police station areas to protest their views in Bangladesh," said Chowdhury.

The main opposition BNP, which boycotted the 2014 vote, has called the blockade to try force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government to hold a new general election under a non-partisan caretaker government.

Bangladesh has been wrecked by political violence for decades, and the latest crisis erupted on January 05 when demonstrations broke out on the anniversary of last year's disputed elections.

The office of prime minister has been held by Hasina or BNP leader Begum Khaleda Zia for all but two of the past 23 years and the rivalry between them is bitter.

Four passengers aboard a Bangladesh bus were burned alive on Wednesday (January 14) when anti-government protesters threw a petrol bomb at the packed vehicle, taking the death toll from a bloody nationwide blockade to 18.

The United States condemned the attack on Rahman. "There is no justification for such outrageous and cowardly acts in a democratic Bangladesh," U.S. Department of State deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said in a statement.