BNP calls shutdown on Wednesday to protest attack on Khaleda

The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has called a nationwide shutdown on Wednesday to protest the attack on party chief Khaleda Zia during an election rally on Monday, according to media reports.

BNP standing committee member, Moudud Ahmed, announced the programme at a press conference at the party's Naya Paltan headquarters here, bdnews24.com reported.

However, Dhaka and Chittagong city corporations, which go to polls on April 28, have been exempted from the general strike.

Zia was attacked while campaigning for party-endorsed city election candidates in Dhaka. She escaped unharmed, but her vehicle was damaged.

The BNP-led 20-party opposition alliance, which boycotted the general election last year, had enforced a nationwide blockade since January 5 demanding fresh parliamentary polls under a non-party caretaker government.

However, earlier this month, the BNP hinted that the indefinite transport blockade was no longer in force.

The party has also called an agitation on Tuesday to protest the attack on Zia.

Meanwhile, several improvised bombs exploded near the BNP headquarters in Dhaka, after the shutdown and agitation plans were announced.

Ahmed alleged the ruling Awami League's student front Bangladesh Chhatra League to have orchestrated the assault on Zia with police assistance.

However, police denied the allegation and said none of the attackers could be identified.

"This was a planned attack to eliminate the BNP chairperson," the Ahmed claimed.

He also questioned the withdrawal of police protection from Zia's residence after she joined the city poll campaign.

The former prime minister currently holds no position that entitles her to police protection. Police personnel posted at her home were withdrawn on Monday morning.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked the people to question the BNP chief about her "acts of violence" wherever she went.

More than 120 people were killed and thousands injured, mostly in arson, during the BNP-led alliance's indefinite blockade since January.

Zia has been named in several cases as the instigator of violence.