Libel suit filed against Khaleda Zia

A libel suit was filed Monday against Bangladesh's main opposition party chief Khaleda Zia for "distorting the history of Liberation War" by saying her husband Ziaur Rahman was "Bangladesh's first president".

A.B. Siddiqui, chief of Jananetri Parishad, a pro-ruling Awami League organisation, filed the complaint in Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court Monday.

Metropolitan Magistrate Shamsul Arefin held a hearing on whether the complaint could be admitted as a case. But he is yet to issue an order, bdnews24.com reported.

Siddiqui said he had sued Khaleda as he felt the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief's claim had "distorted history and defamed" the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

He said he hoped the court would accept his petition.

At a programme in London last week, Khaleda's elder son and BNP's senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman claimed his father was Bangladesh's first president.

A day later, the BNP chief backed her son's claims.

Sunday's Parliament session saw a heated debate over the claims and several members of parliament were in favour of charging Khaleda with sedition.