DHAKA, April 5, 2025 (BSS) – BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed today said their high demand is that the Chief Adviser must urgently announce an election roadmap so that the national elections can be held by December.

 “Just as we want reforms, we want justice for genocide, but the issue of advancing the democratic process must be our top priority,” he told journalists after a meeting between BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and the leaders of Hefazat-e-Islam at the BNP Chairperson’s office in Gulshan this evening.

Salahuddin claimed that both the parties reached an consensus on the issue of election in the meeting which was focused on various issues including cases filed against Hefazat-e-Islam leaders, the trial of genocide, electoral reforms and the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The BNP leader said that Hefazat-e-Islam agreed with the call for the elections to take place by December, adding, “Hefazat-e-Islam and its allies political parties will devise appropriate strategies to ensure the election is held on time.”

Salahuddin went on to express concerns about delays in the election process, stating, “The Chief Adviser had assured us about the December elections, and it was reiterated multiple times before the nation.”

“However, there has been a shifting timeline, with suggestions that the elections might be pushed from December to June, and then again from June to December. We are witnessing various efforts to delay the elections and we cannot accept this,” he said.

Salahuddin also spoke about the brutal crackdown on Hefazat-e-Islam activists during the past regime of the Awami League, highlighting the 2013 Shapla Chattar massacre, in which many lives were lost. “We demand justice for the victims of the Shapla Chattar massacre, but we also stand with Hefazat-e-Islam in their calls for swift resolution of the cases,” he said.

The BNP leader further said the party supports the demand for justice regarding the killing of 24 religious scholars and madrasa students in 2021 during another government crackdown in Chittagong and Brahmanbaria. “We stand with Hefazat-e-Islam's demand for justice and a quick resolution of the cases,” he said.

Salahuddin Ahmed also criticized the previous government for framing false charges against religious scholars and activists, which led to years of imprisonment and torture. He urged the government to withdraw all such false cases immediately.
 
The BNP leader called for trial of Awami League for its role in the genocide and crimes against humanity. “We have publicly demanded the prosecution of the Awami League as a political party for its involvement in genocide and crimes against humanity. We urge the government to take this matter seriously and consider legal amendments if needed,” he said.

The meeting with Hefazat-e-Islam was led by its Secretary General Maulana Sajedur Rahman, and included its Nayeb-e-Ameer Ahmed Abdul Kader, Maulana Bahuddin Zakaria, Maulana Mohiuddin Rabbani, Senior Joint Secretary General Maulana Junaid Al Habib, Joint Secretary-General Maulana Mahfuzul Haque, Maulana Azizul Haque Islamabadi and Finance Secretary Mufti Monir Hossain Kasemi.

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