The BNP-led 18-party alliance and its component Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on Monday called separate daylong hartals in Pabna and Bogra districts for Tuesday and Thursday respectively on separate grounds. In Pabna, district Jamaat will enforce the dawn-to-dusk hartal on Tuesday protesting the arrest of its secretary and a Shibir leader. District Jamaat nayeb-e-ameer Maulana Jahurul Islam announced the shutdown through a press release on Monday afternoon. Police arrested district Jamaat secretary and member secretary of district unit of the 18-party alliance Prof Abu Taleb and town unit Shibir president Ariful Islam from Masum Bazar in the town around 1pm today. In Bogra, the 18-party alliance will enforce the shutdown in the district on Thursday protesting ‘continued conspiracy’ against BNP senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman. District BNP president VP Saiful Islam announced the hartal from a rally of the alliance at Altafunnesa Playground in the district town in the afternoon. The High Court on Sunday asked Tarique Rahman, also the eldest son of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, to surrender before the trial court in connection with the money-laundering charges he was acquitted of. – UNB
