Khaleda Zia sits with 20-party alliance leaders

Khaleda Zia sits with 20-party alliance leaders

Dhaka, Jan 28 (Just News): A day after her meeting with the party's policymakers, BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia sat with the 20-party alliance leaders tonight (Sunday night) as a Dhaka court is set to deliver its verdict on February 8 in a graft case filed against her.

The meeting began around 9:15pm at the BNP chairperson's Gulshan office.

The meeting was convened to discuss the overall situation of the country following the court's decision to pronounce the verdict in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

On Thursday, the Special Court-5 in Dhaka fixed February 8 to deliver the verdict in the corruption case against Khaleda Zia, her son Tarique Rahman and four other people.

The ACC filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on July 3, 2008 with Ramna Police Station accusing Khaleda Zia, Tarique Rahman, now living in the UK, and four others of misappropriating over 2.10 crore that came as grants from a foreign bank for orphans.

Khaleda will be disqualified for the next general election if she is convicted in the case.

Earlier on Saturday night, Khaleda Zia had a meeting with her party's standing committee members at the same venue and discussed the issues relating to the probable court verdict in the graft case and worked out the party's next course of action.

Briefing reporters about the outcome of the meeting, party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir had said the BNP policymakers said the entire nation has got worried and aggrieved over fixing the date for pronouncing the verdict hurriedly.

They also observed that the move was taken as part of a conspiracy to "destroy democracy and foil an inclusive national election.

Under the circumstances, the BNP standing committee members urged people to get united and be vocal against the government's 'plot in the name of trial'.

(Justnews/ys/2320)