Khaleda won't go to court

Despite two arrest warrants against her, Khaleda Zia will not surrender before court today to seek bail in two graft cases, BNP sources and one of her lawyers said yesterday.

Speculations have been rife that the BNP chief might be arrested anytime since the court trying the two cases issued the warrants last week. They grew intense yesterday as the case proceedings are set to resume today.

The BNP chairperson is determined not to leave her Gulshan office where she has been staying for two months now. She would not surrender before the court "come what may," said the party sources.

"She will not go to the court tomorrow [today] on security grounds," Sanaullah Mia, one of her counsels, told The Daily Star yesterday.

However, Supreme Court Bar Association President Khandker Mahbub Hossain, another lawyer for Khaleda, said the BNP chief would surrender to the court only if the government ensured her security to and from the court.

If she comes out of her office to go to the court, BNP leaders fear, the government might not allow her to return to the office and might forcibly send her to her residence, also in Gulshan.

Meanwhile, the government and the ruling Awami League policymakers remain undecided about detaining Khaleda, insiders said.

Some say Khaleda's arrest might add fuel to the opposition movement, and the BNP-led 20-party combine might benefit from it. But some others are for taking tough actions against the former prime minister, including her arrest by today. They are also in favour of sending Khaleda to her residence from her political office.   

Amid this, Khaleda has given "special instructions" to at least 54 district BNP leaders to intensify the agitation and not be demoralised even if she is arrested, said sources at her Gulshan office.

Several district leaders, including those in Khulna and Bogra, confirmed this over the phone.

According to BNP sources, Khaleda wants the government to arrest her, because while this will invite international pressure on the government, it will also boost the opposition morale.

The police remain inactive even a week after the arrest warrants were issued.

On February 25, a Dhaka court ordered the arrest of Khaleda for skipping court hearing on four consecutive dates in Zia Charitable Trust and Zia Orphanage Trust graft cases.

Asked, police yesterday said they were yet to receive the orders.

Gulshan police, however, received a court order to search Khaleda's office for communication devices only hours after it was issued on Sunday. Police were yet to search her office till yesterday.

Contacted, State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal claimed the police stations concerned and his ministry did not receive the search and arrest orders.

"We will act as per the law. We will not deviate from the law even by an inch," he told this correspondent yesterday.

He added they were also waiting for the directives of the High Court where Khaleda filed two petitions, expressing no-confidence in the trial court judge dealing with the two graft cases in question.

"If she [Khaleda] appears before the court tomorrow [today] and is granted bail, we will have nothing to do in this regard," he said.

In another development, Khaleda's counsel Sanaullah yesterday filed two petitions to the court, which issued the arrest warrants, seeking withdrawal of the orders.

The petitions said the BNP chief filed two petitions with the HC on January 28, expressing no-confidence in the trial court judge and seeking transfer of the cases.

"The arrest warrants should be withdrawn until the two petitions [before the HC] are disposed of," said the petitions.

Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadar of the special judge's court-3 of Dhaka fixed today for hearing the petitions.

Yesterday, Khaleda filed two more petitions with the HC seeking stay on the arrest warrants.

When the special court on February 25 ordered Khaleda's arrest, it also ordered Sanaullah, who is representing Tarique Rahman (now in London) in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, to produce him before the court today.

Asked about this, Sanaullah said, "I could not contact him."

Law Minister Anisul Huq said Khaleda was a "fugitive accused" and she had violated laws by not appearing before the court in the graft cases for 56 times.

The latest political development has raised fear in public mind that violence would escalate. In the past two months, at least 81 people have been killed in violence, mostly in arson attacks on public transport. 

Over security concerns, the US embassy in Dhaka yesterday announced that services would not be available today at the American Centre, EMK Centre and American Corners in Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna and Rajshahi. 

In Dhaka, the embassy will limit its operations to essential services only, according to a notice on the embassy's Facebook page.

"All visa and consular appointments for March 4 have been cancelled. Clients who had March 4 appointments are advised to check their email for further instructions," said the notice.

The embassy expects to resume normal operations tomorrow.

Asked about the unscheduled closure, embassy Spokesperson Monica L Shie said, "Operations will be limited due to security concerns."