Khaleda's abandoning blockade welcome

WE welcome the opposition BNP back into political activities through Monday's massive rally at Suhrawardy Udyan. Also, it is only fair to say that the government did not create any hindrance in the way of holding the opposition programme. All this appears to augur well for the future course of politics.
Now the natural expectation of the public is that both sides should take fresh initiatives to prepare the grounds for talks. Obviously, here the onus lies more on the government than on the opposition.
We reiterate that the just held election, though it may have met a constitutional obligation, has not fulfilled the primary conditions of a duly elected government that reflects popular will to claim people's mandate.  The result of the election, therefore, is basically not sustainable.
At this point, we consider it a positive gesture from the BNP that it has shunned the path of violent agitation like oborodh and hartal.  Reassuringly, we also noted that Jammat was not taken on board at the Suhrawardy Uddyan rally. If this reflects any new attitude on BNP's part, then may we expect that BNP would also take part in a dialogue with the government without the Jamaat-e-Islami?
Towards restoring the political environment for talks, it is high time the government met the opposition halfway with a conciliatory approach, now that the BNP itself has demonstrated such intents. As a first step to this end, we would urge the government to take steps to release the imprisoned BNP leaders and create congenial environment for talks.