BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas on Monday sent a letter to the party clarifying over his recent statement on the disappearance of Ilias Ali.

The BNP leader sent the letter to party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir in the afternoon.

Also read:BNP seeks explanation from Abbas over his comment on Ilias Ali

Talking to UNB, Abbas said his party had sought an explanation from him about what he said at a virtual discussion on April 17 about the disappearance of former BNP MP Ilias Ali. “I clarified my position to our party secretary general.”

He, however, declined to elaborate on the content of the letter.

Speaking at the discussion programme on April 17 last, Mirza Abbas said he thought neither the government nor the Awami League made Ilias Ali disappeared. “But who did it? I want to know this from this government."

He also called upon Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to find out the BNP leaders who had engaged in an altercation with Ilias Ali the night before he went missing.

As his remarks sparked various speculations and discontent within the party, Fakhrul sent a letter to Abbas on April 22 seeking an explanation as per the directive of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman.

Earlier on April 18, Abbas at a press conference claimed that some media distorted his remarks about the disappearance of their party leader M Ilias Ali.

Also read:Abbas claims media distorted his comments on Ilias ...

"It was published in a newspaper quoting me that some BNP leaders are responsible for the disappearance of Ilias Ali. Can anyone prove I made such a remark? It’s not possible to do so. I want to make it clear that my statement was distorted,” he told a press conference at his residence.

He also alleged that some newspapers wrongly quoted him as saying that the government and Awami League had no involvement in the disappearance of Ilias. “I didn’t make any such comment.  My statement was distorted and twisted. I just rebuked the government and wanted to know where Ilias is.”

BNP organising secretary M Ilias Ali along with his driver Ansar Ali went missing on the midnight of April 17, 2012 in the capital’s Banani area.

Since then, BNP has been blaming security agencies for the mysterious disappearance, an allegation denied by the government.