BNP Vice Chairman Abdus Salam Pintu, freed from jail on Tuesday after 17 years, has vowed to continue their fight against injustice, oppression, terrorism and extortion.
“We must not forget that we will not do the same things that the Awami League did. We will not do all the wrongdoings that the Awami League people have done. We want to build Bangladesh,” he said.
The BNP leader said this while talking to reporters after paying tribute to the BNP founder Ziaur Rahman at his grave here in the city.
Abdus Salam Pintu walked free on Tuesday from Kashimpur Central Jail after spending nearly 17 years behind bars.
He said they want to build Bangladesh by taking the people with them.
“As long as I live, we’ll continue our struggle against injustice, oppression, terrorism, and extortion,” he said.
Echoing BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman’s concerns about the misuse of the BNP’s name for personal gains, Pintu asked his party leaders and activists to stay alert so that none can do misdeeds using the name of BNP.
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He mentioned untold tortures were carried out on him in the last 17 years and even he fell unconscious in the court balcony.
Pintu expressed his gratitude to the people of Bangladesh as he was freed due to their sacrifices. “I am grateful to the people of Bangladesh. Today, I have been freed for their sacrifices,” he said.
The BNP leader said his party leaders and activists created the field of revolution and then students led achieving the success through the recent revolution.
“Our leaders and workers have prepared this field with hard work and later the students have brought the result. We have to sustain this success. We have to bring the success of our movement and struggle to our homes in a united way.
BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan and its senior joint secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi were present.
Pintu, a former deputy minister in the BNP-led government, stepped out of the prison shortly after 11 am on Tuesday, greeted by an enthusiastic crowd comprising family members, party leaders and activists. They welcomed him with floral garlands and celebratory processions.
He was arrested in connection with the much-talked-about grenade attack on an Awami League rally in 2004. The attack, which claimed the lives of 24 people and injured over 300, is considered one of the most heinous political crimes in Bangladesh's history.
On October 10, 2018, a trial court sentenced Pintu, along with 18 others, to death in the case.