BNP should remain thankful to the government for yet another six-month suspension of Khaleda Zia’s jail sentence under an official order, Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud said on Monday.

“If that order is revoked tomorrow, Khaleda Zia will have to return to jail immediately. I think the BNP needs to keep this in mind as well,” said the minister.

Hasan, joint general secretary of the Awami League, said this while replying to questions from journalists after launching the BSRF Barta, a publication of Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum at the ministry’s conference room.

Also read: Khaleda’s conditional release extended by another six months

Asked about BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir’s comment that the government is afraid of freeing Khaleda the minister said, BNP should rather thank the government for suspension of her sentence for another six months.

Elaborating Hasan said BNP chairperson was not released on bail or freed by any order of the court. “Khaleda Zia is out of prison because the prime minister suspended her sentence by exercising power given by the law,” he said.

Hasan also brushed aside another BNP leader Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain’s recent call to the people to take to the streets demanding that the next national election is held under a neutral caretaker government.

He said the next election will be held according to the constitution which does not provide for any caretaker government.

Also read: Govt restricting Khaleda from going abroad out of ‘fear’: Fakhrul

He said elections are held under the Election Commission. When the election schedule will be announced, all the polls-related government officials and employees will work under the Election Commission, he said.

The election-time government, Hasan said, cannot transfer a single police constable after announcement of the polls schedule. The Election Commission has already conducted many elections very successfully, he added.

He said BNP’s demand for a caretaker government has no constitutional basis and so it will fail to get any response from the people like it happened in the past 12 and a half years.

President of Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum Tapan Biswas and General Secretary Masudul Haque and other leaders of the forum were present at function.