Citing testimonies of Joj Mia, who was framed during the BNP-Jamaat led government to cover up their role in the gruesome August 21, 2004 grenade attack, Sajeeb Wazed, ICT affairs advisor to the PM, reminded all of the “state patronage provided to militants” and the “cabal of BNP leaders led by Tarique Rahman” behind the blast. Sajeeb Wazed posted a video on Twitter with the title: “How Tarique Rahman, BNP Hired & Unleashed Militants for 21st August Grenade Attack & Later Framed a Youth, named Joj Mia.” Known as a “Hawa Bhaban plot,” the carnage descended on an AL rally in 2004, when militants hurled grenades leaving at least 24 dead with then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaping death with ear injuries. Why Joj Mia should not be given adequate compensation: HC Hawa Bhaban was featured heavily in media reports as an “alternative powerhouse operated by Tarique” with access limited to his group of confidants including politicians, government officials, militants and businessmen, between 2001 and 2006. It was a well-orchestrated plan, executed through abuse of state power, a special court had ruled, delivering verdicts in the two cases filed over the grenade attack. According to the verdict, in the run up to the grenade attack, Tarique met militants, now serving sentences, and endorsed the plot that mainly targeted Sheikh Hasina “to make the Awami League leaderless.” But after the attack, a cover-up drama was concocted by then BNP-Jamaat led government that saw a youth presented before the press by law enforcement only to be unraveled by media investigations, the video posted by Sajeeb Wazed says.  Writ petition filed seeking Tk 10 crore as compensation for Joj Mia The video also contains confession of the dreaded militant leader Abdul Hannan who led the Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islam Bangladesh (Huji) that was found responsible for the attack, in which the convicted militant admitted to conspiring with BNP’s top brass in regards to the mission to “eliminate Sheikh Hasina.” The video provides flashbacks of the ordeals of Joj Mia and BNP-Jamaat’s “blatant patronage to militants to decimate Awami League and progressive groups.” August 21 attack: Legal notice served seeking Tk 10 crore as compensation for Joj Mia The video also contains interviews of senior journalists who unraveled the sham. BNP-Jamaat coalition’s last tenure had been described by Bertil Lintner as a “cocoon of terror" [Far Eastern Economic Review, Apr 4, 2002] and Eliza Griswold predicted an “Afghan style Islamist revolution” [The New York Times Magazine, Jan 23, 2005].

“The day before the BDR mutiny, Tarique Rahman called Khaleda Zia 45 times from London – between 1am to 6am – and asked her to leave her residence by 6am,” says a video posted yesterday by Prime Minister’s ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy. Posted on his verified Facebook profile, the video adds that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina later presented the call records in the parliament. “The PM does not provide information on issues of national interest without evidence. BNP never responded to this,” it said. On the 14th anniversary of the 2009 Pilkhana tragedy, the video raises several questions regarding the background of the BDR mutiny. Expressing condolences to families who lost their near ones in the tragedy, Sajeeb Wazed wrote that centering the anniversary, “one political party” has unleashed a stream of disinformation campaign on social media. This video posted on his profile “contains some facts” surrounding that killing spree, he added. The video refers to Pakistan president’s then special envoy Zia Ispahani’s visit to Bangladesh before the BDR mutiny. Zia Ispahani requested the Government of Bangladesh not to initiate trial of the 1971 war criminals. On February 17, 2009, he met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and formally proposed to stop the trial of war criminals on behalf of Pakistan, which the PM turned down. Also read: Fakhrul questions investigation into 2009 BDR mutiny Zia Ispahani also met Khaleda Zia during his visit. The video questions the purpose of the meeting, and adds, “On whose call did Zia Ispahani come to Bangladesh?” “Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed attempted to fly out of the country just four days before the BDR mutiny,” the video says. However, he was turned back by the law enforcers at the airport. “What was his motive for leaving the country?” – it asks. The video also says that many of the convicts, who confessed to involvement in the BDR mutiny, had been recruited during the BNP government’s tenure. “Twenty-two absconding BDR personnel were arrested from Tangail, 14 of them managed their job recommendation from BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu, who was convicted in the August 21 grenade attack case,” it says. “The BNP-Jamaat alliance made a desperate bid to cling to power in 2006. The dark side of the BNP-Jamaat government was divulged by a handful of high-ups in the armed forces, including Moeen U Ahmed and Sadik Hasan Rumi,” the video says. “Most of the deceased, including BDR Chief Major General Shakil Ahmed and Colonel Gulzar Uddin Ahmad, played a remarkable role in conducting the 2008 election in a free and fair manner,” it says. The Pilkhana massacre took place just after the formation of the Awami League government and a total of 78, including 57 seasoned armed forces officials and their family members, were gunned down. “This irreparable loss was incurred by not just the armed forces but the entire nation as well. The newly-formed Awami League government faced the biggest blow,” the video said.  

A Dhaka court on Thursday asked the police to confiscate all assets of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Asaduzzaman gave the order. The court also asked the Cantonment Police Station officer-in-charge (OC) to submit a progress report on the implementation of the order by January 19, the date for the next hearing of the case. On November 1, 2022, the same court issued arrest warrants against Tarique and Zubaida after accepting charges against them. It also asked the Cantonment Police Station OC to submit the progress report on the implementation of the arrest warrants by January 5. According to the case statement, the ACC filed the case at Kafrul Police Station on September 26, 2007, against Tarique, his wife, and mother-in-law Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu for amassing wealth of around Tk4.82 crore beyond their known sources of income and for concealing information on wealth. A charge sheet was submitted to the court against them in 2008.  Read more: Journalists criticise using photos of Khaleda, Tarique on ‘media card’ for covering BNP’s Rajshahi rally