Sylhet district unit BNP on Sunday submitted a memorandum to the home ministry demanding effective steps to trace the party’s leader M Ilias Ali who went missing from the capital a decade ago. Leaders and activists of the party submitted the memorandum through the district administration, marking 10 years of the alleged enforced disappearance of former MP Ilias Ali. BNP organising secretary Ilias Ali, along with his driver Ansar Ali, went missing on the midnight of April 17, 2012, from the capital’s Banani area. Police later found his car near his home in the city's Mohakhali area. Since then, BNP has been blaming the security agencies for the mysterious disappearance, an allegation denied by the government.  Also read: Opposition being deprived of justice: BNP Law enforcers failed to find any clue about his whereabouts in the last 10 years though BNP leaders and his family members are still waiting for his return. A good number of BNP leaders and activists, led by Sylhet district BNP president Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury and general secretary Advocate Emran Ahmed Chowdhury, handed over the memorandum to the local deputy commissioner's office at noon. Later, in a brief address in front of the DC office, Abdul Qayyum said it is unfortunate that 10 years have passed since the disappearance of Ilias Ali, the most popular leader of greater Sylhet, but no effective initiative has been taken by the government to find him out. “It’s the responsibility of the government to ensure the security of any citizen of the country. If any citizen of the country goes missing, it also is the responsibility of the government to trace him/her out. Since the government has not taken any effective steps to return the missing leaders and activists, including M Ilyas Ali, we think that all the missing people are in the custody of the government,” he charged. Also read: Fakhrul seeks opposition parties’ unity to dislodge AL govt The BNP leader called upon the government to take sincere steps to ensure the safe return of Ilias Ali and all other missing leaders and activists in Sylhet to their families. Besides, all the BNP’s upazila and municipal units under Sylhet district submitted separate memorandums addressed to the home minister through their respective Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs), as a part of their programme marking the day. The party units in the memorandum called for returning all the missing BNP leaders and activists, including M Ilias Ali, his driver Ansar Ali, Chhatra Dal leaders Iftekhar Ahmed Dinar, Junaid Ahmed, to their near and dear ones immediately. The memorandum also said the government cannot avoid the responsibility for the disappearance of any citizen. “So, we strongly demand the government to return popular public leader M Ilias Ali, his driver Ansar Ali, Chhatra Dal leader Iftekhar Ahmed Dinar and Junaid Ahmed unhurt,” said the memorandums.

BNP has sought an explanation from its standing committee member Mirza Abbas about his recent statement on the disappearance of party leader Ilias Ali. A letter from BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir reached Mirza Abbas’ Shahjahanpur residence on Thursday afternoon, party sources said. Talking to UNB, some party senior leaders, wishing anonymity, said the letter was sent as per a directive of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman. Contacted, Mirza Abbas said he still did not receive any such letter. Also read: Abbas claims media distorted his comments on Ilias’ disappearance Speaking at a discussion programme on Saturday last, Mirza Abbas said he thought neither the government nor the Awami League made Ilias Ali disappear. “But who did it? I want to know this from this government. He also called upon BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to find out those BNP leaders who engaged in an altercation with Ilias Ali the night before he went missing. As his remarks sparked various speculation and discontent within the party, BNP high command decided to send a letter to him seeking an explanation. Abbas on Sunday claimed that some media distorted his remarks about the disappearance of their party leader M Ilias Ali. Also read: Culture of ‘enforced disappearance’ came with Ilias Ali’s incident: BNP "It’s been 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 prove. I want to make it clear that my statement has been 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 has been 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 the security agencies for the mysterious disappearance, an allegation denied by the government.