DHAKA, MAY 25 (V7N) – Shafiqul Alam, Press Secretary to Bangladesh's Chief Adviser, on Sunday reflected on the past sacrifices and struggles of BNP senior leader Salahuddin Ahmed and his family, lamenting that these "brave chapters" of the party's 17-year-long struggle have largely been forgotten by many, including some of the BNP's "young and increasingly intolerant activists."

Alam, in a post shared from his verified Facebook account, specifically addressed what he termed a "heinous smear campaign" against Ahmed yesterday. "But we should remember that these are the struggles that challenged Hasina (former PM Sheikh Hasina) during some of the most ruthless years of her dictatorship," he wrote. "But most have forgotten those golden and glorious chapters of our political struggle. Good times seemed to have erased all our worst memories."

Recalling the events of early 2015, Alam remembered that Salahuddin Ahmed was abducted and subjected to "goomed" (enforced disappearance). He highlighted the "heroic role" played by Ahmed's wife, Hasina Ahmed, in her "relentless and one of the bravest" campaigns for her husband's release, drawing parallels with the "Mayer Daak's" Hazera Khatun and her daughters during what he termed the "Sheikh Hasina dictatorship." Alam speculated that the "noise and outcry Hasina Ahmed created" might have prompted security forces to send Salahuddin Ahmed across the border to Shillong.

The Press Secretary recounted that weeks before his abduction, "gooming," and forced border crossing, Salahuddin Ahmed had taken on the role of BNP spokesman from a clandestine location. This period, Alam noted, followed a massive crackdown by the Awami League government, during which BNP chief Khaleda Zia was house-detained at her Gulshan office and other top party leaders either went into hiding or were detained.

Alam shared a personal anecdote from that time, describing how he, along with his South Asia chief Chris Otton, managed to "sneak into" Khaleda Zia's office with the then British High Commissioner Robert Gibson to conduct an interview for AFP. He recalled, "Plain clothed security guards thought we were part of the British High Commission in Dhaka."

He then contrasted the communication styles within the BNP, remarking that while he always considered BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi "one of the most passionate political activists," his written statements were often "full of convoluted and complex sentences," making it "tough to find a good and impactful quote." However, after Rizvi's arrest and Salahuddin Ahmed assumed the spokesman role from an undisclosed location, Alam noted, Ahmed "sent out some of the strongest and brilliant statements ever written by the BNP leadership."

"They were like bombshells, directly challenging Sheikh Hasina's rule. The language was direct, tough and hit the bulls’ eyes always," Alam stated. He concluded by revealing, "And we heard from security sources Hasina was so enraged that she ordered a manhunt for Salahuddin Ahmed."

END/MSS/RH/