Jamaat leaders in a recent meeting with BNP Chairperson
Khaleda ZiaThree-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ...
tried to convince her to revive the four-party alliance, they said.
The leader of the opposition said the alliance is more of an electoral coalition and it would be revived at the right time.
Khaleda, now in Soddy Arabia, said she would announce agitation programmes after the Cricket World Cup, as Bangladesh is a co-host of the big event.
Acting Jamaat chief Maqbul Ahmed and acting secretary general ATM Azharul Islam, who were present in the meeting, refused to comment on the issue.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said it is not time to go for a joint movement against the government, as the matter is yet to be discussed in the party forum.
Some BNP leaders said a section of influential leaders are strongly opposing the idea to revive the alliance, as some senior Jamaat leaders now face trial for their alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.
Jamaat must get cleared of war crimes allegations for the revival of the four-party alliance, said the leaders.
Otherwise it might leave a negative impression on people. BNP doesn't want to face any criticism over its ties with Jamaat, they said.
The Awami League-led government initiated trial of war criminals in line with an electoral pledge. The main opposition neither supported nor opposed the move.
BNP and Jamaat participated in the last two general elections under the four-party alliance, but the coalition has remained inactive after its debacle in the 2009 parliamentary elections.