Desk report: Giving a pause for two days, the BNP and like-minded parties will enforce another spell of a 48-hour countrywide road-rail-waterway blockade beginning from Sunday to mount pressure on the Awami League government to quit power and hold the next election under a non-partisan administration.

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the program at a virtual press briefing on Thursday.

The fresh agitation was announced around 13 hours before the end of the opposition’s 48-hour nationwide blockade enforced at 6am on Wednesday.

The ongoing blockade has been marked by widespread incidents of violence, including torching and vandalizing vehicles.

The other opposition parties, who have long been carrying out the simultaneous movement with BNP, also announced a similar program by issuing press releases.

Rizvi said the blockade program will be observed from 6am Sunday to 6am Tuesday across the country.

Besides, he said the opposition parties will also arrange prayers on Friday in mosques after Jummah prayers in memory of opposition leaders and activists and the garment workers who have been killed in police firing during their demonstrations.

He said special munajats will also be offered seeking the salvation of the departed souls of the slain opposition leaders, activists and the garment workers.

Rizvi said vehicles of the newspapers or media, ambulances and vehicles transporting oxygen cylinders and medicines will remain out of the purview of the blockade.

He said their blockade will continue until the release of their all arrested leaders and until their one-point demand is met.

The BNP leader said their blockade was successful with the spontaneous support of the country’s people.

He thanked leaders and activists of BNP and like-minded parties to make the blockade programme a success.

Earlier, the party enforced a 48-hour nationwide blockade from 6am on November 5 and a three-day countrywide blockade from October 31 to November 2.

They also observed a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal on October 29 in protest against the attacks on BNP’s grand rally at Nayapaltan that ended amid the incidents of torching vehicles and clashes, leaving three people dead.

Half an hour into the start of BNP’s much-talked-about grand rally at Nayapaltan on October 28, BNP leaders and workers locked in a clash with the ruling party activists and police at Kakrail. Soon violent clashes spread around Nayapaltan, foiling the rally midway.

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