BNP defers Monday’s hartal to Tuesday

UNB . Dhaka
17 Dec 2023 20:15:03 | Update: 17 Dec 2023 20:15:03

Police personnel stand guard during a rally by Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) activists demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the release of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, in Dhaka on October 28, 2023 — AFP Photo

The BNP has deferred its Monday’s hartal to Tuesday as Bangladesh will observe a one-day state mourning on Monday following the demise of Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah.

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the decision at an emergency virtual press briefing on Sunday.

Now the daylong hartal will begin at 6am on Tuesday and end at 6pm the same day to protest the schedule for the next national election announced by the Election Commission (EC).

It will be the fourth call of hartal by the opposition party since October 29, to go with eleven blockades that have together disrupted normal life and business every week.

Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Kuwait’s ruling emir, died on Saturday after a three-year, low-key reign focused on trying to resolve the tiny, oil-rich nation’s internal political disputes. He was 86.