BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has urged the government to immediately free the party's ailing chairperson and thrice-former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, without any conditions attached. Otherwise he warned of dire consequences.

"We would like to clearly say, free our leader immediately (without any conditions).' Otherwise, you have to get ready for any consequence," he told a mammoth rally in the capital, the BNP's largest public show of strength this year, that started with the party boycotting the 7 January election.

The BNP leader also said the country's people will no longer let Khaleda stay in jail. Stating that the country is not safe in the hands of the current 'looter regime', he called upon the country's people to take to the streets to remove Awami League from power.

He also said their party will intensify the movement to protect the country from Awami League's misrule and restore people's lost rights.

Fakhrul said the government has jailed Khaleda and many BNP leaders with an intention to obliterate democracy.

Recalling the BNP chief's role in different democratic movements, Fakhrul said there is no scope to separate Khaleda and the country's democracy.

BNP arranged the rally in front of its Nayapaltan central office, demanding the unconditional release of Khaleda Zia. It was in fact the first major rally arranged by BNP in eight months since the pivotal events of 28 October last year, following almost the entire leadership of the party active in Bangladesh was jailed.

Addressing the rally, BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas said, "We are speaking about Khaleda Zia after a long time. This voice will not fall silent. We will not compromise on her release. We will free her. We will not tolerate any obstacles, come what may."

He said the BNP continued its movement for the last 15 years but could not achieve success for the failure to "act at the right time".

"If we could have stayed on the streets on October 28 last year with a counter procession, we might have succeeded. But we were afraid of death," he said.

He said that more programmes will be declared in future to force the government to free Khaleda.

"We are tired of demanding proper treatment for her. There is no alternative to Khaleda Zia's leadership to protect the country's independence and sovereignty. We will realise our demands through waging movement without being disheartened," said Abbas, also the chair of the meeting.

Another BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy said, "We had to fight a war to achieve the country's independence. We will not be able to free Khaleda Zia only by delivering speeches."

"Each of the agreements signed with India will spell doom for Bangladesh. We are not anti-India. We are in favour of our country's independence and democracy."

A large number of law enforcers were deployed in and around Nayapaltan to maintain law and order.

Nazrul Islam Khan, a member of the party's standing committee, said in the rally, "On what charge was Khaleda Zia sentenced?" The main complaint against Khaleda Zia is that she is the most popular leader of the country, she speaks for the people of the country. Medical care is a human right. A leader is approaching death. He needs advanced treatment. His well-being is not only for him; It is necessary for the country and the people of the country.

Standing committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said, "Where injustice becomes law, where there is no rule of law, no human rights, no security of life, resistance becomes a duty, becomes inevitable."

A total of 41 BNP leaders spoke at the event. They said that they were ready to make the party's upcoming demonstration programmes successful to ensure Khaleda's release.

BNP standing committee members Nazrul Islam Khan, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, and Begum Selima Rahman, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Standing Committee Member Begum Selima Rahman, Vice Chairman Barkat Ullah Bulu, Md. Shahjahan, Nitai Roy Chowdhury, Ahmed Azam Khan, Advisor to Chairperson Mizanur Rahman Minu, Zainul Abedin Farooq, Special Assistant to Chairperson Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, Joint Secretary General Khairul Kabir Khokon, Habib Un Nabi Khan Sohail, Shaheed Uddin Chowdhury Annie, Advocate Abdus Salam Azad, Syed Emran Saleh Prince, Organizing Secretary Kazi Syedul Alam Babul, Principal Salim Bhuiyan, Publicity Secretary Sultan Salahuddin Tuku, Self-Reliance Secretary Shirin Sultana, Volunteer Affairs Secretary Abdul Qadir Bhuiyan Jewel, Joint Information and Technology Affairs Secretary HM Saif Ali Khan, Executive Committee Member Md. Mainul Islam, Mojibur Rahman, Akramul Hasan Mintu, Nipun Roy Chowdhury, Fazlur Rahman Khokon, Kazi Ronakul Islam Shravan, Former Member Secretary of Dhaka Metropolitan North BNP Aminul Haque, Former Member Secretary of South Rafiqul Alam Majnu, Former Central President of Juba Dal Saiful Alam Nirav, Former Central General Secretary Abdul Monayem Munna, Vice President Nurul Islam Nayan, Joint Secretary Gholam Mawla Shaheen, Organizing Secretary Ishaq Sarkar, Central President of Swachhasebak Dal SM Jilani, General Secretary Rajib Ahsan, former Central Chhatra Dal current Central President Rakibul Islam Rakib, General Secretary Nashir Uddin Nashir, Mahila Dal Central President Afroza Abbas, General Secretary Sultana Ahmed and others were present.,