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Tahsina Rushdir Luna, the wife of missing BNP leader M Ilias Ali, on Thursday urged the interim government to clearly inform her family about the fate of her husband after being subjected to enforced disappearance 13 years ago.
“It is the government’s responsibility to clarify the fate of Ilias Ali. I urge the current administration, in particular, to resolve this issue without delay,” she said while addressing a doa mahfil.
The M Ilias Ali Gum Protirodh Committee organised the event on the ground floor of BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, marking the anniversary of his enforced disappearance and seeking any trace of the BNP leader.
BNP organising secretary M Ilias Ali along with his driver Ansar Ali went missing on the midnight of April 17, 2012 from the capital’s Banani area. Since then, BNP has been blaming the security agencies and the Awami League regime for the disappearance.
Luna, also a member of the BNP Chairperson’s Advisory Council, said her family still holds the hope that Ilias Ali is alive and that one day he will return. “May this hope come true. Everyone, please keep Ilias Ali in your prayers.”
She accused the "fascist ruler" Sheikh Hasina and her associates of orchestrating Ilias Ali's disappearance as part of a government-backed plan. “We had been waiting a long time for Bangladesh to be freed from fascism, and to get Ilias Ali back,” Luna said.
She mentioned that they had lodged a complaint with the inquiry commission on enforced disappearances established by the interim government.
“We were hoping that this time we would receive a clear picture on Ilias Ali, but unfortunately, seven to eight months have passed, and we have yet to receive any clear statement from the government on this matter,” Luna lamented.
She urged the current government to clarify the status and whereabouts of all those who have been victims of enforced disappearance, including Ilias Ali. “You must also explain clearly what actions you have taken regarding these incidents of enforced disappearance.”
Luna further called on the government to strengthen the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance in a bid to identify those specifically involved in such heinous crimes and bring them to justice.
Speaking at the programme, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi also called upon the government to unearth what exactly happened to Ilias Ali.