Online Report : BNP`s Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has welcomed Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus’s latest directive to complete all election preparations by December, calling it a “very positive instruction” and expressing hope for a credible electoral process.

Speaking at a discussion held at the National Press Club on Thursday, Fakhrul said, “We hope the Election Commission will now move quickly to create a proper environment for the election. We expect the Chief Adviser to help ensure the next general election is free, fair, and acceptable.”

The event, jointly organized by Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) and Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ), was titled “The Role of Journalists in the July Uprising and Honouring the Martyred Journalist Families.”Bangladesh tourism guide

During the programme, six families of journalists who were killed during the July mass uprising were honoured with crests, handed over by Fakhrul himself.

Former BFUJ President Ruhul Amin Gazi was also honoured posthumously, with his wife and son receiving the award on his behalf.

In his speech, BNP leader condemned what he described as 15 years of political persecution under the previous government. “Over 6 million BNP leaders and activists have faced false cases. Many were forced into hiding or compelled to leave their homes to avoid arrest—some surviving by pulling rickshaws or working as guards in Dhaka,” he said, adding that around 1,700 activists were subjected to enforced disappearances and approximately 35,000 were killed.

Fakhrul urged the interim government to address the ongoing issues at border areas, particularly incidents of killings and illegal push-backs.

He also highlighted the democratic contributions of Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, crediting him with introducing multi-party democracy, press freedom and foundational economic reforms. “Ziaur Rahman reinstated democracy in our political culture. Today, false narratives are being spread claiming that BNP is against reforms. This is not true. We have supported many positions in the Consensus Commission. Reform is in our DNA—don’t spread misinformation,” he said.

The event was chaired by DUJ President Md. Shahidul Islam and moderated by General Secretary Khurshid Alam.

Prominent political and media figures were present, including BNP Standing Committee member Dr. A. Z. M. Zahid Hossain, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Professor Mia Golam Parwar, Nagorik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna, BFUJ Acting President Obaidur Rahman Shahin, Secretary General Kader Gani Chowdhury and other senior journalist leaders.

Dr. Zahid Hossain remarked that although the “autocrat” may have left, an authoritarian mindset remains entrenched.

Jamaat`s Mia Golam Parwar called for unity across political ideologies to prevent the return of what he described as “Hasina’s fascist regime.”

BFUJ Secretary General Kader Gani Chowdhury added, “For the last 15 years, the Hasina government has brutally persecuted the family of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman. We have not forgotten. We demand justice for the years of oppression.”