Terming the arrest of thousands of people in the week-long combing operation unlawful, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday alleged that it has been carried out with a political motive, reports UNB.

“Thousands of devoted Muslims along with opposition leaders and activists have been implicated in false cases. Around 12,000 people have been arrested in the combing operation. It’s totally unlawful as the High Court a few days back directed not to arrest anyone without warrants,” he told an iftar party.

 Fakhrul further said, “Of the arrestees, they have found only 135 militants. So, who are the rest ones? They’re religion-loving people who want to uphold their religious culture and rituals. The combing operation has been conducted with a political motive.”

 Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, one of the components of the BNP-led 20-party alliance, arranged the iftar at Baridhara’s Jamia Madania Madrasah.

Mentioning that about 48 people have been subjected to secret killings over the last one and a half years, Fakhrul questioned as to why the government could not bring any killers of those incidents to justice.

Criticising the government for what he said continuing extrajudicial killings, the BNP leader said people are being killed in crossfire as the government has no accountability and there is no rule of law and democracy in the country.

“A fascist regime is now in the country which is trying to eliminate the opposition leaders and activists resorting to killing and enforced disappearance,” he observed.

The BNP leader called upon all to get united to overcome the country’s current situation and restore democracy through holding a fair election under a non-party administration.