Dhaka: Dhaka is on fire again. Islamist parties, including BNP and Jamaat, have called for another blockade to press for a one-point demand for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government. The third phase marks the first day of the nationwide 48-hour blockade. Like previous blockade programmes, protesters set vehicles on fire on Wednesday to make their protests a success.
The blockade, which began at 6 am on Wednesday, will continue till the early hours of Friday. Earlier, at least 23 vehicles were set on fire in different parts of the country, including the capital Dhaka, during the two-day blockade. The party claimed that 10 of its leaders and activists were injured when police opened fire on a Jamaat rally in Bogra district to disperse the protesters. More than 200 leaders and activists, led by Bogra City Jamaat Ameer Principal Abidur Rahman, blocked the highway after holding a procession with sticks. When the police tried to remove them, there was a chase. Police use teargas shells and shotguns to disperse Jamaat-Shibir leaders and activists
