Police have barred BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir from attending a seminar in Dhaka, saying that the organisers did not seek permission to hold the indoor event.
Pro-BNP organization ‘Zia Parishad’ organized the seminar scheduled for Saturday at the city’s Engineers’ Institution auditorium, where Mirza Fakhrul was supposed to attend at the chief guest.
The BNP secretary general arrived at the venue around 11am, but police stopped him from entering the premises.
Speaking to reporters outside the venue, Mirza Fakhrul said the incident clearly indicates that there’s no “democratic space and freedom of free speech’ in the country.
“This was not an event organized by a political party, but the government has stopped the organizers from holding it.”

Police maintain that a prior clearance was required to hold the event.
“Neither the BNP nor any other organization approached us in written or verbally for holding a seminar,”Deputy Commissioner Maruf Hossain Sardar of the police’s Ramna Zone told Bangla Tribune.
He added that indoor events also require prior police clearance.
The organisers, however, claimed they secured permission.
“We received a verbal clearance from the police. But they stopped us in the morning. I believe, the reason is they assumed BNP acting chief Tarique Rahman will address the event from London. But that was not the case,” Zia Parishad Chairman Kabir Murad told Bangla Tribune.
According to the organisers, they had written to Ramna zone police chief Sardar on Jul 2 over security clearance.
“Two days later, when we got in touch with him, we were told to go ahead; ‘We are in talks with the higher authorities’, he (Sardar) said before asking who will be attending,” said Zia Parishad Senior Joint Secretary General Abulla Hil Masud.
The Shahbagh police got in touch with them this morning, informing that the seminar cannot be held, he added. “When we produced the letter seeking permission, he asked us to contact Ramna Zone chief, but he did not answer our phone calls.”