BNP has welcomed the verdict over the Holey Artisan cafe attack that left 22 civilians dead at Dhaka's upscale Gulshan area in July 2016.
“The verdict is a symbol against the terrorism that brought the civilization on the brink of destruction. We are satisfied with the verdict,” said Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
Speaking a programme in Dhaka on Friday (Nov 29), Fakhrul said lack of freedom of speech, democratic rights trigger incidents like terror attacks.
“Awami League has created the situation for past 12 years,” the senior BNP leader alleged.
Claiming that BNP was first to call for a political unity immediately after the Holey Artisan cafe attack, Fakhrul brushed aside Awami League leader Mohammad Nasim's remarks on ‘BNP never reacted’ over the 2016 attack.
"We [BNP] were the first to hold a media call immediately after the Holey Artisan cafe attack and urged the government to sit with all political parties in a bid to fight the terrorism," he said.
On Wednesday (Nov 27), Dhaka Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal has handed death penalty to seven people and acquitted one over the 2016 terror attack in Dhaka’s Gulshan that left 22 civilians, including 17 foreigners and 2 police dead.