Bangladesh court issues arrest warrant for ex-premier

A Bangladeshi court has issued an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister and current opposition Leader, Khaleda Zia, over a deadly fire-bomb attack on a bus in the capital, Dhaka, last year.

According to Press TV, on Wednesday, the Dhaka court accused Zia and 27 other officials and activists of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of instigating the assault as part of an anti-government campaign of arson.

Prosecutor Shah Alam Talukdar said Zia was “the main accused in the case.”

However, BNP Spokesman, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, dismissed the charge brought against the ex-premier as "laughable,” saying, "This is politically motivated and is part of deep conspiracy against her.”

It was not immediately clear whether the police would act on Wednesday’s court order as another arrest warrant issued against Zia last year was never executed.

The judge urged the police to report to the court on April 27 about the execution of the warrant.

Meanwhile, police said up to 200 BNP supporters held a demonstration outside the party headquarters in Dhaka after the news of the court order emerged.

ME