Dhaka is poised for a politically charged weekend, with three major rallies scheduled to take place on successive days, drawing crowds from across the country and heightening tensions in the capital.
Analysts believe that while the declared purposes of the rallies differ, their cumulative effect will be to re-energise the political landscape ahead of critical national developments.
Media reports indicate that the three-day break is expected to bring large numbers of demonstrators to the city.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) will hold a labour rally in Nayapaltan on Thursday (1 May), to mark International Workers’ Day.
The following day, Friday (2 May) the National Citizens’ Party (NCP) is set to stage a protest at the south gate of the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, demanding the trial of the Awami League and the suspension of its registration.
Then on Saturday (3 May) Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh will hold a grand rally at Suhrawardy Udyan with a raft of religious and political demands, including the abolition of the Women’s Reform Commission.
BNP rally, scheduled for 2pm on Thursday, will be addressed virtually by the party’s acting chairperson Tarique Rahman from London.
Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and other senior leaders will speak in person.
Party members and supporters from Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Gazipur, Narsingdi, Manikganj, and Tangail districts are expected to converge on the capital for the event.
On Friday at 3pm, the NCP will rally at the southern gate of the National Mosque.
The party has announced it will demand the trial of the Awami League for what it claims are crimes committed during its 15-year rule—including enforced disappearances and killings, the 2013 Shapla Chattar crackdown, the July-August mass killings, and deaths during the 2021 protests against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.
The final of the three rallies, by Hefazat-e-Islam, will be held at Suhrawardy Udyan on Saturday.
The group has outlined its key demands as: the abolition of the Women’s Reform Commission and its allegedly anti-Islamic report, restoration of full faith and trust in Allah in the Constitution, withdrawal of all cases filed against Hefazat leaders during the Awami League era, and justice for the Shapla Chattar massacre. They will also call for an end to what they describe as Muslim persecution in Palestine and India.
Preparations for the Hefazat rally were discussed at a meeting of its rally implementation committee held yesterday at the Jamia Islamia Makhzanul Uloom madrasa in Khilgaon.
Presided over by Secretary General Maulana Sajidur Rahman, the meeting was attended by central, metropolitan, and regional leaders.
A press conference followed at 11am, during which Hefazat leaders emphasised four primary demands, the chief among them being the unconditional withdrawal of all cases against their members.
According to Hefazat, the previous government used legal cases as a tool to suppress the group, and they fear future administrations may adopt similar tactics unless the cases are dismissed unconditionally.
