Law Adviser Asif Nazrul on Wednesday accused police forces, appointed under the previous Awami League government, of failing to fully cooperate with the current administration, exacerbating challenges in maintaining law and order.
Speaking in Nilphamari on Wednesday, July 16, after local National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders and activists waylaid his convoy to protest violent attacks on an NCP rally in Gopalganj, Asif condemned the assaults and vowed strict action against the perpetrators, including any complicit police.
Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, accompanying Nazrul, echoed the call for accountability.
The advisers’ motorcade was stopped in front of Saidpur Airport by NCP activists demanding justice for the Gopalganj violence, allegedly perpetrated by supporters of the banned Awami League, Chhatra League, and Juba League.
Addressing the crowd, Asif said, “The police we are working with were appointed by the Awami government. They are not cooperating fully. Sheikh Hasina has turned the entire state into ruins.”
He described the attack on the NCP rally as “an extreme obstacle to building a new Bangladesh,” promising, “Anyone found involved, including the police, will face exemplary punishment.”
Rizwana Hasan reinforced this, declaring that no one responsible for the Gopalganj violence would be spared, and the role of law enforcement would be thoroughly investigated. “Strict action will be taken against those responsible for irresponsibility,” she added.
The Gopalganj clashes, which left at least four dead and turned Municipal Park and Launch Ghat into battlegrounds, involved vandalism of the NCP rally stage, arson, and a brutal ambush on the NCP convoy.
The violence prompted a 22-hour curfew in the district town and the evacuation of NCP leaders, including convener Nahid Islam, under military escort.
The interim government has condemned the attacks as a violation of democratic rights, attributing them to Awami League affiliates.
Asif and Rizwana also addressed the NCP’s call for the July Charter, a framework born from the 2024 student-led uprising. “We need the July Charter more than ever,” Rizwana said.
“It depends on political parties, and we are working to consolidate their inputs into a draft as soon as possible.” The advisers’ engagement with NCP activists in Nilphamari followed their participation in the July Martyrs’ Day program at Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur.
After assuring the protesters that justice would be served, Asif and Rizwana were allowed to proceed to Saidpur Airport for their return to Dhaka. The blockade was lifted following their commitment to hold the Gopalganj attackers accountable.