The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Bangladesh Awami League is going to hold its central extended meeting today inserting issue of detained party chief Sheikh Hasina's release on top of the agenda and aiming to obtain some vital decision for the interest of party that includes the issue of joining Government-sponsored dialogue.

Last extended meeting of the Awami League was held in 2001 when it was in government and the national council on December 26, 2002.

The party will seek opinion from the leaders of different levels about the political dialogue and upcoming parliamentary election.

The extended meeting will take the decision whether the party will join the dialogue with the caretaker government or not and the parliamentary election scheduled in December keeping Sheikh Hasina behind the bar.

The meeting will also draw the further action plan of the party to get Sheikh Hasina free, withdrawal of emergency, removal of restriction on politics and release of other party leaders who has been detained during the caretaker government tenure.

It will also review the cases filed against the party leaders during the period of both the BNP-Jamaat and caretaker government.

Few days ago the central committee asked the district and thana committees to submit reports on the party's current policy after the imposition of the State of Emergency, the number of cases filed against district leaders and workers and the number of party-men who went into hiding.

The president and secretary of district and thana units will submit overall situation of their respective areas, prevailing crises and future action plan in this critical situation.

The members of the central committee, advisory council and national committee, former MPs, presidents and general secretaries of 72 organizational district committees, presidents and general secretaries of the party's nine front organizations and assistant secretaries of AL central subcommittees will be present at the meeting.

About 840 to 870 delegates from different wings of Awami League will participate in the daylong-extended meeting at the Engineers Institution.

The meeting, which will be divided in five segments, will begin at 10am and will end at 10pm.