The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Awami League (AL) led 14-party alliance yesterday asked the caretaker government to specify the date of withdrawal of state of emergency, following the remarks of the army chief and an adviser to the caretaker government on Tuesday.

AL presidium member Amir Hossain Amu told newsmen that the caretaker government should announce the exact date of lifting of emergency, otherwise how the people of the country would know when the emergency would be lifted. The veteran AL leader made this remark after attending a 14-party alliance meeting held at the AL president Sheikh Hasina's political office at Dhanmondi.

The Chief of Army Staff General Moeen U Ahmed on Tuesday said he would request the caretaker government to withdraw the state of emergency ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for December 29.

Earlier on the same day the Education and Commerce adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman said the caretaker government would lift the state of emergency just before the polls after discussion with the Election Commission (EC).

The meeting of the 14-party alliance placed some demands which includes no further shifting of the parliamentary election date, lifting of the emergency, deferment of the Upazila elections by at least one month and scrapping of the provision of 91 (E) of the Representation of Peoples Order (RPO).

Amu said that the repeated rescheduling of the polls dates has raised doubt in the people's mind.

Asked about the seat sharing among the partners he said, "The 14-party nominations will be disclosed very soon.

AL presidium members Abdur Razzak, Tofail Ahmed, Matia Chowdhury, Suranjit Sengupta and AL Joint Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, Rashed Khan Menon and Bimal Biswas of the Workers' Party of Bangladesh, Hasanul Huq Inu, Syed Jafar Sajjad, Moinuddin Khan Badal and Shireen Akhter of JSD, Nurul Islam of Ganotontri Party, Dilip Barua of Sammyabadi Dal, Abdus Salam of Gano Azadi League and Asit Baran Roy of Communist Kendro were present at the meeting.