After almost a decade and a half, the Zia Cricket Tournament will begin at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Friday (December 27) with the participation of Bangladesh national team cricketers. Two teams will participate in the game. The country's star cricketers are in both teams. Spectators will be able to enjoy the match without tickets. The organizers have already done extensive publicity across Sylhet.

Sylhet, known as the land of tea, is decorated in colorful attire on the occasion of the Zia Cricket Tournament. The Zia Cricket Tournament 2024 Management Committee held a press conference on the overall preparations for the Zia Cricket Tournament.

The Zia Cricket Tournament Management Committee, Sylhet Division Convener and Sylhet District BNP President Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury and Member Secretary and Acting President of Sylhet Metropolitan BNP Rezaul Hasan Kayes Lodi spoke at the press conference organized at the Lakkatura Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Thursday (December 26).

Calling on the people of Sylhet to enjoy the Zia Cricket Tournament at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium at 2:30 pm on Friday (December 27), the convenor of the management committee and Sylhet district BNP president Abdul Qayyum Chowdhury said that BNP is working on the Zia Cricket Tournament and the Arafat Rahman Coco Memorial Football Tournament. The issue of sports has also been highlighted in the 31-point plan announced by BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman for state reforms.

He said that for the past 17 years, sports have been destroyed through politicization and nepotism. Starting from coaching, all types of activities in sports have been stagnant. In the coming days, if BNP gets the opportunity to run the country according to the verdict of the people, it will work for the development of sports. Two teams are being formed for the Zia Cricket Tournament. Cricketers from four districts of Sylhet have been divided into two teams. Two teams, the red team and the green team, will play in the tournament. The team that wins in the knockout system will go to the national round in Dhaka.

At the press conference, Management Committee (Sylhet Division) Member Secretary and Acting President of Sylhet Metropolitan BNP Rezaul Hasan Qays Lodi said that the Red team is led by former national team cricketer Alok Kapali and the manager is District BNP Joint General Secretary Advocate Hasan Ahmed Patwary Ripon and the Green team is led by national team cricketer Mubin Ahmed and the manager is District BNP Joint Secretary Siddiqur Rahman Paplu. Leaders of the BNP National Executive Committee related to sports will be present.

The press conference was attended by Sylhet Metropolitan BNP General Secretary Imdad Hossain Chowdhury, Metropolitan BNP Joint General Secretary and Zia Cricket Tournament Media Subcommittee Convener Mahbubul Haque Chowdhury, Metropolitan Volunteer Party Member Secretary Afsar Khan, Zia Cricket Tournament Media Subcommittee Member Secretary Md. Nurul Islam.

Meanwhile, the T20 match of the Zia Cricket Tournament will be held at the Sylhet International Stadium in a colorful arrangement. Sylhet District and Metropolitan BNP have made extensive preparations to make the match a success. In addition to the formation of the divisional overall management committee formed to manage this match, 5 more sub-committees have been formed. Starting from the divisional BNP, the tournament has been promoted at the upazila level in addition to the Sylhet district and metropolitan levels. Sylhet city has already been decorated in colorful decorations to make the tournament a success. Banners and billboards have been put up all over the city. Numerous arches have been built to welcome the spectators. 

The fire at the Secretariat is making people think, raising questions in public, said BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

He said this at a discussion meeting on 'Bloody Motihar and Rizvi Ahmed', 22 December 1984, organized by the Rajshahi University Nationalist Ex-Student Association at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) on Thursday (December 26) afternoon.

He said, we have seen before that when there is public protest against a secretary or a minister, the files of the Secretariat disappear; the files in the Secretariat catch fire. The fire that broke out at midnight yesterday, I don't want to say anything funny, many documents were burnt in this fire; one incident raises doubts in another incident. Yesterday I saw in the newspaper that the government has asked for some important documents. After asking for these documents, the fire happened late last night; this is a big question for the people. I want to say this about this, a high-level investigation committee should investigate. Because yesterday, after Hasina and her friends were asked for some documents, many documents in the secretariat were burned and the fire in the secretariat is making people think, it is creating questions in the public mind.

Mentioning that many people have talked about reforms after coming to power, the BNP senior joint secretary general said, we have seen Moinuddin, Fakhruddin before. This reform, that reform will be done. He has done some reforms in the Election Commission; he has also revised the RPO. What did we see through this? Through this, we saw that a vile dictator like Sheikh Hasina has kept the country in hell for 15 years. He has laundered 28 lakh crore taka. Sheikh Hasina, her family and her friends have laundered this money.

We have seen the face of that reform. We have seen the process of that reform. He also mentioned that a monster like Hasina was sitting on us through the process of that reform.

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said, "We cannot say what form this reform will take, what stage it will take us. The form of the Cyber Security Ordinance that we see today does not look good to me. It seems to me that there is some black substance in the pulse. We are worried, we are afraid of various incidents around us. Not for personal fear, but for the security of the state." BNP Standing Committee member Nazrul Islam Khan, Chairperson's Adviser Habibur Rahman Habib and others were also present at the discussion meeting.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will go to London on January 7 for treatment.

A responsible source in the BNP confirmed the matter on Wednesday (December 25).

Khaleda Zia's entourage Dr. Enamul Haque Chowdhury said that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will go to London on January 7. For now, the treatment will continue there.

It has been reported that a 15-member delegation including seven doctors will go to London with Khaleda Zia. Among them are Syeda Sharmili Rahman, wife of Begum Zia's late younger son Arafat Rahman Koko, BNP Chairperson's personal physician Dr. AZM Zahid Hossain, Dr. Md. Enamul Haque Chowdhury, Tabith Mohammad Awal, Fakhruddin Mohammad Siddique, Md. Shahabuddin Talukder, Nuruddin Ahmad, Md. Zakir Iqbal, Mohammad Al Mamun, Sharifa Karim Swarna, the Chairperson's personal officer ABM Abdus Sattar, Md. Masudur Rahman, SM Parvez, Fatema Begum and Rupa Sikder.

79-year-old Khaleda Zia has been suffering from various complex diseases including arthritis, heart disease, lung, liver, kidney, diabetes for a long time. She is receiving regular treatment at the private Evercare Hospital in the capital.

On August 9 last year, Khaleda Zia was admitted to Evercare Hospital in Dhaka. At that time, her family had applied to the government to take her abroad for better treatment, but permission was not received. Later, three specialist doctors were brought from the United States and the BNP Chairperson, who was suffering from liver cirrhosis, underwent surgery on her blood vessel on October 27. When her health stabilized somewhat, she returned home on January 11 this year after more than five months of treatment.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was sentenced in two corruption cases and imprisoned on February 8, 2018. She was imprisoned for more than two years. Following the family's appeal, the government suspended Khaleda Zia's sentence on March 25, 2020, and conditionally released her through an executive order. Since then, the government has been extending the release period every six months. However, after the change of power, the interim government exempted her from the corruption case.

Stating that there is no division on the basis of religion, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr. Shafiqur Rahman said, if mosques do not need to be guarded, then temples will not need to be guarded either. Everyone will coexist peacefully.

At the same time, he demanded an international investigation into the torture, atrocities and looting of houses of minorities since the War of Independence.

The Jamaat Ameer said these things at the Gaibandha district branch workers' conference of Jamaat-e-Islami at Gaibandha Islamia High School grounds on Tuesday (December 24) afternoon.

Dr. Shafiqur Rahman said, Bangladesh of the future will be equal, without discrimination. Discrimination must be eliminated in all areas, where there will be no religious differences between the majority and the minority. All people will be known as citizens of the country.

He said, there will be no division on the basis of religion. If mosques do not need to be guarded, then temples will not need to be guarded either, everyone will coexist peacefully.

Dr. Shafiqur Rahman said, if Sheikh Hasina's government had not jailed me repeatedly, I would not have been able to see the scenes of oppression of the oppressed directly. Liars say there was no such thing as a ‘Aina Ghar’, but I saw the ‘Aina Ghar’ with my own eyes. The last time I was kept there was an ‘Aina Ghar’ in the same building. The people in the ‘Aina Ghar’ would sometimes be taken down and put in the cell next to me. They would look at me helplessly. I would try to read their faces. At the next stage, some of them were sent to jail by sending them to court.

He said, bribery and corruption must be eradicated from offices and courts. Extortion and encroachment must be stopped. For this, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami will provide all-out cooperation.

Chaired by district Jamaat Ameer Md. Abdul Karim among others who spoke at the workers' conference were Assistant Secretary General Maulana Abdul Halim, Central Working Committee members Principal Maulana Momtaz Uddin and Professor Mahbubur Rahman Belal, former District Jamaat Ameer Dr. Abdur Rahim Sarkar, Senior Nayeb Ameer Bir Muktijoddha Abdul Wares Sarkar, District Secretary Zahurul Haque Sarkar, Assistant Secretary Syed Roknuzzaman, and others.