Nation-wide strike in Bangla, ex-minister held

“We have arrested former Home Minister (retd) air vice marshal Altaf Hosssain and (retired) major Hafizuddin as they tried to use force to enforce the hartal along with the opposition activists,” a police officer told local TV channels.

He said the two were currently detained at a police station and would be formally charged with instigating yesterday’s violence, setting vehicles on fire to create panic ahead of the 36-hour general strike called by ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its fundamentalist ally Jamaat-e-Islami Party.

Witnesses and reports said police detained some 40 other opposition leaders and activists from different parts of the capital Dhaka and southeastern port city of Chittagong as the stoppage began from 6 am today. The arrests came as the suspected opposition activists on Saturday set on fire at least 12 vehicles apparently to create panic ahead of their strike.