Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Khaleda Zia condemned ‘govt’s obstacle to BNP’s help to displaced Rohingya’.

The BNP chief in a Twitter post said this ‘is an abuse of state power for selfish ends. It deserves the strongest condemnation.’

Earlier, accusing the government of obstructing their party’s central relief team from going to Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhia to provide humanitarian assistance to Rohingyas, BNP on Wednesday said it has been exposed that the government is not genuinely with the persecuted refugees.

‘We’ve got information that the Ukhia administration has blocked our central relief team, led by our standing committee member Mirza Abbas, and our 20 trucks carrying relief materials,’ said BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, reports the UNB.

Speaking at a discussion, he further said, ‘Not only that, police has also cordoned off our Cox’s Bazar BNP office. Our top leaders have got trapped in the office. We strongly condemn such incidents.’

The BNP leader also demanded the local administration immediately allow the BNP relief team to stand by the Rohingyas with relief materials.

BNP arranged the discussion at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, marking the 10th jail release day of party senior vice chairman Tarique Rahman.

As the meeting was halfway through, Fakhrul received a phone call from a BNP leader now in Cox’s Bazar, and subsequently informed reporters about police obstruction to their relief team.

‘The government’s musk has been exposed through the incident. Their assertion that they stood by the Rohingyas is mere eyewash. In fact, they’re not with Rohingyas,’ he said.

He said the government could not have prevented the BNP relief team had it been actually with Rohingyas.

Earlier on Tuesday, a high-profile BNP delegation, led by Abbas, went to Cox’s Bazar to provide humanitarian assistance to the Rohingyas taken shelter in Bangladesh amid persecution by Myanmar security forces.

The team was scheduled to visit the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhia and give the hapless Rohingyas medicines, food and other humanitarian aids.

The other members of the delegation include BNP standing committee members Nazrul Islam Khan, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and vice chairman AZM Zahid and some other central leaders.