Dhaka: BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday said their party will gradually gear up its movement to have party Chairperson Khaleda Zia freed from jail.

‘The government has kept our leader (Khaleda) in jail unfairly. We’re celebrating eid with a broken heart,’ he said.

Talking to reporters after placing wreaths at BNP founder Ziaur Rahman’s grave together with party leaders and activists, Fakhrul further said, ‘We’ve been on a movement. We’re going to gradually intensify our peaceful movement. We believe we would be able to free Khaleda Zia from jail through our movement.’

He said their party’s main challenge is now to ‘restore’ democracy in the country.

The BNP leader said they are now working to establish a pro-people government through a fair and credible election under a non-party neutral administration after freeing Khaleda from jail.

Fakhrul criticised the government for what he said its negligence to ensuring proper treatment of their ailing party chief in jail.

He demanded the government immediately release Khaleda from jail and take steps for her treatment at any specialised hospital.

Earlier, Fakhrul, BNP standing committee members Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy and Nazrul Islam Khan together with party other leaders and activists went to Ziaur Rahman’s grave at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar around11:30amand placed wreaths there on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

They also offered fateha at his grave and prayed for the salvation of his departed soul.

BNP chairperson used to exchange greetings with common people and diplomats on the eid day and then visit the graves of her husband Ziaur Rahman and youngest son Arafat Rahman Koko.

OnFebruary 8last, Khaleda was sent to jail after a special court sentenced her to five years’ rigorous imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case