Dhaka: Awami League leader Dr Hasan Mahmud on Thursday said Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders have got disappointed as the government has rescued columnist Farhad Mazhar who had gone missing from his city home on Monday morning.

"The BNP leaders hoped that if Farhad Mazhar had remained missing for a long time they would be able to do politics over the issue," said the former minister and publication and publicity Secretary of the ruling party.

He urged the government to investigate the matter whether any BNP leader is linked to Farhad Mazhar's abduction taking his statement made before the court into consideration.

Dr Hasan made the remarks at a discussion on 'Contributions of the present government to elimination of terrorism and militancy from the country' organised by NAP Bhasani at National Press Club.

He said it seems BNP leaders are disappointed as the members of law enforcement agencies rescued Farhad Mazhar after 18 hours of his missing.

The AL leader said Farhad Mazhar in his recorded statement before the court said a certain group might have abducted him to put the government in trouble. "Who does actually want to create trouble for the government? BNP always wants to create problems for the government," he added.

On BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir's motorcade attack, the AL leader posed a question saying why did he (Fakhrul) go through Kaptai road as he informed police that he will go by the Rangamati road?

"What is the reason behind it? We still don't know the answer or whether he (Fakhrul) was finding a plot to go abroad, this is the people's question," he added.

On combating militancy, Dr Hasan said when police sacrifice their lives to fight out militancy, BNP and its alliance do not show any sympathy to them.

Instead, when militants die they show their sympathy and it proves that BNP is the 'key patron of militancy' in Bangladesh, the AL leader said.

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal leader Humayun Kabir, president of Shadhinata Parishad Sahadat Hossain also spoke on the occasion while chairman of NAP Bhasani MA Bhasani presided over the programme.