Dhaka, 29 Mar, Abnews: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir could not visit jailed party chairperson Khaleda Zia as she was ill.
Shairul Kabir Khan, an officer of the BNP chair's press wing disclosed this on Thursday quoting Fakhrul.
Fakhrul was supposed to meet the former prime minister at 3:00pm, Shairul added.
On Wednesday, a lawyer of the Anti-Corruption Commission said the BNP chair could not be produced before the court in Zia Charitable Trust for unavoidable reasons. A Comilla court then served a show cause notice on the Dhaka jail authorities regarding Khaleda's failure to appear before the court.
On Feb 8, a Dhaka court sentenced BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to five years of rigorous imprisonment and fines her Tk 2 crore for financial irregularities in the Zia Orphanage Trust.
After Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad, Khaleda is the second head of the government convicted in a graft case.
The Anti-Corruption Commission filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on July 3, 2008 with Ramna Police Station accusing Khaleda, her eldest son Tarique Rahman, now living in the UK, and four others of misappropriating over 2.10 crore that came as grants from a foreign bank for orphans.
Four other accused are former BNP MP Salimul Haq Kamal and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed, former principal secretary Kamal Uddin Siddique and Mominur Rahman, nephew of late President Ziaur Rahman.Kamal Uddin Siddique and Mominur Rahman have long been absconding.
ABN/Adrian/Jasim/AD