BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday urged the government to immediately free the party's ailing chairperson and thrice-former prime minister, Khaleda Zia, without any conditions attached to avert dire consequences.

Speaking at a mammoth rally in the capital, the BNP’s largest public show of strength this year, he also called upon the opposition leaders and workers to put up a strong resistance against the current ‘barbaric’ Awami League government braving the fear of death.

“We would like to clearly say, free our leader immediately (without any conditions). Otherwise, you have to prepare for any consequence,” the BNP leader said.

Fakhrul also said the country’s people will no longer let Khaleda unfairly stay in jail. “You (govt) have to keep it in mind.”

Stating that the country is not safe in the hands of the current 'looter regime', he called upon the country’s people to take to the streets to remove Awami League from power.

The BNP leader also said their party will intensify the movement to protect the country from Awami League’s misrule and restore people’s lost rights. “We have no other alternatives. This government's presence means destruction for our country, democracy and our people."

He alleged that the government has jailed Khaleda and many BNP leaders with an intention to obliterate democracy.

Recalling the BNP chief’s role in different democratic movements, Fakhrul said there is no scope to separate Khaleda and the country's democracy. “Begum Khaleda Zia is a symbol of our democracy and our movement. We must get united to free her to protect our democracy and our rights.”

He called upon all opposition parties to start a simultaneous movement both for the restoration of democratic rights and for the unconditional release of Khaleda.

Citing a poem by Shakespeare, the BNP leader said, “Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once… There’s no pride in dying from fear. We must resist this regime with courage instead of succumbing to fear."

BNP arranged the rally in front of its Nayapaltan central office, demanding the unconditional release of Khaleda Zia. It was in fact the first major rally arranged by BNP in eight months since the pivotal events of October 28 last year, following almost the entire leadership of the party active in Bangladesh was jailed.

Fakhrul said the legal and water experts are expressing that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina signed various deals with India sacrificing the country’s interests during her recent visit.

“We want the fair shares of water (from the common rivers with India). We want killings along the border to stop. We want solutions to our problems… Sheikh Hasina earlier said she gave India everything generously. What has Bangladesh gained?" he said.

BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas, one of the first to be picked up in the ensuing crackdown alongside Mirza Fakhrul, presided over the rally.

He said the country is now filled with thieves and plunderers in the absence of democracy and the rule of law.

In such a situation, he called upon the BNP leaders and workers to take to the streets with a strong resolve to have Khaleda Zia freed from jail without any conditions, and to restore democracy in the country.

“We would like to say our leader Khaleda Zia must be freed. When thieves and criminals are being freed, what is the problem in freeing her?” the BNP leader said.

He said they will not stop their movement without the unconditional release of Khaleda Zia, as they believe democracy will not be restored without her.

BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy urged party leaders and workers to brace for an intense movement, cautioning that mere political rhetoric will not secure Begum Khaleda Zia's release.

He slammed the government for not releasing Khaleda Zia without conditions, claiming that her imprisonment lacks justification as it was done only to appease Sheikh Hasina.

Stating that recent agreements signed with India are harmful to Bangladesh's sovereignty and democracy, the BNP leader warned that failure to free Khaleda Zia could jeopardize Bangladesh's existence.

The rally formally began around 2:42 pm with the participation of thousands of leaders and activists of the party and its associate bodies.

BNP leaders and activists started gathering before the party’s Nayapaltan central office with processions carrying banners, festoons, placards, and portraits of the party’s top leaders from different parts of Dhaka since morning, braving bad weather to join the rally.

BNP standing committee members Nazrul Islam Khan, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, and Begum Selima Rahman, among others, addressed the rally.

Earlier on Wednesday, BNP Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam announced a three-day programme, including the rally, demanding the unconditional release of Khaleda Zia, who is currently undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in the capital.

As part of the programmes, the party will hold rallies in all metropolitan cities on July 1 and in all district headquarters on July 3.

Khaleda Zia was rushed to Evercare Hospital in an ambulance at around 3:30 am on June 22 after suddenly falling ill at her Gulshan residence.

A team of specialist doctors, led by Prof Shahabuddin Talukder, successfully implanted a pacemaker in her chest the following day. She is now receiving treatment in a cabin with CCU facilities at the hospital.

Khaleda, a former prime minister, aged 79, has long battled various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and issues related to the kidney, lung, heart, and eyes.

Khaleda was sent to Old Dhaka Jail after a lower court sentenced her to five years' imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018. Later, she was found guilty in another corruption case the same year.

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government temporarily freed Khaleda Zia from jail through an executive order suspending her sentence on March 25, 2020, with the condition that she stay in her Gulshan house and not leave the country. That has since been extended multiple times to keep her out of jail.

Khaleda's doctors have been recommending sending her abroad since she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in November 2021.

On October 26 last year, three US specialist doctors completed the hepatic procedure known as transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS procedure) to stop water accretion in Khaleda Zia's stomach and chest, and bleeding in her liver.