Mirza Fakhrul reflects on wife's health battle, political crackdown during AL era in emotional FB post
The veteran politician, who is currently in Singapore with his wife for medical check-ups, wrote that his wife’s doctors in Singapore have said that everything looks good so far, though they will need to return in six months
In a rare heartfelt personal Facebook post, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir expressed his deep emotions and admiration for his wife, her struggle with illness amid the political crackdown during the Awami League era.
The veteran politician, who is currently in Singapore with his wife for medical check-ups, wrote that his wife's doctors in Singapore have said that everything looks good so far, though they will need to return in six months.
"When my wife's disease was diagnosed in December 2022, my world fell apart. She is the rock of our family. I decided to proceed with her surgery as soon as possible," he wrote in the post made from his official account on Facebook today (10 April).
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"Just the day before her surgery, I was taken from my home at 3 a.m. by the Awami police. My daughter rushed to Dhaka. While my wife was having her surgery, I was in jail. Nobody was in the hospital except my daughters and Dr Jahid. Our acting chairperson and my siblings were following up over phone," the post reads.
"My wife handled everything with utmost patience and a smile on her face, enduring not only the years of her difficult treatment but also the challenges we have faced as a family for almost 50 years,.
"Alhamdulillah, today her doctor in Singapore said that so far, everything looks good. However, we will need to return in six months," it adds.
"I am grateful for your prayers and well wishes," Fakhrul also wrote.
Mirza Fakhrul traveled to Singapore with his wife, Rahat Ara Begum, for medical purposes on 6 April.
In his post, Mirza Fakhrul shed light on the event previously described in an emotional post by his daughter Shamaruh Mirza on 2 December last year.
On 10 December 2022, BNP had scheduled a divisional rally in Dhaka during the time of widespread political unrest under the then-Awami League government.
Before the rally, police began a special crackdown, setting up checkpoints at entry points to the city and arresting BNP leaders and activists en masse.
According to a Prothom Alo report published on 8 December, 3,895 people had been arrested within the first four days of the crackdown that began on 1 December. No further updates were officially provided by police afterward.
In this tense atmosphere, on the night of 8 December, Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Police (DB) raided the homes of BNP leaders Mirza Fakhrul and Mirza Abbas separately.
Both were taken to the DB office on Minto Road. Initially, the DB did not admit to detaining or arresting them, claiming instead that they were being interrogated regarding the 7 December clashes in Nayapaltan and the upcoming rally on 10 December.
It was only after nearly 11 hours that the DB officially confirmed the arrests of Mirza Fakhrul and Mirza Abbas. They were shown arrested in a case filed at Paltan Police Station, accused of inciting the clash with police in Nayapaltan on 7 December. The next day, both were taken to court.
Their bail requests were denied by the court, and they were sent to jail. They were taken to the Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj. After spending 32 days in prison, they were granted bail and released on 9 January 2023.
