Bangladesh ex-PM Khaleda's party faces split

Dhaka, Sep 5: The party of Bangladesh's jailed former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia is on the verge of spliting after partymen said her decision to sack two top aides was unacceptable, officials said. Khaleda, the chief of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was arrested on Monday for alleged corruption along with her businessmen son, as part of a campaign launched by country's army-backed interim administration to root out graft.

Hours before her arrest, Khaleda sacked long-time party secretary-general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and his deputy Ashraf Hossain, saying the two men had acted against the party's interests.

The charges referred to the two officials' attempts in recent months to reform the BNP which had been tightly controlled by Khaleda, the country's most recent prime minister.

The reformers, backed by a large number of partymen, had sought to drastically reduce Khaleda's powers.

''We will take our own stand and make the party fully democratic and its leadership accountable,'' Hossain told reporters.

Khaleda, who ended a five-year second term last October, is facing various charges of corruption and abuse of power, that is also blamed for the meteoric rise of her son and likely heir Tareque Rahman.

Tareque is also in jail, awaiting trial by a special court.

Bangladesh is under a state of emergency since January when the interim administration took over after months of political violence.

The army-backed administration has vowed to punish corrupt politicians and officials ahead of elections planned for later next year.

Reuters>