BNP Promises to End Enforced Disappearances if Elected

BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed

BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed on Friday vowed that his party would eradicate enforced disappearances if it returns to power through the people’s mandate in the upcoming national election.

Speaking at a discussion at the Bangla Academy auditorium to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Salahuddin said, “If the people entrust us with their mandate, we will take all necessary steps to prevent enforced disappearances – from enacting laws to ensuring their strict implementation. We envision a Bangladesh where no one suffers this fate.”

He criticised the current government, alleging the country has long endured “a horrific situation” under authoritarian rule. “Those who turned Bangladesh into a fiefdom through killings show no remorse. Instead of acknowledging their crimes, they blame others,” he added.

On the election roadmap, Salahuddin urged unity among opposition parties. “The people have struggled and shed blood for 16 years to reclaim their right to vote. Now that a path has been created, we must not scatter obstacles along it,” he said.

Recalling his own ordeal after being detained in 2015, Salahuddin described spending 61 days confined in a small, suffocating cell. “I am fortunate to be alive today. Otherwise, I too would have been just a photograph like many colleagues who never returned,” he said.

He described being held in a filthy, five-by-ten-foot room with no ventilation, often blindfolded, and sometimes told he might be moved without knowing whether he would survive. “I prayed to Allah that if I die there, my body be returned to my family. I did not see Allah with my eyes, but I felt His presence,” he added.

Salahuddin also noted with relief that no new families of victims had joined this year’s commemoration. “They hope future leaders will ensure that no one ever has to attend such an event again. That is why we continue our struggle,” he said.