Bangladesh's opposition leader Sheikh Hasina Wajid vowed Saturday to return to the country despite a government ban and a murder charge, an aide said, as her rival and former premier Khaleda Zia faced exile in Saudia Arabia.
Sheikh Hasina would attempt to board a Dhaka-bound plane at Heathrow on Sunday, her private secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap told AFP by telephone from London.
It was not known if BA staff would allow her to board the plane. The new military-backed interim government on Wednesday told all airlines operating flights to Bangladesh to take the necessary measures to prevent Sheikh Hasina from returning.
"She is aware of the bar on her return. It's a confirmed flight. There is no question of staying back," Golap said. Sheikh Hasina has been charged with murder and extortion in her absence and could face arrest if she returns.
Meanwhile Zia's departure for Saudi Arabia was thought to be imminent after a private television channel reported that she had finally been allowed to meet her son Tareque Rahman, who is being held on corruption charges at Dhaka central jail.
The attempt to exile the two women, known as the "battling begums" for their longstanding mutual animosity, is part of the government's campaign to clean up Bangladeshi politics before holding fresh elections before the end of 2008.
BNP secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan on Saturday urged the party to remain strong after a leading independent newspaper, quoting an unnamed source, said several senior party figures planned to make a grab for the leadership if Zia left. The report also quoted the source as saying that Zia was furious at the apparent disloyalty of some of her party colleagues.
"I will urge the party workers not to be misled by misguided statements. It's difficult time and we have to be united," Bhuiyan told reporters.
Both Zia and Sheikh Hasina stand accused of misrule that led to a political crisis earlier this year. The crisis followed a political impasse that climaxed in January amid spiralling violence, in which the Awami League accused the BNP of seeking to rig elections.
As a result, President Iajuddin Ahmed, head of an interim government tasked with holding fair elections resigned on January 11, imposed emergency rule, and cancelled the polls.
The new interim government was installed the following day and has won popular support for its anti-graft drive and efforts to exile the two party leaders. Zia and Sheikh Hasina have ruled the country alternately since democracy was reinstated in 1991.
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