Sheikh Hasina's coalition party office attacked and set on fire in Dhaka

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The central office of Jatiya Party, part of the coalition once led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was attacked and set on fire in Dhaka following a protest clash on Thursday night, witnesses reported. The office, located in the Kakrail area, suffered partial damage in the incident.

The Jatiya Party, established by the late President Hussain Muhammad Ershad, is part of the Grand Alliance led by the Bangladesh Awami League and has participated in the last three general elections, which saw a boycott by the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

The recent unrest erupted after the Jatiya Party announced plans to hold a rally in Dhaka on Saturday. Protestors opposed to Sheikh Hasina and her political allies gathered, displaying banners from the Chhatra Sramik Janata, a prominent student-worker-citizen organisation. The group staged a torch-lit march in front of the Jatiya Party's central office, demanding the cancellation of the planned rally.

Witnesses described scenes of chaos as protestors vandalised the Jatiya Party headquarters, pulling down signage, smearing ink over images of party founder Ershad, and hurling bricks. The fire service arrived promptly at the scene and managed to extinguish the flames before the blaze could cause further damage. Police and army units were deployed to the area to maintain order and prevent the violence from escalating.

Shakiluzzaman, a senior leader of the Gono Audhikar Parishad, a political faction critical of Sheikh Hasina's leadership, claimed that the clash began when bricks were allegedly thrown from the roof of the Jatiya Party building onto their torch procession. He accused Jatiya Party "terrorists" of igniting the fire themselves as a means of inciting blame on their opponents.

"Jatiya Party terrorists themselves set fire to their office and fled," alleged Shakiluzzaman. "The Jatiya Party has been a proxy for the fascist Awami League in the elections of 2014, 2018, and 2024. We students, workers, and citizens have declared that we will not allow them to proceed with their rally."

The Jatiya Party has yet to make an official statement on the incident but is expected to respond on Friday.

Bangladesh has recently witnessed a significant political upheaval. Two months prior, a student-led movement successfully ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after weeks of intense protests and clashes that claimed over 600 lives. The 76-year-old Hasina reportedly fled to India on August 5, making way for an interim administration led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus. The political situation remains volatile, with widespread opposition to the Awami League and its allied parties.

(With inputs from ANI)