Staff Correspondent:

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday thanked the government for detaining former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque, who he said caused great harm to the country by misusing his position.

Talking to reporters in front of the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office, he also demanded exemplary punishment for the ex-chief justice so that no one in the future can harm the nation by abusing such positions.

“We thank Allah that one of Bangladesh’s major enemies who caused serious damage to the nation while holding a high position is finally held (by law enforcers),” he said.

From his position as Chief Justice, Fakhrul said Haque was responsible for determining the fate of Bangladesh, but he resorted to deception.

He said the ex-Chief Justice deceived both the people and the state through the verdict he delivered on the caretaker government system.

The BNP leader said there was a huge difference between the short order he gave regarding the caretaker government and the full judgment that came later.

“We believe that even the short verdict he gave went against the interest of the state. We sincerely thank the government for the action it is taking against him, even if it was delayed,” he said.

Replying to a question, he said Haque was “100 percent responsible” for the political crisis that followed the verdict.

When asked about the punishment their party seeks for the former Chief Justice, Fakhrul said it would not be right for him to comment on that.

“We hope that these matters will be properly investigated and that the trial will be properly conducted according to legal provisions. But there should be an exemplary punishment so that in the future, no one can misuse that position to harm the state,” he said.

The BNP leader said the judiciary is supposed to be the institution people trust the most. “But he destroyed that trust because of his political mindset, which caused major damage to the country.”

A team of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) detained ABM Khairul Haque from his residence in the capital’s Dhanmondi area on Thursday morning.