Staff Correspondent:

Sharif Osman Hadi, a spokesman for Inquilab Mancha, is in a critical condition and is fighting for his life, the platform said on Thursday, adding that his family has approved surgery in Singapore.

Inquilab Mancha said in a statement that Hadi’s condition remains grave and urged people across the country to pray for his recovery.

The group also issued a political call tied to his fate, saying that if Hadi “answers God’s call and joins the ranks of martyrs”, it would ask Bangladesh’s pro-independence “oppressed masses” to gather at Shahbag to press for the protection of national sovereignty.

Inquilab Mancha said it would continue its sit-in at Shahbag until those responsible are arrested. It also warned the country would be brought to a standstill if the suspects remain at large.

The statement added that if the accused flee to India, the Bangladesh government must engage with the Government of India and ensure their arrest and return “at any cost”.

Hadi was shot in Dhaka’s Paltan area on Friday afternoon, December 12. An air ambulance carried him to Singapore on December 15 for advanced treatment.

Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus, on December 16, in a televised address on the occasion of the nation’s Victory Day, said that those involved in the attack on Hadi had been provisionally identified. He vowed that no one linked to the incident would be spared, regardless of where they were.