Awami League (AL) general secretary Obaidul Quader has expressed his doubts about the return of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia to the country. Only time will tell whether she will return home, he said. He was talking to reporters after a meeting with a delegation of Nirapod Sarak Chai (Nischa) at his Secretariat office in the city.

“Scared of cases filed against him, Tarique Rahman has not returned to Bangladesh. Has Khaleda fled the country like her son? Will she too not return because of the cases filed against her? Time will tell whether she will come back or her tour will be prolonged,” Quader said.

 On Saturday evening, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia left Dhaka for London by an Emirates Airline flight for treatment of her eye and leg. BNP sources said the party chief would meet her elder son, Tarique Rahman, who has been staying in London since the 1/11 changeover in 2008.

 Replying to a question, Quader, who is also the road transport and bridges minister, said the Awami League would not comment on the Election Commission’s (EC’s) roadmap for the next general election.

“This is not the right time to make any comment on it.  We will make our party’s stand clear after observing the progress of its (roadmap) implementation,” he added.

 On Sunday, the chief election commissioner (CEC), KM Nurul Huda, launched a booklet

on the EC’s roadmap for the next parliamentary polls.