Dhaka: The government cannot forcibly release a prisoner on parole if that person does not apply for it, Law Minister Anisul Huq said Monday, dismissing allegations raised by some BNP leaders.

‘An application needs to be submitted following the due procedures by any prisoner to get parole,’ he pointed out.

Several BNP leaders have recently claimed that the government is trying to release party Chairperson Khaleda Zia on parole by force though they do not want it, reports the UNB.

‘No one can be released on parole forcibly,’ the minister told reporters at his Secretariat office.

Parole is a conditional release of an inmate before completion of the sentence.

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has alleged that contradictory remarks by the Home Minister and Awami League leader Mahabub-Ul Alam Hanif over Khaleda’s parole have exposed the government’s mockery over the matter.

Khaleda’s parole has been the talk of the town since Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said they would consider releasing the BNP chief if she files an application and cites specific reasons.

He said they did not receive any such application from the BNP chairperson.

But Hanif on Sunday ruled out the possibility of releasing the BNP chief on parole. ‘She doesn’t fall under any category to be allowed for release on parole,’ he said about the former prime minister.

The BNP chairperson has been in jail since February 8 last year after being convicted in a corruption case. She was later found guilty in a similar case. Her release remains BNP’s main demand.

Khaleda was shifted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University on April 1 amid her party’s allegation that the government is neglecting her treatment.