Dhaka: Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Thursday urged the government to demonstrate a human attitude by assisting the family members of its leader Salahuddin Ahmed to safely bring him back home from India instead of doing foul politics over his disappearance.

“We’re very happy as Salahuddin Ahmed has been traced after over two months of his disappearance. But, we’re observing that some cruel and inhuman remarks are being made the ruling party leaders over his disappearance and emergence. It’s very much unfortunate,” said BNP joint secretary general M Shahjahan.

Addressing a press briefing at BNP’s Nayapaltan central office, he further said, “We want to tell the government to take proper steps and extend cooperation to Salahuddin Ahmed’s family to return him to them. We expect a human and passionate attitude from the government instead of cruel comments in this regard.”

Salahuddin,54, who identified himself as a Bangladeshi national, a junior minister in the erstwhile Khaleda Zia-led BNP government and at present “joint secretary” of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was found allegedly “hanging around aimlessly” by some people in Shillong on Monday morning, according to Indian media. Since he had no valid papers, identity proof or travel permit, he was arrested by Meghalaya police and booked under their Foreigners Act.

A day later, Hasina Ahmed, wife of the BNP leader said her husband phoned her from Meghalaya Institute of Mental Health & Neurological Science (MIMHANS), India at noon.

BNP and Salahuddin’s family members had been claiming that law enforcers picked him up from a house at Uttara on the night of March 10, an allegation denied by the law enforcers and the government.

Shahjahan lamented that the ruling party men are doing dirty politics over Salahuddin’s issue. “He (Salahuddin) was a former state ministers and he is also a joint secretary general of a party like BNP and a popular leader. The politicians are belittling themselves before the country’s people with their indecent remarks about him.”

He urged the ruling party men to refrain from making such remarks.  “Please don’t pollute the politics further. We shouldn’t do parochial politics over the issue. It won’t bring anything good for anybody.”

Replying to a question why BNP is silent over Salahuddin issue, BNP spokesman Asaduzzaman Ripon said they should not make any comment about it until they know his real condition.

“We’re not silent. Salahuddin is now at a place of Indian northern state Meghalaya with which there’s no good communication network from Bangladesh. Before talking about him, we need to first know his actual condition and communicate with him. We still couldn’t contact him.”

He said Salahuddin’s wife will set out for India to meet him once she gets visa.

As his attention was drawn to Interpol’s red alert against Salahuddin, Ripon said Interpol’s red alert is nothing but the reflection of the host country’s attitude towards its any citizen.  “As a member of Interpol, Bangladesh government’s attitude towards Salahuddin Ahmed has been reflected through the alert.”

Interpol’s Dhaka unit has sent a request to India with a red corner notice to arrest BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed, says the Indian Telegraph.

Meghalaya director-general of police Rajiv Mehta told The Telegraph over phone today that Interpol Dhaka has sent a red corner notice to India requesting it to arrest Ahmed.