Former State Minister for Liberation War Affairs Ishraque Hossain has said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's instruction to resign from the cabinet was the "best advice" he had ever received, claiming it saved him from a coordinated campaign that could have ended his political career.

In a post on his verified Facebook page at around 9:30 am on Thursday, Ishraque said he initially considered the instruction a punishment but later realised the prime minister had anticipated a damaging campaign against him.

"The honourable prime minister gave me the best advice I have ever received when he instructed me to resign from the cabinet. I accepted it without hesitation," Ishraque wrote.

His latest account marks a shift from his statement at a press conference on Monday, when he said he had voluntarily requested the prime minister to relieve him of his ministerial duties.

Speaking at the National Press Club in Dhaka, Ishraque said he wanted to continue his anti-drug campaign without embarrassing the government or the BNP.

"I have voluntarily sought release from my duties as state minister for liberation war affairs from the honourable prime minister today," he said.

He also claimed that Tarique had agreed to his request.

In Thursday's Facebook post, however, Ishraque described the resignation as a decision initiated by the prime minister.

He alleged that a media outlet and a group sharing vested interests had prepared a coordinated campaign to destroy his reputation.

"The entire plot had been carefully laid out. One devastating report after another, accompanied by false propaganda, would have been used to assassinate my character and expose me to intense public criticism," he wrote.

Ishraque claimed the alleged campaign was also designed to alienate him from senior BNP leaders and leave him politically isolated.

"The situation would have been engineered in such a way that I might have had to end my political career," he said.

He did not identify the media outlet or the individuals allegedly involved, nor did he provide evidence supporting the allegations.

Ishraque said Tarique had reminded him of a similar conspiracy allegedly directed against the prime minister in the past.

Describing himself as a political worker who places "blind faith" in Tarique, Ishraque said the prime minister treated him like a younger brother and had repeatedly demonstrated concern for his political future.

"I had set out to undertake a difficult task. I managed to step away from it and protect myself from a terrible conspiracy that emerged from that undertaking," he wrote, apparently referring to his anti-drug campaign.

He also suggested that subsequent developments had vindicated the prime minister's assessment.

"I am simply astonished as I compare what he told me a few days ago with the situation unfolding today," he wrote.

The post ended with a warning to alleged collaborators within his own party.

Ishraque threatened retaliation against any BNP opportunist found, on the basis of evidence, to have colluded with the alleged conspirators, saying he would act with permission.

"We are people of Dhaka. The underhanded tricks of country bumpkins will not work here," he wrote.

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