11-party alliance suspends November 21 Sylhet long march

The Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance has suspended its scheduled November 21 long march from Dhaka to Sylhet, with no new date announced.

Alliance coordinator and Jamaat Assistant Secretary General AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad confirmed the decision in a video message on Friday night.

Azad said the alliance's top leaders would meet to review previous programmes, assess the country's overall political situation and decide on the next course of action.

"We are not preparing for November 21 for the time being. That much I can say. We will inform you of the remaining decisions after the meeting of the top leaders," he said.

He said the meeting had been planned following the alliance's October 31 long march towards Khulna but had yet to take place.

The alliance had initially planned to travel to Sylhet by train because of the poor condition of the Dhaka-Sylhet highway.

However, the arrangements were subsequently reconsidered.

The alliance announced a series of long marches towards four divisional cities on August 6 as part of its movement to press for its demands, including implementation of the referendum verdict on July reform charter.

It held long marches towards Chattogram on September 5, Rangpur on September 19 and Khulna on October 31. The last programme concluded with a rally in Kushtia.

The Sylhet-bound long march was the final programme in the previously announced series.