Hafizuddin: Retired army officers brought Shakib to my home

BNP Vice Chairman Major (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed has claimed that some of his former colleagues in the army brought cricketer Shakib Al Hasan to his home before the election.

He was speaking at a press conference at his home in the capital’s Banani on Tuesday.

The senior politician said two Bangladesh Nationalist Movement (BNM) members also introduced Shakib to him with intentions for political involvement, around four to five months before the election.

Recently, a Bangla daily published a report about Hafizuddin and Shakib Al Hasan. Hafizuddin claimed that the report was "fictitious.”

He said: "Shakib Al Hasan is the best player in the world. The retired officers brought him to my house. He (Shakib) intended to join politics. I said politics is your personal matter. He left after not getting encouragement.”

Regarding the government’s pressure on him during the formation of the BNM, Hafizuddin said: "The authorities' pressure on me had begun to intensify. Former information minister Hasan Mahmud announced that I intended to form a new party. Reflecting on this deeply, two months before the election, I called a press conference and affirmed my decision not to join the BNM or any other party. 

“I am committed to remaining with my current party until the end. Presently, due to my physical condition, I am contemplating retirement."

He also said: "I have never made any disrespectful statement about the BNP."

Hafizuddin said: "During the formation of the BNM, several members of parliament of the BNP asked me whether they should join the BNM. I discouraged them as well.”