Senior aides of Hasina, Khaleda arrested

Bangladesh's army-led joint forces on Monday detained senior politicians, including Awami League's general secretary Abdul Jalil, in the interim government's ongoing drive against corruption. Jalil was picked up from the premises of the Markentile Bank that he owns, staronline reported.

Also nabbed were Lutfozzaman Babar, who was minister of state for home in Begum Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh National Party (BNP) government (2001-06). Abul Hashem, a businessman and former lawmaker also in Zia's party, was also detained. No reasons were cited by the authorities for the arrests.

Jalil has been the spokesperson of the Awami League, led by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

First Published: May 28, 2007 22:09 IST