The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has reiterated long-standing claims of large-scale extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances targeting its leaders, activists, and supporters during the previous Awami League administration.
According to party submissions and statements, thousands of BNP affiliates were allegedly killed in so-called “crossfire” or gunfight incidents involving law enforcement agencies, while others were forcibly disappeared between roughly 2008 and August 2024.
Law Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Friday said that more than 4,500 party activists were killed in crossfire and over 700 others were victims of enforced disappearance after the Awami League formed government in 2009. On the other hand, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmad put the number of victims of enforced disappearance at 3,000, mentioning himself as one of the victims, and 7,000 killed or injured.
The party has filed complaints with the International Crimes Tribunal seeking investigation and accountability, naming elements of the prior government and security forces.
However, the reported scale of these crossfire deaths and enforced disappearances is questionable and appears exaggerated as part of a political culture in Bangladesh. Such figures are frequently deployed by parties out of power to frame victimhood, mobilise supporters, and pressure institutions, often without consistent independent verification that matches the political claims.
Human rights organisations have documented extrajudicial killings and disappearances over the years, but the precise tallies and attributions advanced by political parties tend to be inflated for narrative purposes rather than reflecting fully audited, non-partisan counts.
Rights activists have condemned the BNP for practices that undermine the rule of law. These include arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention without due process, and custodial deaths of political opponents while enforcing a ban on the political activities of the Awami League.
Critics also point to the granting of indemnity or effective impunity to participants in the July 2024 riots and associated anarchists, arguing that selective protection for one side’s violence while targeting others erodes equal application of the law, due process, and accountability.
Such measures, activists say, perpetuate a cycle of political retribution instead of institutional reform.
The debate reflects Bangladesh’s deeply polarised political environment, in which successive governments and oppositions have accused each other of using security forces and the justice system for partisan ends.
Independent scrutiny, transparent investigations, and consistent application of the rule of law remain the only durable path beyond contested casualty counts and selective outrage.