She made the remarks in response to a lawyer’s comment during a hearing of the Niko graft case at Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-9, established on special premises at Old Dhaka on Sunday. Jailed since last February for graft in the Zia orphanage and trust cases, Khaleda said that those who speak out for the rights of the people are ‘the opposition’. Lawyer for the prosecution Borhanuddin then asked: “Are you the opposition party?”To which Khaleda said: “An opposition party isn’t just in parliament. The Niko graft case accuses former prime minister Khaleda and ten others of abusing the power of their office to award a gas exploration and extraction deal to Canadian company Niko. The next hearing in the Nico graft case is scheduled on Jan 21, said Khaleda’s lawyer Nuruzzaman Tapan.

Source: bd News24 January 13, 2019 12:33 UTC