Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Saturday said that the police were not creating any obstacles to hold the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party rally in Khulna.

‘The police arrested the people as arrest warrants were issued against them [by the court]. There is no relation between the arrest and the rally,’ the minister told reporters after attending a programme in the capital on Saturday afternoon.

‘As far as we know the rally is in progress and the police are conducting their regular duties,’ Asaduzzaman continued.

Regarding transport strike, he said, ‘We don’t know why the owners have kept their buses off the road. We heard that this was happened because of some demands of transport workers.’

Thousands of BNP and its associate organisations’ leaders and activists started to take positions at the rally venue since Friday night while on Saturday many more came to the city with processions, defying obstacles on their way.

Khulna city was virtually cut off from the rest of the country following bus and launch strikes from Friday ahead of the divisional meeting on Saturday.

Since Saturday morning, no trawlers, ferries and boats were being allowed to come to the city while many people including journalists and patients could not travel to the city.

The Khulna Bus, Minibus, Coach, and Microbus Owners’ Association announced to stop running buses from 6:00am on Friday till 10:00pm Saturday, protesting against the movement of unauthorised three-wheelers on the highways.

Launch workers stopped running their vessels on Friday demanding an increase in wages.