A court in Dhaka has ordered BNP chief Khaleda Zia to appear before it on a defamation suit by Oct 5 and said it would issue a warrant against her if she fails to show up.
The former prime minister stands accused of demeaning the country's flag by including Jamaat-e-Islami leaders in her cabinet during her 2001-6 term.
The court's order came on Sunday after hearing a plea seeking a warrant for Khaleda by plaintiff AB Siddique, who heads a pro-Awami League orgnisation.
The case, filed in November 2016, also accused Khaleda's late husband BNP founder and military dictator Ziaur Rahman.
After the case was filed, the court ordered police to investigate the allegations. Police filed its report in February this year.
The report said that after assuming office in 2016, Khaleda made Jamaat leaders Motiur Rahman Nizami and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid ministers. Both of them have been executed after being convicted of 1971 war crimes.
It, however, suggested dropping Ziaur Rahman's name for the case as the Bangladesh law does not allow a dead person to be tried.
On Mar 22, the court accepted the report and later on Apr 20, it ordered Khaleda to appear before it.
