"Why don't you come home, dad? I miss you so much. When will you be back? I long to climb into your lap." This is how the young children of convicted leaders, currently in hiding, express their heartfelt appeal to their fathers. Only fathers can genuinely understand the profound pain experienced by their children in such moments.

Jubo Dal President Sultan Salahuddin Tuku has been in hiding for over three months, unable to reunite with his family during this period. Tuku, convicted in three cases and sentenced to seven years imprisonment, has not been able to visit his family even once. His wife, Saima Parveen Simimi, expressed, "Tuku has been in hiding since the police attacked the BNP's mass meeting in front of the party's central office in Nayapaltan on October 28. Since then, he has not returned home. The children yearn for their father intensely, missing him profoundly. They cling to the phone during conversations, reluctant to let go. The constant question echoes, 'Why don't you come home? When will you be back? Please come home quickly.' Furthermore, the children remain deeply devoted to their father.

She stated, "Those who are incarcerated sometimes have the opportunity to meet their family members. However, even after being released from jail, we cannot reunite. This situation is causing great distress for our children."

Abdul Quader Bhuiyan Jewel, the BNP Central Committee Assistant Secretary for Volunteer Affairs, has been sentenced to 15 years and three months in five cases over the last three months. He cannot return home for an extended period and is compelled to spend the night in one place today and somewhere else tomorrow. He expressed his challenges, saying, "The children miss me greatly. When they call, they plead for me to come home. On a white paper, one wrote, 'Baba, please come and play with us.' They even took a picture and sent a heartfelt message to my mobile phone. However, due to being in hiding to avoid arrest, I could not fulfil their request. The uncertainty of when I will be able to return home has left me living a life filled with constant challenges."

Furthermore, Mamun Hasan, the senior vice president of Jubo Dal, has been handed down a 13-year and 6-month sentence in five cases, and Ishaq Sarkar, the organising secretary of Juba Dal, has received a 17-year and 8-month sentence in five cases. Additionally, in a separate case, Akramul Hasan, a member of the BNP's executive committee, has been sentenced to two years.

According to the BNP office, 27,495 leaders and activists have been arrested and subsequently sent to jail since July 27 of last year. In this period, 1,175 cases have been filed against BNP leaders and workers, with more than 105,000 individuals being accused. Additionally, from 2009 to July 2023, 49,40,492 BNP activists have been charged in 1,41,934 cases nationwide. In the past five months alone, 1,687 leaders and activists have been sentenced to various terms in more than 100 cases.