"All the components of the opposition combine told Abdul Jalil that he should sit at a secretary level meeting with the ruling BNP if the government formally sends a letter in this regard," a 14-party senior leader told The Daily Star after the liaison committee meeting.

Sources said the issue will be finalised after discussing with AL chief Sheikh Hasina within a couple of days.

The matter was discussed after BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan talked to AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil over telephone recently.

Senior AL leaders held an emergency meeting at the party's central office on August 21 where Jalil disclosed his conversation with Bhuiyan. The AL leaders told Jalil that the matter will have to be settled after discussing with Hasina.

Jalil talked to Hasina over the issue on Tuesday evening and the AL president instructed him to arrange a meeting of the 14-party combine to get the opinion of its components.

The liaison committee meeting held at Jalil's Gulshan residence also discussed holding of a grand rally in the capital but could not finalise the date, which will be fixed after Hasina's authorisation, sources said.

The meeting also decided to hold a road march in Barisal on September 5.

Jalil, also 14-party combine coordinator, told reporters that the BNP secretary general has been speaking of a dialogue over "three points" of the proposed reform proposals, but Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in recent speeches has spoken of holding the next election under the existing caretaker government system with the recently prepared voter roll.

"So, what do they [the BNP] really want?" Jalil said. He, however, did not elaborate Bhuiyan's three points.

Jalil alleged that the government has been using the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and police for harassing the opposition leaders and workers across the country who are making preparation for the upcoming election.

Chaired by AL Presidium Member Amir Hossain Amu, the meeting was attended by Abdur Razzak, Tofail Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta, Obaidul Quader, Rashed Khan Menon, Hasanul Haque Inu, Bimal Biswas, Pankaj Bhattacharya, Abdus Samad, MA Gani, Mofizul Islam Kamal, Zakir Hossain and Asit Baran Roy.