Violence mars Shibir strike

Three vehicles were set on fire on Thursday morning as a nationwide whole-day strike called by Islami Chhatra Shibir took effect.

ফাইল ছবি

Police say six bombs were recovered from a mosque in Azimpur.

Sporadic explosions and processions in support of the strike were reported from several areas of Dhaka in the morning.

Two buses were set on fire near Jagannath University in Old Dhaka around 7:45am, Kotwali Police Station SI Rakibur Hassan said. Locals put out the fire before fire fighters arrived.

“Shibir activists exploded some home-made bombs and damaged some vehicles near Chief Metropolitan Magistrates Court (adjacent to Jagannath University),” Hassan said.

Shibir activists set a four-wheeler on fire in Jatrabari’s Bibir Bagicha area around 6:30am, Jatrabari Police Station SI Emranul Islam said. They also tried to set a bus on fire in Mir Hazirbagh area. Six people including an Shibir activist were nabbed from there.

Six home-made bombs were recovered from the roof of a mosque near Azimpur bus stand around 6:00am. Police conducted the search in the mosque after receiving specific information about the bombs, Lalbagh Police Station OC Nurul Mustakin said.

Meanwhile, two Shibir activist were picked up from a pro-strike procession near Prashika Bhaban in Mirpur in the morning, Pallabi Police Station OC Abdul Latif said.

Two Shibir activists were shot during clashes with police in the port city of Chittagong on Thursday morning .

Eight Shibir activists were nabbed with firearms , bombs and sharp weapons last night in the city.

The strike has been called to press for the release of Shibir President Delwar Hussen. It follows a string of strikes for three days .

Earlier, the BNP-led 18-Party alliance observed a 36-hour strike on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Monday, the Hifazat-e-Islam observed a daylong strike.

They are criminals

Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir has defended yesterday’s police action at the BNP headquarters in the capital, saying law enforcers arrested “criminals” from the opposition party office. “Police went to BNP office to discharge legal duties,” the minister said at a TV talk show yesterday evening. “They identified criminals and then arrested the criminals from the main opposition party office.” Over a hundred BNP leaders and activists, including BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, were arrested in a three-hour raid, telecast live by different private television channels. The uncalled for raid came in a little over an hour after the BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance at a rally called for a dawn-to-dusk nationwide hartal today. The alliance organised the rally in front of the party headquarters protesting the “mass killing by police and ruling party activists”. MK Alamgir, appearing in the talk-show of private television channel 71 TV, said the persons arrested from the BNP office would be produced before a court for trial under Anti-Terrorism Act-2009 and other relevant laws. Replying to a question, he said the police took the action following Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance and this ordinance was enacted during the tenure of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman. The ordinance gives magistracy power to the DMP commissioner and the commissioner’s associates, he noted. Secondly, the minister said, according to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), police have the jurisdiction to take any step anytime and anywhere to stop any criminal from committing crimes. MK Alamgir also said it cannot be accepted that BNP will store cocktails at its office to attack people and police will sit idle even after knowing it. “If we do not make arrests, violence would be intensified and anarchy would spread further.” Regarding today’s shutdown, he said “They [opposition] have no moral or legal rights to call such hartal.”

President’s condition unchanged

The health condition of President Zillur Rahman, who has been undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital, has remained unchanged, says a press note issued by Bangabhaban yesterday. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged people to pray at all mosques and other religious institutions for the early recovery of the president. Zillur Rahman was flown to Singapore Sunday night and admitted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital yesterday morning. All necessary medical examinations and treatment of the president are going on under intensive observation of specialised physicians of the hospital. Zillur’s son Nazmul Hassan Papan, a ruling Awami League lawmaker, who is attending to the president, told BSS by phone that Zillur was suffering from severe lung infection and that doctors began removing water from his lungs as his condition stabilized a little. Before being taken to Singapore, Zillur was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka Saturday night with respiratory problems. Bangabhaban official sources said the 83-year-old president was on respiratory support while boarding the aircraft. Zillur had been suffering from fever since Saturday morning and taken to CMH after he had developed breathing problems.

18-Party Violence and Police Reaction

1) Journalists try to save their motorcycles after activists of the BNP-Jamaat-led 18 party alliance set those on fire near BNP’s central office in the capital’s Naya Paltan yesterday. 2) Members of the Detective Branch of police trying to break into BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir’s room in the BNP office during a raid yesterday after cocktails were exploded nearby. 3) A burning car of Channel i near the BNP office following an arson attack by the 18-party activists. 4) BNP Dhaka city unit Convener Sadek Hossain Khoka being taken away by police after being arrested from the office.

Our National 7 Hero

 1. Lance Naik Nur Mohammad Sheikh Born: 26 February 1936 in Moheskhali village under Jessore district. Enlisted in the East Pakistan Rifiles on 14 March 1959. Embraced martyrdom while engaging the enemy with fire for covering the extrication of fellow soldiers at Goalhati in Jessore district on September 5 1971. Nur Mohammad died fighting along but not before his compatriots were safe and he had inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy.  2. Flight Lieutenant M Matiur Rahman Born: 21 February 1945 at Dhaka. Joined the Pakistan Air Force in August 1961 and commissioned in the GD(P) branch on 23 June 1963. Embraced martyrdom on August 20, 1971 in an attempt to join the Liberation War with a T-33 aircraft from Karachi Air Base which ultimately crashed.  3. Naik Munshi Abdur Rouf Born: May 1943 at village Salmat of Boalmari upazila under Faridpur district. Enlisted in ther East Bengal Regiment on 8 May 1963. Was attached with a regular infantry unit during War of Liberation. Embraced martyrdoms on 8 April 1971 at Burighat in Chittagong Hill Tracts after causing extensive damage to enemy's men and materials with his MG and forcing them to retreat.  Md. Ruhul Amin Born: At Bagpachra in the district of Noakhali in 1934. After completing his secondary education from Sunaimuri High School in 1949, he joined erstwhile Pakistan navy in 1951. During the Liberation Movement in 1971, he was serving as engineer officer in the appointment of ERA-1 in PNS comilla Gunboat under Chittagong Naval base. On 25th March 1971 , he left the pak navy and joined the Liberation war. Later on he joined the naval ship Poash A few days before the country was liberated his ship came under air strike on 10 December 1971 near Khulna shipyard. He foughr bravely to save his ship but was wounded severely and later on the embraced martyrdom. He was honoured with the highest gallantry award “Bir Srestha” for hiw courage, valour and dedication to the nation.  Sepoy Hamidur Rahman Born: 2 February 1953 in Khardo Khalishpur village under jessore district. Joined the Army on 2nd February 1971 and enrolled in the corps of Infantry. Embraced martyrodom on 28 October 1971 at Dhalai in an attempt to capture the enemy position which finally fell to our advancing column.  Sepoy Mostafa Kamal Born: 16 December 1947 in Hajipur village of Daulatikhan upazilla under Bhola district. Proud son of retired Havilder Habibur Rahman, Sepoy Mostafa embraced martyrdom on 18 April 1971 in a defensive battle against the enemy in Daruin village of Comilla. With unflinching courage and steadfastness, he inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy.  Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir Born: 1948 in the village of Rahimgonj under Babugonj upazilla of Barisal district. Commissioned in the corps of Engineers on June 1968 from Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul. Embraced martyrdom while breaking through enemy defence on the bank of river Mahananda. His bold initiative and aggressive leadership helped wipe out the last vestiges of enemy resistance and the position finally fell to our forces.

Liberation War Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict over a duration of about 9 months, pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war started on 26 March 1971 between the State of Pakistan and East Pakistan, India intervened on 3 December 1971. Armed conflict ended on 16 December 1971 and resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh. The war broke out when army units directed by the State of Pakistan (then controlled by West Pakistan) launched a military operation called Operation Searchlight in East Pakistan against Bengali civilians, students, intelligentsia, and armed personnel who were demanding for the military regime to honour the results of the first ever 1970 democratic elections in Pakistan won by an East Pakistan party or to allow separation of the East from West Pakistan. Bengali military, paramilitary, and civilians formed the Mukti Bahini Liberation Army on 26 March 1971, in response to Operation Searchlight and used guerrilla warfare tactics to fight against the West Pakistan army. India provided economic, military and diplomatic support to the Mukti Bahini rebels, leading West Pakistan to launch Operation Chengiz Khan, a pre-emptive attack on the western border of India which started the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. On 16 December 1971, the allied forces of the Indian army and the Mukti Bahini defeated the West Pakistani forces deployed in the East. The resultingsurrender was the largest in number of prisoners of war since World War II.

About Bangladesh

Bangladesh .Is a country in South Asia. Officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh Gônoprojatontri Bangladesh, Straddling the fertile Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, it is part of the historic ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. The name Bangladesh means "Country of Bengal" in the official Bengali language. It faces the Bay of Bengal to its south, and is bordered by India on the north, west and east, as well as Burma (Myanmar) on the southeast. It is separated from the Himalayan nations of Nepal and Bhutan by India’s narrow Siliguri corridor, and is in close geographical proximity to China. The present-day borders of Bangladesh were established during the British partition of Bengal in 1947, when the region became East Bengal (later East Pakistan), part of the newly formed nation of Pakistan. However, it was separated from West Pakistan by nearly 1,500 km (about 900 mi) of Indian territory. Due to political exclusion, ethnic and linguistic discrimination and economic neglect by the politically dominant western wing, popular agitation grew and gave rise to a secular cultural nationalist movement, leading to the declaration of independence and Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. In the aftermath of war and independence, the new state endured poverty, famine, political turmoil and military coups. The restoration of democracy in 1991 has been followed by relative calm and economic progress. Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy, with an elected parliament called the Jatiyo Sangshad. It is the world's eighth most populous country and has one of the highest population densities in the world. The country is identified as a Next Eleven economy. A pioneer of regional engagement in South Asia, Bangladesh is a founding member of SAARC and BIMSTEC. It is also member of the Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned Movement, the OIC, the Developing 8 Countries and BIMSTEC. The country faces a number of major challenges, including poverty, corruption, overpopulation and vulnerability to climate change. However, it has been noted by the international community for its progress on the Human Development Index.[6] The country has greatly increased life expectancy, achieved gender parity in education, reduced population growth and improved maternal and child health.[7][8] Dhaka and Chittagong, the country's two largest cities, have been the driving force behind much of the recent growth.