Prime minister Sheikh Hasina briefs journalists on her recent visits to different countries at a press conference held at Ganabhaban in Dhaka on Wednesday.
The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Wednesday claimed that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Jamaat-e-Islami were behind all the recent targeted killings in Bangladesh.
‘Those who are committing these targeted killings somehow have links with these two parties,’ she said in reply to a question at a press conference at her residence Ganabhaban.
‘I am not making any baseless statement, and as a head of government, surely I have information on what I am talking about,’ she said.
The press conference was arranged to brief the media on the outcome of her recent visit to Saudi Arabia and participation in the 42nd meeting of G-7 (Group of Seven) in Japan and Global Women Leaders’ Forum in Bulgaria.
Hasina said those who used to kill people in broad daylight by hurling patrol bombs were now committing these secret and targeted killings changing their strategy.
‘Many groups are claiming the responsibility for these killings but their root is the same…They are rooted in the two political parties,’ she said The prime minister said that the BNP-Jamaat nexus was committing these targeted killings to implement a blue print of the people who never believed in the independence of Bangladesh.
‘They are doing this just to tarnish the image of Bangladesh and halt its ongoing socio-economic progress,’ she alleged.
Referring to the killing of Mahmuda Khanam Mitu, wife of superintendent of police Babul Akter, in Chittagong, the prime minister said that the nexus was now attacking the families of their targeted people as part of a new strategy.
She said that her government was not sitting idle and all the intelligence and law enforcement agencies were working to track down the killers and their indulgers.
‘It is now crystal clear who created Bangla Bhai, gave indemnity to the killers of the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, carried out grenade attack on my rally and killed Awami League leaders Ahsanullah Master and Shah AMS Kibria,’ she said.
The prime minister called on the people to keep an eye on their sons and relatives whether they were getting involved in any militant activities and urged them to help the police to find the whereabouts of the killers and arrest them.
She said that those who were killing others in the name of Islam could never be Muslims as Islam allowed no killing. ‘Those who commit these killings are a small group but they are demeaning Islam,’ she added.
Hasina said that her visit to Saudi Arabia opened new doors for Bangladesh as Saudi Arabia, which was seen as a labour market, would now appear as an investor country.
She said that during meetings, businessmen of Saudi Arabia expressed keen interest to invest in different sectors in Bangladesh.
The prime minister informed journalists that a business delegation would come to Bangladesh from Jeddah chamber after the holy month of Ramadan and a memorandum of understanding would be signed with Al Bawani Group.
She said that she was against the proposed separation between Britain the European Union through a referendum as the separation would limit the scope for trade.
As for cutting diplomatic ties with Pakistan for anti-Bangladesh role, Hasina said that she was against cutting ties with anybody and the ties with Pakistan would continue.
Source: New Age