By Arifur Rahman Rabbi, Afrose Jahan Chaity, & Md Sanaul Islam Tipu The reported abduction of noted litterateur and columnist Farhad Mazhar, who went missing in the wee hours on Monday from his Dhaka residence, remains cloaked in mystery as it is still unclear who abducted him and why. He was rescued in Jessore’s Nawapara area later in the day, sparking speculations over his mysterious disappearance. Later, Farhad was brought to Dhaka on Tuesday around…
Posts published in “Bangladesh”
Gaibandha: More than a hundred members of law enforcement agencies began ‘anti-militant’ raids in remote areas of Gaibandha’s Sadar upazila on Wednesday morning. A joint team of counterterrorism unit members and local police began the raids in the Kamarjani and Mollachar of upazila, looking for suspected militant hideouts there. Gainbandha Sadar upazila police station officer-in-charge Mehedi Hassan told Prothom Alo this morning that the raids were being conducted in search of militant hideouts. He also…
By Arifur Rahman Rabbi & Md Tauhid-Uz-Zaman in Jessore And Hedait Hossain Molla in Khulna Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) found missing litterateur and columnist Farhad Mazhar in Abhaynagar upazila, Jessore late last night. The noted columnist had gone missing on Monday morning. A team of RAB 6 rescued him from a Dhaka-bound bus of Hanif Paribahan in the upazila’s Noapara area around 11:30pm, RAB Legal and Media Wing Director Mufti Mahmud Khan confirmed to the…
Arising in extreme brutality, neo JMB still poses as a threat to public safety. While several of its top leaders have been killed in operations of the law enforcement agencies, the organisation is trying to get back on its feet with new leadership. Its present leader is Kamrul alias Asad, who may have other aliases too. Neo JMB reportedly had even been planning a large scale attack this Ramadan. Certain officials of the law enforcement…
Report in The Daily Star, July 3, 2017 Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque believes militants will not be able to carry out attacks as their strength has been reduced through continued police operations since the Holey Artisan attack. He admitted that militancy wasn’t uprooted altogether, and stressed that its network was destroyed. Most of the senior militant leaders were either killed or captured in police raids, he said talking to reporters at…
Report in The Daily Star, July 03, 2017 Green activists yesterday reiterated that the government should backtrack on the proposed Rampal power plant to be built in the vicinity of the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, with a session of Unesco World Heritage Committee ongoing over the listing of “heritage sites in danger”. The United Nations and the International Union for Conservation of Nature have already warned the government not to build the plant,…
by Sheikh Sabiha Alam in Prothom Alo, July 2, 2017 Bangladesh Islamic Foundation has a service offering explanations and information on Islamic issues. A Robi or Banglalink cell phone subscriber can call 8155 to talk directly to the Islamic scholars or alem of the foundation. They offer explanations on preventing and countering militancy. After the attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, the most important tool to draw youth away from militancy was ‘counter narrative’.…
by Mohammad Jamil Khan in The Dhaka Star, July 2, 2017 The country’s policing system has been witnessing significant changes in the aftermath of the grisly Holey Artisan attack. The capacity of police has been strengthened to counter religious extremism. Workshops are being organised for police members to make them aware of militancy and how to deal with the menace. Counterterrorism teams have been formed in all 64 districts in the last four months to…
Report in The Dhaka Star, July 2, 2017 Kushtia: Counterterrorism officials claimed to have arrested three suspected female militants, including the wife of “Neo JMB” chief Ayub Bachchu, raiding a hideout in Kushtia’s Bheramara yesterday. The hideout busted in the drive, codenamed “Tepid Punch”, was a safe haven for the top leaders, including ameer and Shura members of the banned militant outfit, claimed police. The arrestees are Tithi Khatun, 32, wife of Ayub Bachchu alias…
by Mohiuddin Ahmad in Prothom Alo, June 23, 2017 at 22:10 hrs The author is a writer and researcher 23 June is a significant date for Awami League. This is the day it was founded 68 long years ago in 1949. Political parties crop up like mushrooms in this country and then suddenly burst like bubbles into nothingness. And parties have been split into factions time and again. Even Awami League has had its share…
by Tarek Mahmud in Dhaka Tribune, June 22, 2017 at 08:51 PM Hundreds of organisations have mushroomed across the country over the last decade, claiming to be adherents of the ruling party Awami League’s ideology. None of these organisations have official status as AL affiliates, but they nevertheless use names that appear Awami League-ish, giving them a veil of legitimacy. Individual party leaders are often seen attending events organised by such groups, but they do…