Queen in hospital with stomach bug

The Queen is in hospital as a precaution, while she is assessed for symptoms of gastroenteritis, Buckingham Palace says.The 86-year-old monarch has been taken to King Edward VII Hospital in London, a palace spokesman said.

She was driven to hospital in a private car on Sunday afternoon. The palace said she was "in good spirits".

All official engagements for this week, including the Queen's trip to Rome, will be either cancelled or postponed.

She had earlier carried out a medal presentation at Windsor Castle, where she has been resting over the weekend.

The Queen, like many other people, is reluctant to disclose too much detail about the state of her health.

For a woman who has lived for decades on a very public stage, this is information she regards as private.

So, for this first hospital stay in 10 years, we know the 86-year-old monarch is in "good spirits". She is not bed-ridden. She has been up and about.

Officials say she will be assessed over the next two days.

Her treatment for a condition which can cause vomiting and diarrhoea, and which her aides will not discuss, could include re-hydration and tests to establish if the illness has been caused by an infection or an underlying problem.

Her brief time in hospital will offer the Queen time to rest and give her staff an opportunity to examine the workload of an octogenarian who has no intention of retiring.

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A spokesman for the Queen said she was in "good health", besides the symptoms of gastroenteritis.

He said: "This is a precautionary measure.

"She was not taken into hospital immediately after feeling the symptoms. This is simply to enable doctors to better assess her."

Prime Minister David Cameron sent his "best wishes" to the Queen, adding in a tweet: "I hope she makes a speedy recovery."

The BBC's royal correspondent Peter Hunt says the Queen will remain in hospital under observation for about two days.

She was last in hospital 10 years ago for a minor knee operation.

The BBC's Ben Ando, outside the central London hospital, says there is a small police presence and members of the press from around the world have gathered near the entrance.

There is no sign of any visitors to the Queen as yet, says our correspondent.

News of her illness emerged on Friday night, and she was forced to cancel a trip to Swansea on Saturday to mark St David's Day in a military ceremony.

Gastroenteritis causes inflammation of the stomach lining and intestines.

The infection can be transmitted through contact with an infected person or contaminated food and drink. Symptoms can include vomiting, fever and stomach ache.

The Queen's treatment, which has not been disclosed, could include rehydration and tests to establish if the illness has been caused by an infection or an underlying problem.

Gastroenteritis is an infection of the stomach and large intestine, which affects about one in five people in the UK each year.

The two most common causes in adults are the norovirus and food poisoning.

It prevents normal absorption of water from the contents of your digestive system, causing diarrhoea.

Most cases clear up after a few days without any need for medical treatment. The key is to drink plenty of water.

However, severe symptoms can cause dehydration, which left untreated can potentially be fatal.

In these cases hospital treatment to replace lost fluids may be necessary.

People who are ill with other health problems, or the elderly, may be more vulnerable to dehydration.

The Queen had been due to spend two days in Rome with the Duke of Edinburgh next weekend, at the invitation of Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano.

It is not now clear whether the visit will be re-scheduled.

A reception at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday for MPs and MEPs will go ahead with other members of the royal family present.

According to the BBC's royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell, the Queen may well have gone to hospital slightly unwillingly, as her inclination is not to make a fuss.

During last year's celebrations for the Diamond Jubilee, the Queen spent a rain-drenched day journeying down the Thames as part of the river pageant - after which her husband, the 91-year-old Duke of Edinburgh, was taken to hospital with a bladder infection.

The bench of justices AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury and Mahmudul Hoque issued the suo moto rule following newspaper reports regarding the incident.

The court ordered the government to undertake repair of the houses of the affected Hindu familie - See more at: http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/03/03/hc-pulls-up-government#sthash.efoynBpq.dpufThe bench of justices AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury and Mahmudul Hoque issued the suo moto rule following newspaper reports regarding the incident.

The court ordered the government to undertake repair of the houses of the affected Hindu familie - See more at: http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/03/03/hc-pulls-up-government#sthash.efoynBpq.dpuf

- See more at: http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/03/03/hc-pulls-up-government#sthash.efoynBpq.dpuf

The court ordered the government to undertake repair of the houses of the affected Hindu families.

It issued a rule asking why no orders should be given to take legal measures and arrest those responsible for the attacks.

The court has asked the Senior Assistant Secretary of the Home Ministry, Inspector General of Police, the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police of Noakhali district and Begumganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge to respond to the rule within 10 days.

They would also have to submit a report on the progress of their action over the court’s direction.

Activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir on Thursday set fire to the Hindu houses and temples in Noakhali hours after Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee was awarded death sentence by the International Crimes Tribunal-1.

Right after the verdict, leaders and activists of Jamaat and Shibir took out a procession at Begumganj upazila and then carried out the violent attacks.

Several newspapers and media outlets including bdnews24.com reported the attacks at Alampur and Aladinnagar villages at Rajganj union under the upazila. - See more at: http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/03/03/hc-pulls-up-government#sthash.efoynBpq.dpuf

Youths begin anti-hartal procession from Gonojagoron Mancha Shahbagh intersection

BANGLADESH NEWS

The Shahbagh demonstrators started a procession in the capital on Monday to protest the Jamaat-e-Islami-sponsored countrywide hartal.

Several hundred people joined the anti-hartal procession that began from Shahbagh intersection, now christened Projonmo Chattar, around 11:00am.

The procession will parade through Bangla Motor and Karwan Bazar before retuning to Shahbagh.

Earlier, people from all walks of life started to converge at the intersection since the morning defying hartal.

On Sunday, the demonstrators held a rally Bahadur Shah Park in Old Dhaka.

As part of its nationwide programmes announced on February 21, there will be a grand rally at Jatrabari in the capital at 3:00pm on Tuesday and at Suhrawardy Udyan at the same time on March 7.

Commemorating the International Women's Day on March 8, there will be a rally held at the Projonmo Chattar under the banner of “Nari Gonojagoron Mancha,”

The Shahbagh movement began on February 5, hours after Jamaat assistant secretary general Abdul Quader Mollah was sentenced to life in prison for rape, killing and genocide during country's Liberation War in 1971.

Rejecting the verdict, Bloggers and Online Activist Network initiated the protest that soon turned into a mass movement.

Jamaat-e-Islami Hartal progressing amid stray incidents,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

The second day of the two-day hartal called by Jamaat-e-Islami is progressing amid some stray incidents across the country on Monday.

The incidents of detain, arson and picketing were reported from the capital, Barisal and Jhenidah districts.

In Dhaka, police picked up five people suspecting them as Jamaat-Shibir activists when they brought out a brisk procession at Banasri around 7:30am, said Sirajul Islam, officer-in-charge of Khilgaon Police Station.

Police detained two more pickets for their attempt to vandalise a pick-up van at Shyambazar in Old Dhaka around 7:45am, said Rafiqul Islam, OC of Sutrapur Police Station.

Besides, a passenger was injured as he jumped off a BRTC bus when hartal supporters tried to vandalise the vehicle at Dhalpur around 6:45am.

Our Barisal correspondent reports, at least three people were injured when pro-hartal activists clashed with police in the city.

The hartal supporters torched two motorcycles of the BCL activists after they joined police during the clash.

Witnesses said the pro-hartal activists brought out a procession from Bagia Madrasa, on the outskirts of the city, around 7:00am.

Being resistance by police at the entrance of the city, they threw brick chips targeting the law enforcers, prompting the team to lob at least three teargas shells.

Police also used two sound grenades to disperse the activists.

In Jhenidah, at least 1,500 Jamaat-Shibir men damaged railway tracks at Rajapur level crossing in Kotchandpur upazila around 3:00am, halting train movement on Khulna-Ishwardi route for an hour.

On information, members of police, Rapid Action Battalion and Border Guard Bangladesh rushed to the spot and dispersed the activists.

Jamaat called the 48-hour hartal to protest against the death penalty for its Nayeb-e-Ameer Delawar Hossain Sayedee for his wartime offences.

Since a tribunal awarded death penalty to Sayedee on Thursday, a total of 63 persons were killed across the country until Sunday.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia also declared a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal for Tuesday protesting what she termed as 'genocide' the deaths in Thursday's fierce clashes between law enforcers and rioting Jamaat-Shibir men.

Jamaat-e-Islami find support in Kolkata India

BANGLADESH NEWS

The Left and the Congress , besides the liberal Bengali intelligensia, has backed the Shahbagh movement.

"I pray for the success of the Shahbagh movement," said CPI(M)'s former minister Anisur Rehman.

"The Shahbagh movement will change the future of Bangladesh for the better," said Congress MP Deepa Das Munshi, whose husband and former Indian minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi played a major role during the 1971 Liberation War.

But some minority groups here have other ideas.

The All Bengal Minority Youth Federation has come out strongly against the war crimes trials and have even gone to the extent of asking Indian president Pranab Mukherjee to cancel his trip to Bangladesh.

“Sheikh Hasina’s government is destroying democracy in Bangladesh. The Jamaat-e-Islami leaders are falsely implicated in the war crimes. This is nothing but vendetta,” said the Federation’s general secretary Mohammed Qamruzzaman.

He said in the statement that his federation will organize a protest rally in Kolkata on March 26 to raise awareness about “police atrocities in Bangladesh”.

March 26 is observed as Independence Day in Bangladesh to mark the beginning of the Liberation War on a day the Pakistan army started the genocide through its infamous “Operation Searchlight”.

Shahbagh’s ‘Ganjagaran Mancha’ has also asked the Bangladesh government to ban the Jamaat-e-Islami by March 26.

The All Bengal Minority Youth Federation , along with few other similar groups, have submitted a memorandum to Bangladesh deputy high commissioner in Kolkata, Ms Abida Islam , asking Bangladesh government to stop the persecution of the Opposition, specially the Jamaat-e-Islami.

The memorandum described the war crimes trials as a “farce”.

Meanwhile, Indian intelligence has alerted West Bengal and Assam state governments about the possible influx of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists in view of the crackdown on the Islamist party in Bangladesh.

A senior Intelligence Bureau official told bdnews24.com on condition of anonymity that some Jamaat leaders and activists who have been booked for involvement in violence may try to flee into West Bengal and Assam.

“In both these states, the Jamaat enjoys some support from a section of the minority radical groups, who may shelter their leaders and activists,” the officials said.

They said Delhi is worried because there are indications that the Jamaat may try to foment religious tensions in border districts of both countries in a “systematic way” to adversely impact on fast-improving India-Bangladesh relations.

“They have started playing the religious card in Bangladesh by attacking Hindus and their places of worship. They may provoke their supporters to do the same to unsettle the border,” he said.

Another senior official of the Indian Home Ministry said that there was a possibility that Islamic radical groups who get support from Pakistan may enter the scene to desstabilise the India-Bangladesh border in a planned way.

“We saw how the border was unsettled in the rundown to the 2001 elections in Bangladesh and we all know what was the result. That may happen again,” the Home Ministry official said.

Bagerhat, Barisal Hindu temples set ablaze Jamaat-e-Islami continued to target

BANGLADESH NEWS

“We heard that the Dumuria Sharbajaneen temple in the Ramchandrapur Union has been set on fire. We are going to the spot,” Morelganj upazila local Officer in-Charge Mohammad Aslam Uddin told bdnews24.com.

He said the residences of Narayan Chandra Basu Chowdhury, President of Awami League’s Banogram Union unit and Taposh Sen of Barurbula village under the same union were also set ablaze.

Police blamed Jamaat-Shibir for hate attacks on Hindu households and shops in southern Chittagong and Noakhali on Thursday, soon after Sayadee's death verdict was announced.

Jamaat, however, refuted the allegations.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Bagerhat, Pankaj Candra Ray has already visited the spots.

Bagerhat SP Khandaker Rafiqul Islam has described the incidents as ‘mysterious’.

“The victims are not making any specific complaints. We are trying to identify the perpetrators through investigation. We can’t say anything before the probe ends,” he said.

Basu Chowdhury, however, said the activists of BNP might have carried out the attacks.

Nabogram Union parishad Chairman and also President of BNP’s Nabogram union unit Abdul Zobber Molla that the allegations are false.

On Thursday night, miscreants vandalised a Hindu temple at Pingjour village at Chingrekhali union in the same upazila.

A case was later filed at the Morrelganj Police Station accusing some unknown men over the attack.

Meanwhile, the local administration has slapped a ban on public gathering for nine hours from 9am at the district’s Foylahat Bazar area of Rampal upazila after Awami League and Jamaat-e-Islami announced to hold rallies at the same place and at the same time.

Police said another Hindu temple at Nalcira union at Gauranadi upazila of Barisal was set on fire in the early hours of Saturday.

The affected Pinglakathi Sharbajaneen Durga Mandir’s committee chief Nabakrishna Dutta blamed ‘unknown miscreants’ for the incident.

Gauranadi Police Station OC Abul Kalam said Dutta filed a case in the morning.

“We are yet to arrest anyone over the case,’ he said.

Locals told some of students and teachers of an adjacent madrasa have been absconding following the incident.

bdnews24.com Correspondent said another statue was vandalised in Gazipur’s Kashimpur area.

Jamaat-e-Islami targets transport,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

Their main target appeared to be trans-Bangladesh road-rail links, as the sabotage and the attacks were focussed on railway tracks,loaded trucks and buses. Road blockades were further meant to cause disruption in movement of goods and people outside Dhaka.

A certain facebook page believed to be under Islami Chhatra Shibir control had posted directions to isolate Dhaka from rest of the country.

Communications

Bogra Railway Station was set on fire Sunday morning, said Bogra Railway Station Master Belal Hossain. Fire Service officials said they were blocked en route to douse fires.

Three coaches of inter-city ‘Silk City’ were set on fire on Saturday night in Rajshahi Railway Station, said its station Master Anisur Rahman. He however, did not say who committed the sabotage.

Rail link with Noakhali was disrupted for six hours later at 9am Sunday morning after ‘miscreants’ had uprooted rail tracks at Bipulasar area on the Noakhali-Laksham route, Noakhali Railway Station Master Maniklal Das said.

However, security at Kamalapur Railway Station in Dhaka was raised with additional security measures, said the station’s Station Master Sakhawat Hossain Khan.

Police and authorities have blamed all railway sabotages on the Jamaat, saying it was all part of a plan of extensive disruption.

Roads across several districts have been blocked for the past few days. Clashes erupt whenever police intervenes. Casualties have followed when police or borderguards have opened fire.

Scores of tourists were stranded at Cox’s Bazar unable to return for days due to road blockades.

Even on Sunday, Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Jatrabari was blocked with logs and burning tyres. Attempts were on to set up road blockades at Chittagong, Noakhali, Rajshahi, Kustia and several other areas.

Buses on these roads were damaged. Trucks plying in most areas faced attacks.

Jamaat men are attacking trucks mainly to cut off supplies to the districts.

Shutdown supporters set a loaded truck on fire in Benapole land port area, officials said. Operations at port were normal despite the strike.

The reported facebook post had asked to paralyse all launch and bus terminals.

Police

Jamaat-Shibir activists have also been waging attacks on police for the past few days. Several policemen were killed and many more were injured in the attacks.

Reports of attacks on a police station and four police outposts in Bogra pointed to a 'coordinated pattern'.

The idea appears to be to force the police to be confined to barracks, outposts or stations in a defensive mode which will allow the Jamaat-Shibir activists to run amok and paralyse life elsewhere.

Casualties also sustained during the attacks helps raise the pitch of anti-government criticism.

The facebook post had directed to lay seige to all police stations in Bangladesh .

Police however said they were prepared for any eventuality.

The International Crimes Tribunal-1 sentenced Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee to death on Thursday.

What was an apparent peaceful Jamaat shutdown on that day, became violent nationwide soon after the verdict was delivered. At least 40 casualties were incurred till Saturday.

Jamaat had warned of a ‘civil war’ on Feb 4, the day before Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Abdul Quader Molla was sentenced life in prison.

Jamaat-e-Islami Nine die in Bogra violence,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

Faced with the spate of violence, the local administration has issued Section 144 in the municipality area for an unspecified period of time.

Meanwhile, those who went to the area to repair the damaged rail tracks were forced to return as they were not allowed to carry out the work.

Jamaat and Shibir activists were beckoned following announcements made through loudspeakers of various mosques from the early hours of the day. Processions were out by dawn, ultimately leading the attacks.

Jamaat-Shibir activists launched coordinated attacks on police outposts at Naruli, Fulbari, Stadium and Mokamtala after 5am, said Bogra Sadar Police Station Sub-Inspector Lutfur Rahman.

Police were compelled to beat a retreat from the outposts in the face of violent attacks.

Soon after, a violent Jamaat mob of hundreds attacked the Shahjahanpur Police Station, forcing police to fire in self-defence, the station’s Inspector Atiur Rahman told. “Three were killed on spot in the firing.”

Bangladesh Army personnel have been called in to guard the police station but they returned in the evening, he added.

Jamaat activists vandalized the office of ‘Muktijoddha Command Council’ at Shahjahanpur.

After the attack on the police station and the out-posts, sporadic clashes between Jamaat-Shibir activists and the police were reported from Shibganj, Shahjahanpur, Bogra zero-point and several other areas.

Shutdown supporters attacked a RAB vehicle at Bogra Sadar's Yakubia school intersection at around 7.30am, witnesses said. It started with a chain of clashes as RAB fought back. At least two people were killed in this incident.

A youth, Alamgir Hossain died of bullet injuries, local sources said. Police did not confirm the death.

Another youth Titu died before he could be taken to the hospital, said Siddique Hossain, a doctor of the emergency unit of Bogra Shaheed Zia Medical College. Thirteen more people were admitted to the hospital with bullet injuries.

Korotoa Courier Service and private television channel ATN Bangla’s local office were vandalised and torched, witnesses say.

Authorities had imposed section 144 on the Bogra municipal area for an indefinite period of time, Assistant Police Superintendent Mokbul Hossain told Bogra Correspondent.

“The local administration announced section 144 and banned all forms of gatherings”, he said.

Jamaat supporters torched the house of district Awami League President Mamtazuddin at Kalitala at around 6.30am despite the prohibitory orders.

District Awami League Legal Affairs Secretary Aman Ullah told that Jamaat supporters first tried to vandalise the house while shouting slogans but then set it on fire before running away.

People from the area soon doused the flames.

They also attempted to vandalise and set fire to the house of MP for Bogra-1 constituency, Abdul Mannan, leaders of the Awami League said.

Hundreds of Jamaat supporters, brandishing sticks, attacked the Bogra Railway Station and damaged it by setting the platform on fire at around 8am, said Station Master Belal Hossain. They set the station’s platform and official papers on fire.

The pro-shutdown activists uprooted the rail tracks near the Governement Azizul Haque College and Shahartali’s Saabgram area. Rail service was suspended following the attacks.

Jamaat-Shibir activists attacked the upazila Awami League office and set it on fire. They also attacked the residence of Upazila Awami League President Mizanur Rahman, OC Monirul Islam of Dupchachira Police Station said.

At one point the pro-shutdown activists attempted to cordon off the station, said OC Monirul.

Nandigram UNO office was vandalised and set on fire, said OC Aminur Rahman of Nandigram Police Station.

Several stalls of the Trade Fair organised by Bogra Chamber of Commerce were set on fire in city’s Gudarpara after 10am, said a leaseholder Abdul Matin.

Bogra’s Thanthania Fire Service & Civil Defence Station Officer Sohel Rana told bdnews24.com that they were aware of the arson but their engines could not reach there since strike supporters had placed blockades on the roads with tree trunks.

"Our cars cannot pass… We are being threatened.”

Sadar Police Station Sub-Inspector Lutfor Rahman said, “BGB members are here alongside the police. We are trying our best to maintain law and order.”

Jamaat-Shibir men unleashed nationwide violence soon after their leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee was sentenced to death on Thursday. At least 40 people were killed in Bangladesh until Saturday.

Jamaat has called for 48-hour shutdown beginning Sunday, while the BNP has called for a strike on Tuesday.

Rail repair obstructed

The repair team was obstructed by a group of men when they went to Government Azizul Haque College and Saabgram areas with GRP Police, Bogra Rail Station Master Belal Hossain said. So the repair could not be done.

Khaleda Zia says ‘no’ to Indian President Pranab Mukherjee

BANGLADESH NEWS

The Leader of the Opposition was scheduled to meet Mukheree at 4.30pm Sunday, but a senior aide had already told the High Commission that she would not be able to make it, the spokesperson said.

“Vice Chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury has informed the Indian High Commissioner of her decision,” the spokesperson said. “There are security issues during the strike.”

”The courtesy call is scheduled to held at a time when the Jamaat is enforcing a shutdown,” he said. “We have informed the Indian High Commission Khaleda will not be able to reach Sonargaon Hotel due to security reasons,”

India's first Bengali President Pranab Mukherjee arrived in Dhaka on Sunday noon amid a shutdown called by the Jamaat-e-Islami to protest against the war crimes trials.

A special flight carrying the President and his entourage, including first lady Suvra Mukherjee, touched down at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 12.30pm.

Mukherjee hails from West Bengal's Birbhum district, but the first lady's roots are in Bangladesh, where her relatives still live in Narail.

The Indian president was welcomed with a 21-gun salute, followed by the usual red carpet.

Bangladesh’s President Zillur Rhaman received him at the airport.

This is Mukherjee 's first tour to any country after taking over as President in Aug 2012.

He will call on the President Zillur Rahman on Monday and receive the Bangladesh Liberation War Honour Award from him.

He will also meet with the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, leader of the opposition and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad Abdul Hamid, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, and Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith.

He is also expected to meet Jatiya Party Chairman Husain Mohammad Ershad.

Jamaat-e-Islami guru Ghulam Azam's was like Hitler in Germany

BANGLADESH NEWS

Prosecutor Zead-Al-Malum drew the analogy to point out before first war crimes tribunal that Azam, indicted for five war crimes charges, did not need to be on any government committee.

International Crimes Tribunal – 1 Chairman Justice A T M Fazle Kabir asked at one point during the prosecutor’s closing arguments whether the former Jamaat chief was on any official committees. “Does his name appear on any committees?”

Prosecutor Malum replied that Azam, then head of Jamaat’s East Pakistan unit, was the one who made things happen. “He was the one making all the decisions, why would he need to be on any committee? Being Hitler was enough for Hitler in World War II.”

“But he was a military chief, that was different,” replied the tribunal chief.

Malum said, “Ghulam Azam in Bangladesh was like Hitler in Germany. He did not need to be on any committees.”

The prosecutor also pointed out to the court that it was on Azam’s nomination that two of his party members went on to become cabinet members during the war.

The tribunal urged the prosecution, with the defence absent on account of a general strike, to wrap up the closing arguments quickly and move on.

Prosecutor Sultan Mahmud summed up all the charges including murder of one Siru Miah, his son and 36 others in Brahmanbaria where Azam was alleged to have written a letter effectively sealing their fate.

The prosecution holds that Siru Miah’s wife had gotten in touch with Azam through a relative and pleaded that he writes a letter to the authorities who had detained him, which Ghulam Azam did.

It is alleged that Azam, instead of instructing the authorities to release Siru Miah, who had sided with the liberation efforts, had in fact instructed that he be executed.

Sultan Mahmud summed up all the charges and handed over to Zead-Al-Malum who began to argue on legal points.

The tribunal at one point said that the prosecution was taking longer than necessary.

“You will be given an opportunity to argue on the legal points after the defence sums up its case anyway. There is no need to argue on those points,” said Justice Kabir.

The prosecution is expected to resume its arguments on Monday.

Earlier in the morning a junior member of the defence first apologised on behalf of his senior lawyers and prayed for an adjournment.

Mostly full members of the Jamaat-e-Islami, defence lawyers refrain from attending court whenever there is a general strike.

A key ally of the main opposition BNP, Jamaat is enforcing a 48-hour shutdown from Sunday morning in protest against the death sentence handed down to its senior leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee on Thursday.

The BNP has called for another country-wide strike till 6pm on Tuesday.
Jamaat Guru in ICT-1

On Dec 12, 2011, the prosecution brought a 52-point charter of charges against Azam and appealed for his arrest. Later, following the tribunal order, charges were re-arranged and presented to the tribunal on Jan 5.

He was produced before the tribunal on Jan 11 and sent to jail the same day. Since that evening, the 90-year old former Carmichael College professor has been kept at the prison cell of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University for better treatment considering his delicate health.

Ghulam Azam’s indictment hearing began on Feb 15 and the court charged him on May 13.

A former chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, arguably the largest Islamist organisation in the subcontinent, Azam is allegedly among the key people who pioneered anti-liberation efforts in 1971 colluding with the Pakistani military junta of that time.

He is widely perceived to have been among core group of right-wing supporters of the Pakistani Army, who came out strongly in support of a united Pakistan.

Ghulam Azam, then chief of Jamaat, was instrumental in setting up the infamous Peace Committee at the national level. The Razakars, an auxiliary force set up mainly to actively thwart the liberation forces, are said to have been mobilised through the Peace Committees across Bangladesh.

Among the most notorious vigilante militia are the Al Badr, whose membership is said to have been mainly dominated by the Jamaat's student wing called the Islami Chhatra Sangha at that time.

The Al Badr is alleged to have spearheaded execution of the intellectual elites of Bangladesh just days before the victory on Dec 16, 1971.

Azam also spoke in favour of Pakistan to the Middle Eastern countries during the war, according to the prosecution.

He stayed in London for seven years after 1971 and returned to Bangladesh in 1978 during BNP founder Ziaur Rahman's rule. Having led Jamaat for long, Azam retired from active politics in 1999.

His party remains a key ally of the main opposition BNP. Two Jamaat leaders, also behind bars for war crimes charges, have even served as ministers during the BNP's last tenure in government between 2001 and 2006, when Azam's party was part of the ruling coalition.

Azam was indicted on five charges — 61 counts — including incitement, conspiracy, planning and complicity on May 13, 2012.

Mahbub-ul Alam Hanif calls for firm action against anarchy,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS
Speaking at a rally in front of Awami League’s party office at Dhanmondi, Hanif claimed the violence will come to an end within a day or two.

The party, which opposed Bangladesh’s independence, is enforcing a non-stop 48 shutdown across Bangladesh from Sunday protesting the death sentence awarded to their leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee.

The party activists have been involved in fierce clashes with the law enforcers since the verdict was delivered by the first war crimes tribunal for crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War.

Hanif said, ”The law enforcers remained patient (in the past few days). Any civilised political party can never create such a chaos like the way Jamaat did.”

The Joint General Secretary of the ruling Awami League also dismissed possibilities of holding talks with those who are instigating the Jamaat-Shibir men to create anarchy across the country.

“We shall hold talks with whom? With them who wants to turn Bangladesh into a failed state like Pakistan,” he asked.

He alleged BNP was pushing the nation towards anarchy by supporting those who committed crimes against humanity in 1971. He also describes BNP as ‘Pakistan’s agent’.

Gonojagoron Mancha Drawing a line in the sand?

BANGLADESH NEWS

I write in deep anguish, in deep resentment, and somewhat in despair over the recent happenings. They were blatant, in your face insults to our nationhood, to the core values of our struggle for independence. On the surface these affronts were a reaction of a bigoted minority to the historic upsurge of national ire against war criminals, and justice demanded by our youths against the criminals that was voiced over three weeks in Shahbagh Square. But deep down this is a resurgence and muscle flexing by elements that have inherited the spirit and philosophy of the forces that stood against us, and aided and collaborated with the power that had launched a war against us in 1971.

In 1971 when the Pakistan army was in a full-scale war against the civilians of Bangladesh, a cadre of people from among us formed bodies to aid the marauding army in its murderous tasks across the country. Their motivation was religion, and not ethnicity, language or culture that defined us a Bengali nation. In the name of religion this cadre perpetrated heinous crimes against their own people, and they rationalised their acts against humanity in that name.

As a sub-divisional officer in a district of Dhaka during that period, I had painfully witnessed how a leader of that cadre would obey the dictates of a Pakistani army commander who was the local martial law administrator. The leader was a lawyer by profession, but newly anointed as chairman of the Sub-divisional Peace Committee. In that capacity he would spy on all neighbourhoods and local officials, report to the army commander about concocted anti-state activities, and help the army raid local villages.

In a desperate act I was able to nab this man on some criminal charges, but none stuck until after liberation. After independence the man was arrested and I was asked to depose against him (although by that time I was no longer in charge of the sub-division). As I was leaving the court after deposition the man smiled at me from the dock and said my deposition would not hold, and that he would be soon free. I never knew if he was sentenced to jail, but I do know that many like him moved about freely without ever having to pay for their misdeeds.

The recent happenings make me feel that this is 1971 all over again. We are faced with the same ideological divide that launched us into our fight for independence. We are facing the acolytes of the same belief that wanted to deny us our nationhood on the basis of our language and ethnicity and fought against us from within. We are again witnessing resurgence of a force that had never come to terms with our right to exist as a country that put our culture, language, and ethnicity ahead of anything else.

We are again thrown back to the time when this force worked with our enemies to put an end to our struggle for independence by liquidation of our people in the darkness of night, all in the name of preserving a country that was built on a flawed ideology. Again we have a line drawn in the sand by our adversaries. And maybe it is a good thing that this is happening now.

Perhaps this new drawing of the line in the sand would not have happened had there been no Shahbagh Square uprising. Perhaps we would have allowed this cancer to grow unnoticed and gone about merrily with our politics as usual. But just as the whole Shahbagh Square movement took the nation and our political parties by storm, the fallouts of this movement also shook the nation no end.

While the biggest outcome of the movement is the reaffirmation of our faith and firm adherence to the core ideals of our Liberation War and a renewed rejection of those who opposed those ideals, another major outcome is the demonstration of people's will to reject politics that uses religion as a platform.

This post- liberation generation has shown that they no longer carry the baggage of the flawed ideology that once built a country based on religious affinity ignoring ethnicity, language and culture. The upsurge showed that in politics what figured most was honesty and integrity; adherence to the values of our independence; respect for our ethnicity and culture; and keeping religion separate from politics.

However, a parallel by-product of this movement has also been aggravation of the negative forces that have always been acting in the opposite direction. For these forces the 1971 war never ended. For these forces the ideology on which Bangladesh was founded is an anathema. The forces lay dormant for a time, but they would rise when circumstances were in their favour. In times of crisis they retreat, but regroup and reenergise when the crisis moves away. When they come back they attack with greater force and intensity.

It seems from the events of the past few days that the evil forces are flexing their muscles once again to take away the hard earned gains of our freedom. This is at a time when the majority in Bangladesh have unequivocally sworn their adherence to pursuing their dreams of a democratic society based on respect for all religions and for all humanity. This is at a time when this majority has unequivocally spurned religion based politics and its followers, particularly those who had opposed our War of Independence and had carried out murderous attacks.

The voices raised at Shahbagh Square demanded justice for an aggrieved nation for crimes that were committed against people during our War of Liberation. Unfortunately, those who we have in the dock today are a handful from among hundreds or perhaps thousands of such people who fought us on a false ideology. Maybe we can get some justice by prosecuting those we have at hand.

But what do we do about the ideologues and acolytes of this ideology who are now threatening our identity as a nation, which we are trying to build based on our core values of independence? The Shahbagh protesters may constantly remind us of these values, but how do we contain the counter values that the new-fundamentalists pose or threaten?

The enemies of our freedom struggle were not all foisted on our soil from outside. A good number came from within us, and they continue to live among us. They take the garb of religion to fight us and delude our innocent masses for their own political objectives. A ban on the activities of a political party based on its affiliation to religion may be a short term solution, but it will not be effective to alter their mindset in the long run.

For this we need a more conscious and deliberate approach to educate the whole society to take pride in our identity first as a Bengali nation, and in our culture, language and ethnicity. We need to constantly educate our next generation on this identity first, and remind them that religion and politics are separate. We need to educate them that we need religion in our personal lives and not in state politics. And that is the true drawing of a line in the sand.

The writer is a former staff member of the World Bank

Jamaat-Shibir Lie worked well Photoshopped pic of Sayedee used to instigate Bogra violence

BANGLADESH NEWS

Absurd it may look, but a picture of convicted war criminal Delawar Hossain Sayedee superimposed on the face of moon posted in Jamaat-Shibir Facebook page “Basherkella” was actually sold to a large number of people as an omen.

And that omen, to these people, is a call to fight the government and free Sayedee, a top Jamaat leader, at any cost.

This "divine" Facebook picture, posted on Saturday evening by one “Carbon Tasnim” of Faridpur, was circulated by Jamaat-Shibir activists through cell phones and computers.

The caption reads: From late Friday night to early Saturday, people from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia saw Sayedee's face (in the moon). Such an image is God's sign that true devotees are honoured in different ways.

To draw attention of the people who do not use internet, announcements were made through loudspeakers of mosques about the picture, report our correspondents from Chittagong, Rajshahi and Bogra.

Besides, many people staff members from different districts to verify if such a moon was really sighted.

In addition to using such bizarre and cheap photo manipulation for a heinous purpose, the Jamaat-Shibir men yesterday used women and children as human shields in Rajshahi and Bogra.

In the photograph, the black frame of Sayedee's spectacles and silk thread of his cap were mostly visible as the colour of those synthetic materials were more shining than his face.

The pro-Jamaat campaigners also pasted Sayedee's image on the national flag, propagating through social media that he could not be a Razakar.

The picture of Sayedee in the moon drew condemnation from Islami scholars and ridicule from regular Facebook users -- some among them are regular visitors of Basherkella page.

Several Islami scholars termed the use of this fake picture "a Jamaat-Shibir ploy" to cheat ordinary believers and exploited their religious sentiments.

According to scholars, such an act is a "great sin".

They note that such "sighting" of the moon can never happen in the light of the Quran and the Hadith.

“The sun and the moon will be the part of hell after Qayamat [Judgment Day]. Those doing this [trick] are only trying to make Sayedee a sinner and part of the hell,” said Moulana Fariduddin Mash Ud, imam of Sholakia Eidgah in Kishoreganj.

“It is funny that Jamaat-Shibir is doing this by putting Sayedee's face on a photo of the moon,” he added.

Moulana Ataullah, senior Nayeb-e-ameer of Bangladesh Khelafat Andolon, said it was not possible to see anyone's image in moon as per Islami shariah.

“This just cannot happen. It is his [Sayedee's] disciples who have been doing this,” said Ataullah, also a son of famous Islami scholar Hafezzi Huzur. “Maybe if you think of someone for long, you can see his face in the shadow of a tree even.”

The picture also prompted online bloggers and activists to make equally absurd jokes using Sayedee's pictures.

In one, for instance, Sayedee was shown as one of the three astronomers to have landed on the moon in 1969. In this picture, Neil Armstrong's face has been replaced by Sayedee's face.

Another showed Sayedee's face superimposed on the bottom of a baboon.

Gonojagoron Mancha Youths take lesson from the history Term cops, 3 others killed by Jamaat as martyrs,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

The historic ground of Bahadur Shah Park, where the mutineers of the 1857 Sepoy Rebellion were publicly hanged, yesterday resounded with the slogans of the new generation protesters who resolved to build a country based on the values of the Liberation War.

Condemning the latest surge of violence instigated by Jamaat-Shibir and the loss of lives around the country, the protesters described the six policemen and three former Chhatra League men who got killed till Saturday in the violence as “martyrs” of the Shahbagh movement.

People from all walks of life, including lawyers, businessmen, students and parents with their children, attended the rally in Old Dhaka braving the countrywide violence amid the 60-hour hartal being enforced by Jamaat and its ally BNP.

Speakers at the rally urged the people to stand up against fundamentalists and extremists to end the culture of impunity the Jamaat-Shibir enjoyed over the decades since independence in 1971.

They also denounced the attacks on minority communities in parts of the country.

“We have clearly stated that this politics of killing must stop at once,” said Imran H Sarker, the spokesperson for the Shahbagh movement.

Referring to the martyrs of the Sepoy Mutiny, Imran said, “We take our lessons from history to carry on our movement. We take lessons from the revolutionaries of Bangladesh.”

In response to the allegations from some quarters that the protest is being influenced by certain powers, Imran said, “Of course, we are being influenced ... we are being influenced by the martyrs, by the ones who you killed in 1971.”

On the question raised by some other quarters if Shahbagh was more powerful than the government, he said: “It is Shahbagh that votes and brings a government to power. Shahbagh is 16 crore people who give the responsibility for running the country.”

He strongly criticised those who are “trying to confuse the people of the country through press conferences and TV talk shows” and urged them to stop such efforts. “Stop trying to spread propaganda about the people's movement.”

As part of its nationwide programmes announced on February 21, there will be a grand rally at Jatrabari in the capital at 3:00pm tomorrow and at Suhrawardy Udyan at the same time on March 7.

Commemorating the International Women's Day on March 8, there will be a rally held at the Projonmo Chattar under the banner of “Nari Gonojagoron Mancha,” Imran said, urging all progressive women organisations and groups to join the movement that began on February 5 demanding capital punishment to all war criminals.

Women had not only been at the forefront of the Liberation War, they have also been an integral part of the Shahbagh movement, he said, adding that women would conduct the March 8 rally.

The first day of the 60-hour shutdown yesterday made no impact on the anti-hartal demonstrations with people spontaneously responding to the call from the Shahbagh protesters to denounce the Jamaat-Shibir and BNP shutdown.

Several thousand protesters brought out an anti-hartal procession from Shahbagh around 11:15am. The hour-long peaceful procession paraded through Kataban, Nilkhet, Palashi, Chankharpul, Doel Chattar and Buet before returning to the intersection.

People at different points chanted anti-hartal slogans with the protesters.

Also yesterday, leaders of Olama Mashayekh Oikya Jote joined the protest around 12:30pm and expressed solidarity with the demonstrators.

killed by Jamaat-Shibir Bangladesh Policemen

BANGLADESH NEWS

In utter inhumanity, Jamaat-Shibir men yesterday gauged out one eye of a policeman and hacked him indiscriminately to death at Sanatanpur police camp under Harinakundo upazila in Jhinaidah.

With the murder of constable Omar Faruque, the death toll of law enforcers rose to six in a countrywide reign of terror that Jamaat-e-Islami and its student body Islami Chhatra Shibir unleashed on Thursday in protest at the death sentence of war criminal Delawar Hossain Sayedee.

Earlier, four policemen were killed in Gaibandha and one in Chittagong, Additional Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Haque told last night.

Another four policemen had been critically injured and were now fighting for life while 300 others had sustained injuries in clashed between Jamaat-Shibir men and law enforcers, he said.

“They [Jamaat-Shibir] want to weaken police's morale by attacking and killing them."

The policemen were either beaten or hacked to death by Jamaat-Shibir men. In some incidents, marauding Jamaat-Shibir activists gauged out eyes of law enforcers and even jabbed a sharp weapon in their heads to confirm the deaths.

The law enforcers fell victim when they tried to resist unruly protesters to save lives and public property. In many cases, they came under attacks all of a sudden.

Attacking law enforcers is not new for Jamaat-Shibir but such attacks has been intensified after the International Crimes Tribunal-1 sentenced Sayedee to death on charges of murder, rape and forced conversion during the 1971 Liberation War.

According to the country's law, any kind of attack on policemen is punitive offence. It is said in the law that the offender will be awarded three years' imprisonment or fine or both if charges of "assault or use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty" is proved.

But Jamaat-Shibir men went to the extent that they killed so many law enforcers in the last four days.

One of the most brutal killings took place yesterday at Sanatanpur police camp under Harinakundo upazila where eight policemen had just been deployed to contain law and order situation there.

Over 3,000 Jamaat�"Shibir men came rushing to the police post from all direction, taking the law enforcers off guard. They hacked the policemen.

Injured all over his body, Omar Faruque was groaning with pain but the unruly mob continued hacking him. At one point one of his eyes was gauged out. By the time the Jamaat-Shibir men left the scene, Faruque was dead. Four of his colleagues with severe injuries somehow managed their way into hospital.

On Thursday, Jamaat-Shibir men locked at least 19 policemen up in a community centre in Lohagara, Chittagong and set the place on fire after the law enforcers had taken shelter there to escape attacks.

Another group of police then rushed there and rescued them. But one policeman was snatched by Jamaat-Shibir men and hacked to death before he could enter the community centre. To confirm the death of Tarakul Islam, the attackers jabbed a sharp weapon in his head.

Hundreds of Jamaat-Shibir men attacked a police outpost at Banondanga railway station in Sunderganj of Gaibandha on the same day and beaten to death three policemen, who were unarmed at that time.

Injured in the same attack, another policeman died on Friday.

At least 66 people were killed, including the law-enforcers, and scores others injured in the last four days in attacks by Jamaat-Shibir men.

Bangladesh 19 more killed Jamaat-Shibir unleashes another wave of terror in 5 districts during first day of hartal

BANGLADESH NEWS

It was all lies -- outright and outrageous -- but it worked. Jamaat's propaganda machine used a photoshopped image of Delawar Hossain Sayedee's face on the moon yesterday to entice people to unleash a second wave of terror that left at least 19 people, including a policeman, dead in five districts.

Bogra witnessed the worst, as Jamaat-Shibir men assembled locals through repeated announcements over loudspeakers that "Sayedee's face was seen on the moon and it's your holy duty to save him; otherwise, we all will go to hell”. Around 4 in the morning, they launched into attacks on police in different upazilas.

At least nine people were killed in Bogra, six in Joypurhat, two in Rajshahi, one in Satkhira and a policeman in Jhenidah in a deadly spate of violence throughout the day.

Three women were among the dead in Bogra, as Jamaat men used women and children as a human shield during the attacks on law enforcers.

The situation worsened to such an extent that the local administration had to seek the army's help to protect the Shahjahanpur Police Station in Bogra.

At least 63 people have died since Jamaat-Shibir activists went on the rampage on Thursday after a war crimes tribunal sentenced Sayedee to death.

Yesterday was the first day of Jamaat's two-day hartal to protest Thursday's police action.

Meanwhile, Border Guard Bangladesh personnel were deployed in the capital around 8:00pm to ward off violence.

In Bogra, activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir tricked hundreds of villagers into taking to the streets in the early morning, and launching attacks on law enforcers.

They clashed with law enforcers, attacked a police station and six outposts, vandalised and torched different offices. At least four people, including three women, died in Shahjahanpur upazila, three in Bogra Sadar and two in Shibganj upazila.

The violence that began around 4:00am came to a halt after four hours following news of troops deployment. However, army personnel were called back around 6:00pm.

People in different upazilas said they heard announcements over loudspeakers in the early hours on Sunday that Sayedee's image was seen on the moon.

Moved by the announcements, hundreds of people, mostly from Shahjahanpur, Kahalu, Shibganj and Dupchanchia upazilas, came out of their houses and started marching towards Bogra Sadar upazila headquarters, protesting the death penalty to Sayedee.

A few thousand people attacked Shahjahanpur Police Station near the Bogra Cantonment, around 6:00am.

"They beat up policemen indiscriminately in a surprise attack,” Mahmudul Alam, officer-in-charge of the police station,

Police opened fire to bring the situation under control, said Bogra Superintendent of Police Mozammel Haq.

Four people died there.

Atiar Rahman, an inspector of the police station, identified the four as Arjinba Begum, 45, Monjila Begum, 48, Achhia Begum, 45, and Abdur Rahman, 60.

The protesters set fire to the house of Momtaz Uddin, president of district AL unit, in the town.

The vandalism continued for nearly 50 minutes. Three more persons died in clashes in Bogra Sadar.

Their identities could not be known.

Section 144 was imposed in Bogra municipality from 7:00am to contain violence, and it would remain in force until further orders, said Arifuzzaman, nezarat deputy collector in Bogra.

In a statement, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) condemned attacks on the house of FBCCI director Momtaz Uddin, business establishments and the office of Rajshahi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Joypurhat witnessed a spate of violence, as pro-hartal activists clashed with police in Panchbibi and Sadar upazila. At least six persons were killed and 30 others were hit by bullets during the clashes.

The dead are Nasir Uddin, 18, of Bashkur village, Hasib Uddin, 50, of Baramanik, Forman Ali, 30 of Rasulpur, Abdul Hakim, 32, of Salaipur, Mojidul Islam, 35, of Kashra village, and Abdul Bari, 24, of Rahmatpur village.

Five of them were killed in Panchbibi and the other in Joypurhat sadar, said sources.

Jamaat-Shibir activists swooped on police in front of Joypurhat Palli Bidyut Samity office around 11:00am, prompting police to fire shots. One person was killed on the spot.

Another group of Jamaat men gathered at Panchbibi Bazar to lay siege to the Panchbibi Police Station. As they marched towards the police station, BGB and police personnel fired shots, leaving two persons dead.

Three of the injured later died at Panchbibi Health Complex.

Md Hamidul Islam, superintendent of police in Joypurhat, confirmed that three persons died in the clashes.

However, Fazlur Rahman, Jamaat ameer in Joypurhat, said six persons were killed during the clashes in Panchbibi and Joypurhat.

Section 144 was imposed in Panchbibi and Joypurhat sadar following the clashes.

OTHER DISTRICTS

Jamaat men launched attacks on law enforcers at Godagari upazila in Rajshahi, leaving at least two persons dead and 30 people injured.

The dead are Rafiqul Islam, 12, of Godagari municipality, and Mojahid Hossain, 45, activist of Jamaat municipality unit and Imam of Mohishalbari mosque, said Wahidul Islam, officer-in-charge of Godagari Police Station.

Section 144 was slapped in the municipality for an indefinite period after the clash, said Godagari Upazila Nirbahi Officer Tuhinur Alam.

Witnesses said the clash erupted when more than 500 Jamaat-Shibir men barricaded the Chapainawabganj-Rajshahi highway with logs, and burnt tyres around 9:00am.

Another group of pickets chased law enforcers at the cinema hall intersection, damaged vehicles and threw brickbats at police.

At one stage, the pickets fired shots and threw cocktails at the law enforcers.

In retaliation, police and BGB personnel fired over 100 rounds of rubber bullets to disperse the attackers, said OC Wahidul.

Pro-hartal activists also put up barricades on Chapainawabganj-Rajshahi road at Abhoyer intersection, on Rajshahi-Naogaon road in Mohonpur upazila and Rajshahi-Natore road at Kharkhari around 9:00am.

In Jhenidah, Jamaat-Shibir men hacked to death a policeman and gouged out his eye at Sanatanpur police camp in Harinakundo upazila.

They attacked the police camp, forcing the on-duty policemen to retreat to the headquarters. They soon caught up with the policemen and hacked them indiscriminately.

The Jamaat activists hacked Constable Omar Faruque to death and gouged out his eye.

Several seriously injured policemen were admitted to the hospital.

Nearly 3,000 Jamaat-Shibir and BNP activists also brought out a procession in Harinakundo upazila.

Jamaat men vandalised establishments in the upazila and set fire to government offices. Police lobbed teargas canisters and fired rubber bullets to disperse them.

At least one person was killed and seven others, including three BGB members, were injured in a clash between BGB personnel and Jamaat activists at Raichhpur in Sadar thana, two kilometres away from Satkhira town.

Lt Col Abu Basir of BGB in Satkhira said Jamaat men attacked two BGB vans near the border around 12:00pm, prompting the BGB personnel to fire shots.

A Jamaat supporter was killed and three BGB members were injured in the incident.

A clash between Jamaat men and Awami League activists ensued at Nalta, when ruling party men tried to prevent Jamaat-Shibir activists from carrying out vandalism.

In Chittagong, clashes and gunfights between Jamaat men and Rab personnel left at least 14 people injured at Shekher Khil in Banskhali upazila.

Vehicular movement on Chittagong-Cox's Bazar highway remained suspended, as Jamaat-Shibir men barricaded the highway with logs.

Meanwhile, pro-hartal activists in Pabna put up barricades on the Dhaka-Pabna and Pabna-Kushtia highways after Fajr prayers. They also attacked the house of an AL union unit president and five shops at Ataikula.

Jamaat-Shibir men also felled hundreds of roadside trees and blocked the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf-Arakan road since Saturday night. They also swooped on law enforcers at Ukhia upazila in Cox's Bazar, leaving at least five policemen injured.

India to keep promises Pranab assures Hasina; thanks Bangladesh for Liberation War honour,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH INDIA

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has firmly said his country is committed to implement all agreed decisions with Bangladesh.

Pranab said this when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made a courtesy call on him at Sonargaon Hotel in the capital yesterday.

The Indian president and his wife arrived in Dhaka in the afternoon on a three-day official visit.

"India is pledged-bound to implement all assurances it has given to Bangladesh," Foreign Minister Dipu Moni told reporters, quoting Pranab as saying after the meeting.

The Indian president and the premier discussed all issues of bilateral interests and sub-regional cooperation during the meeting, Dipu Moni said.

Pranab also said the Indian parliament would ratify the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh in its current budget session, she told reporters.

The Indian president expressed his firm optimism about the singing of the Teesta Water Sharing Treaty after discussions with the concerned Indian states.

He, however, didn't mention any timetable for the signing of the agreement, the foreign minister said.

At the meeting, the Indian president highly praised Hasina for her initiative to build up a sub-regional cooperation among Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan in different areas.

"We could explore the area of sub-regional cooperation as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina first visualised the conception and took the initiative," Pranab said.

He also extended his sincere thanks and expressed gratitude for conferring "Friends of Liberation War Honour" to him and others for their support to the cause of Bangladesh in 1971.

"Indian soldiers have fought for liberation of many countries across the world and embraced martyrdom. But, Bangladesh is the only nation which has honoured us with the recognition," Pranab said.

"That is why, I have selected Bangladesh as my first foreign country to visit after becoming the president of India," He told the premier.

Lauding the farsighted planning of Hasina, Pranab said Bangladesh maintained over six percent economic growth amidst severe global financial crisis.

He also conveyed the good wishes of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the premier.

Railways Minister Mujibul Haque, PM's advisers Gowher Rizvi and Mashiur Rahman, Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque and Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Tariq Ahmad Karim, among others, were present.

After the meeting, the prime minister hosted a dinner in honour of the Indian president at the hotel.