- News>
- World
Bangladeshi rivals demand security after blast
The Bangladeshi government and opposition have both demanded tighter security for their leaders in the wake of the country`s worst bomb blast that killed 22 people and left many fighting for life.
The Bangladeshi government and opposition have both demanded tighter security for their leaders in the wake of the country's worst bomb blast that killed 22 people and left many fighting for life.
After initial silence, opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia late on Sunday expressed shock and indignation over the blast, and said her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was ready to cooperate in an investigation into the "worrying incident." Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina blamed the BNP and its ultra-right Islamic allies of responsibility for the blast at an office of her ruling Awami League in Narayanganj, nine miles from the capital Dhaka, on Saturday night.
No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, which police described as the worst in Bangladesh's history. It was the latest in a series of blasts that have killed more than 80 people in two years.
"The culprits must be found and punished," Home Minister Mohammad Nasim said.
Police said Awami League member of parliament Shamim Osman, who was holding a party meeting at the time of the blast, was wounded but recovering in hospital.
Government ministers said on Sunday security must be tightened for Hasina and her sister, who were abroad when their father, Bangladesh's independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was killed with rest of his family in a 1975 coup.
Hasina, who is due to step down on July 13 at the end of her five-year term in office, on Sunday accused her opponents trying to disrupt democracy and create anarchy in the run-up to a new election in October.
"They are engaged in politics of blood. Even my life is under threat," she said. "People know who is threatening us. They are those who have been utterly frustrated by the failure of their campaign to oust my government."
"The blast was masterminded and carried out by the forces defeated in the 1996 election and frustrated over their failure to oust the government," she said in a clear reference to the BNP which lost the 1996 polls.
Hasina will seek re-election in the October polls to be held under a caretaker government. Her main challenger will be former Prime Minister and BNP leader Khaleda Zia.
Bureau Report
After initial silence, opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia late on Sunday expressed shock and indignation over the blast, and said her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was ready to cooperate in an investigation into the "worrying incident." Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina blamed the BNP and its ultra-right Islamic allies of responsibility for the blast at an office of her ruling Awami League in Narayanganj, nine miles from the capital Dhaka, on Saturday night.
No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, which police described as the worst in Bangladesh's history. It was the latest in a series of blasts that have killed more than 80 people in two years.
"The culprits must be found and punished," Home Minister Mohammad Nasim said.
Police said Awami League member of parliament Shamim Osman, who was holding a party meeting at the time of the blast, was wounded but recovering in hospital.
Government ministers said on Sunday security must be tightened for Hasina and her sister, who were abroad when their father, Bangladesh's independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was killed with rest of his family in a 1975 coup.
Hasina, who is due to step down on July 13 at the end of her five-year term in office, on Sunday accused her opponents trying to disrupt democracy and create anarchy in the run-up to a new election in October.
"They are engaged in politics of blood. Even my life is under threat," she said. "People know who is threatening us. They are those who have been utterly frustrated by the failure of their campaign to oust my government."
"The blast was masterminded and carried out by the forces defeated in the 1996 election and frustrated over their failure to oust the government," she said in a clear reference to the BNP which lost the 1996 polls.
Hasina will seek re-election in the October polls to be held under a caretaker government. Her main challenger will be former Prime Minister and BNP leader Khaleda Zia.
Bureau Report