Shahjalal Shrine blast

. PHOTO: AFP

The opposition leader, Sheikh Hasina, took no time in condemning the act and blaming Jamaat-e-Islami for it, trying to demean the Jamaat and the government. Later on, this took the shape of blaming the government for the law and order situation and ended with a call for hartal in Sylhet on 27 May.

The four party alliance, on the other hand, took the chance to harp once again on the 'conspiracy theory' and said that it was an act by the 'defeated forces' to create instability in the country. Sure enough, this was followed by arrests of nine opposition activists.

Foreign security personnel who came to Bangladesh to investigate the matter did not take much time to relate the incident with the 'miscreants' of Iraq independence. Many other public figures started blaming international terrorism for this. This led a few newspapers to put the miscreants responsible for the blast and the 'Iraq independence fighters' in the same line.

Most of the newspapers were not able to present a coherent view of the matter. They clearly realised that this was a heinous act and condemned it very forcefully. But they could not give a presentable view of why the incident took place. Failure to appreciate that Bangladesh is part of the globe and is inevitably affected by all that happens across it is the reason behind such shallow explanations. This is why we see our politicians blaming each other to exploit public opinion and the journalists simply mentioning that it was done by international terrorists and such acts should be condemned.

Let us face the truth. Neither the politicians nor the news agencies are worried about the dead and those injured in the incident.

Anwar Chowdhury, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, has been attacked in his motherland. We are shocked and stunned to know that a high profile diplomat like Mr. Chowdhury was attacked in broad daylight.

Anwar Chowdhury is the first Asian and the first Muslim in British foreign service selected for such an honourable job. We are all proud of him. I take a special pride for him as we are both from Jagannathpur of Sunamganj district. But at the same time I feel humiliated that he has been attacked in Sylhet. I strongly condemn this heinous and cowardly act of terrorism.

I have found that the Shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal has become a safe heaven for the criminals. In less then eighteen months, three incidents of bomb throwing occurred in this holy place which killed ten people. But the government seem to be unmoved by these incidents as not a single offender has been caught or punished, and it is still not clear who are behind these acts. I think such lapse in the activities of the law enforcers has encouraged the culprits to create jungle rule in this holy land.

I am afraid as Mr. Chowdhury is of Bangladeshi origin, the government was not very serious about his security, at least before the attack. I express my deep sympathy to the victims and their families. I pray for the earliest recovery of Mr. Chowdhury and other injured persons and hope that the culprits will be nabbed and punished very soon.

Shams Noman, On e-mail

It is really a great shame for us that a foreign dignitary like the UK High Commissioner in Bangladesh was made the target of a deadly bomb attack. The fact that the High Commissioner is of Bangladeshi origin and was targeted while coming out from the shrine after Jumma prayers makes it all the more shameful for us. As a common citizen of the country, I really do not understand who could commit such a shameful act and what could possibly be the reason for targeting a well-respected individual like the Bangladesh-born High Commissioner. There are reasons to believe that like many of the other bomb blasts in the last few years, this one will also remain unresolved. Chances are that the real culprits will go undetected and the real motive behind the heinous act will remain unknown. From our experience of the failure of the concerned authorities to bring the culprits to justice, we can assume that the latest incident, despite its severity, will meet the same fate as the previous ones. We , the common people of the country, have a lot to be concerned about. The nation seems to be drifting away from the path of tolerance, rationality and common sense. Law and order is deteriorating every day, corruption is growing in every sphere of society, a privileged few are accumulating money and influence at the expense of the common mass. A peaceful and a decent life are becoming elusive for the ordinary citizens of the country. We had a lot of hopes and aspirations as a young nation. Unfortunately, with the passage of time, the ordinary people are losing the hope for a better future.

Nothing could be more painful than a lost hope.

K M Zubair Sadeque, Elephant Road, Dhaka