Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said arson attacks in Bangladesh are being orchestrated from London, warning that there will be no mercy for those attempting to disrupt the upcoming election through acts of sabotage.
“An individual issues orders while living in London and his followers set fire here in Bangladesh,” the prime minister said after visiting the shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal (R) in Sylhet on Wednesday, just hours before a rally in the city, which will kick-start the Awami League’s election campaign.
Condemning recent arson attacks, Sheikh Hasina said: “Removing railway tracks, killing people, burning them are acts of terrorism… and the BNP-Jamaat alliance has been committing these criminal and terrorist acts.”
In reference to an arson attack on a train on Tuesday that resulted in four casualties, including a woman and her three-year-old son, the prime minister questioned how someone could carry out such an act of violence.
“Attacks on women, children, police, journalists, common people… What kind of politics is this?”
She added that the people would drive out those attempting to sabotage the election by resorting to violence, vowing to take strict action against the people involved in such incidents.
“The people of the country want to vote. They have rejected the BNP’s hartals.”
About the BNP's election boycott, the Awami League chief said it was within a party's right not to contest an election but asked why people had to be killed through arson attacks.