It is welcome news that Salahuddin Ahmed, the joint secretary general of BNP, has been found safe and apparently well in India, after being missing for over two months.
We hope he will be able to see his wife and family soon, and return to Bangladesh in good health.
Nevertheless, questions remain regarding his disappearance, and they need to be answered to the satisfaction of the public. Right now there are conflicting stories about whether or not he was kidnapped or in hiding.
Furthermore, the circumstances in which he was found are not very clear. It is, for example, not clear why he claims to have no reliable memory of what happened in the last two months.
It is important that the government and law enforcement authorities get to the bottom of all these questions.
The public and Salahuddin’s family deserve a full explanation. This is vital to reassure the public that the government is taking the issue of forced abductions seriously.
Since 2007, there have been over 300 cases of forced abductions. The government must ensure these are all openly investigated, and any and all criminal perpetrators are brought before the law.
Addressing the unanswered questions about Salahuddin’s disappearance will do a lot to assure people that the right thing is being done.