IGP: Law enforcers have solved 80% of the militant attacks and killings that had taken place over the past couple of yearsAlso speaking at the programme, police chief AKM Shahidul Hoque said law enforcers have solved 80% of the militant attacks and killings that had taken place over the past couple of years, as well as arresting the perpetrators. The inspector general of police said his force was carrying out its duty with full professionalism. Some countries have been trying to come close to Bangladesh by shedding “crocodile tears” over the recent killings, the IGP claimed. His comments followed a recent US offer of help in bringing the killers of LGBT activists Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Tonoy to justice. IGP Shahidul said Bangladesh, unlike many other countries, was capable of dealing with any sort of situation and solving historic cases. Pointing out an example, he also claimed that the US had been unable to solve the mystery behind 9/11. Every one – both Bangladeshis and foreigners – should be respectful to the traditions and cultures of the country, the police chief said, hinting at the taboo of homosexuality. Shahidul also warned that necessary steps would be taken against those who make misleading statements against any religion. On another note, the IGP said 23 top militant operatives were currently on death row awaiting their appeals to be heard by court. Islamic scholar and the imam of Sholakia mosque, Fariduddin Masud, told the event that Islam never supports such negative attitude and destructive activities. An initiative has been taken to prepare an anti-militancy fatwa backed by 100,000 Islamic scholars, Masud said, adding that 76,000 signatures have already been collected. Sayed Ibrahim Khalil Rajavi, principal of Islamic Education Centre; Patrick D'Rozario, the Catholic archbishop of the archdiocese of Dhaka; and Swami Dhruveshananda Maharaj, principal of Ramakrishna Math, also spoke at the conference.
The theory that Islamic State was behind the recent killings cannot be established by a couple of murders in Bangladesh, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal has said.
“People are being killed under the name of IS, but where is the IS?” he told a religious harmony conference yesterday at Dhaka's Krishibid Institute Auditorium, where leaders from all religious communities were present.
The minister said none of the Olamas or Islamic scholars present at the conference were involved in activities of the so-called Islamic State, while there was also no report that any madrasa or mosque had any IS link.
Kamal, however, admitted that local militants in Bangladesh have been trying to create problems; but skilled law enforcers were thwarting such attempts.
The whole IS issue was nothing but a conspiracy hatched by a group that had earlier set vehicles on fire, he claimed, adding that those forces were now again killing people with support from some foreign nations.
Bangladesh is witnessing such conspiracy at a time when the country is going forward and establishing itself as a strong country, the minister added.
