DHAKA, 8 September 2005 — Bangladesh has started making arrangements for the upcoming SAARC summit in Dhaka. Preparations are on full swing to ensure incident-free summit to the satisfaction of all the participating nations, sources yesterday said.
Sources said the government has decided to deploy 20,000 troops to ensure security at next month’s summit.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit, which begins on Nov.12, will bring the leaders of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives to the Bangladeshi capital.
The heavy security follows a series of small bombs blasts last month across the country by a group demanding the implementation of Islamic law. Three people were killed and more than 100 injured in the explosions.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan said last month that the August bombings would not affect the summit.
Bangladesh police raided hotels, conducted random checks of people on the street and detained about 25 people across the country to try to thwart more attacks after a wave of bombings, officials said yesterday.
US Charge d’Affaires in Dhaka, Judith A. Chammas, met Morshed Khan yesterday and said America wanted to help Bangladesh hunt the perpetrators of last month’s blasts and prevent future attacks.
“We discussed possible ways of providing assistance...and how we could be helpful to Bangladesh,” Chammas told reporters after the meeting, adding that the image of Bangladesh would be questioned abroad following the blasts.
No one has claimed responsibility for the Aug. 17 attacks, but leaflets found at most bomb sites carried a call by banned militant group Jamaatul Mujahedeen for the introduction of Islamic rule in Bangladesh, a democratic country.
State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfuzzaman Babar said last week he believed not only Islamic militants but other radical elements were also involved in the August bombings, and that the government was taking precautions.
The elite Rapid Action Battalion of the police, using sniffer dogs and metal detectors, searched cars and pedestrians in the streets, especially near Dhaka’s diplomatic areas, yesterday. Security was tightened at airports, rail stations and ferry terminals.
Police said 25 people were taken into custody nationwide on Tuesday on suspicion of being militants, but 18 were later released.
Authorities said the measures were being taken as a general precaution against further attacks but they had no specific information that any were being planned.
— Additional input from Reuters
