A Bangladesh court on Thursday awarded death sentence to 14 people for arms trafficking in the country about a decade ago. Those found guilty included Motiur Rahman Nizami, chief of the Jamaat-i-Islami. According to the prosecution, the arms were intended for an insurgent group in northeastern India.

Whatever is happening in Bangladesh is, in my humble opinion, not very good. Even a person not very well versed with politics can tell that the government is up in arms against the opposition leaders and implicating them in various cases and not providing them with an opportunity to defend themselves properly. The government of Sheikh Hasina is unnecessary resurrecting ghosts of the past. Such actions will only aggravate the already volatile political situation in Bangladesh and will hamper its economic growth.

In all fairness, Hasina-led government should be given due credit for uplifting the economy of the country but what has suddenly happened that she appeared ready to reverse the gains made during the past decade. She is trying to oppress the opposition, which is very undemocratic. The government of Bangladesh must act in the larger interest of the country and the countrymen. This political wrangling will not help anyone. These measures will turn Bangladesh into a cauldron of chaos.



Shaukat Naeem Ghumman

Riyadh