Is Pakistan safe?

With Bangladesh's tour of Pakistan all but confirmed, the reality of an international cricket team touring the militancy-torn nation has elicited strong opinions in both countries. The website of the popular Pakistani daily Dawn ran a blog post by Hassan Cheema on Monday that queried if Pakistan was ready to host an international cricket series, and seemed to come to a conclusion that the risks outweighed the rewards.

Bangladesh are scheduled to play a one-day international and a T20 international in Lahore on April 29 and 30 respectively.

The post starts off by drawing a parallel between the 2010 African Cup of Nations (AfCON) in Angola and the 2009 Sri Lankan tour of Pakistan, both of which were disrupted by violent attacks on the sportsmen which led to a loss of lives. The AfCON attack happened in Cabinda, an exclave of Angola which had been a ground for separatist movement since independence. According to Hassan Cheema, Sri Lanka's motivation in touring Pakistan in 2009 "had been the same as the teams visiting Cabinda: they were trying to show that normalcy existed in these lands."

The writer went on to question the wisdom of using sport and sportspeople as tools to lift the image of troubled nations. "For decades, regimes throughout the world had used sport to provide an illusion of something which wasn't there. Now, it seemed, it was time for the terrorists to make sure that didn't happen. The push from all sides in the importance of sport had meant that sportspeople had become an automatic target for publicity for the latest of monstrous deeds."

He then turned the spotlight to the proposed tour by Bangladesh. "Over the past five years Pakistan has seen the deaths of thousands of its citizens and army men. Despite a reduction in the violence (of the terrorism kind) in the past few months, there have still been a number of attacks in 2012 alone. It is with this as context that one questions the ideas that Zaka Ashraf is proposing.

"Surely, the proposals for international teams and players to tour Pakistan should come when we have reached a semblance of normalcy and peace. Instead we have decided to assume our existing state as normalcy. What do we have to gain from a tour? An improvement in the image of the country? For the sake of what? A probable attack and the loss of lives for guests of this country? We are told that they'll be provided maximum security: this, a country which couldn't protect its most popular leader and the governor of the largest province [in addition to many other parliamentarians and mere plebs whose lives apparently count for less] in the past five years alone. The reluctance of many to visit Pakistan may have something to do with how much they value their lives -- rather than a vast conspiracy by the BCCI [Board of Control for Cricket in India]." 

Source :

 

Enmity, robbery might have claimed Sagar-Runi

Personal enmity and robbery were possibly the reasons behind the murder of the journalist couple, police said in its report submitted to the High Court on Tuesday.

Deputy attorney general A B M Altaf Hossain presented the report to the bench of justices A H M Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Jahangir Hossain, in keeping with an earlier order.

Detective Branch (DB) of police on Mar 21 submitted the report on progress of investigation into the killing of Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi. The following day, the inspector general of police also submitted a copy of the report.

Investigation officer Mohammad Rabiul Islam said in the report, "Two issues were given special attention: whether any organised gang carried out the killing, or any personal enmity or antagonism relating to the family or their profession led to their murder."

On Feb 11, Maasranga Television journalist Sagar and his wife ATN Bangla journalist Runi were killed in their Razabazar flat.

A case was filed accusing unidentified people. The Detective Branch is investigating the killing.

Referring to an application filed with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station by Runi's brother, the report submitted to the High Court on Tuesday said 10-11 bhori gold ornaments, 1100 euro in cash, two laptops and a mobile phone could not be found after the incident.

Efforts to recover the 'stolen' things are on, it said, adding that sources are being used to find them.

The investigators are quizzing residents and the owner of the building, guests, neighbours, friends and colleagues, the report said.

Other supplementary materials submitted by the plaintiff are also being examined, it said.

The report said 19 objects were found at the spot. Those include a kitchen knife, a knife, a knife-butt, a violet dress, a broken lock and a black dress. All of them had blood stains.

Quoting doctor Sohel Mahmud, who conducted the autopsy, the report said the journalist couple died due to excessive bleeding. 

Source :

 

TK 70 LAKH SCANDAL : Suranjit comes under fire

Railway Minister Suranjit Sengupta received heavy condemnation from various quarters over the seizure of Tk 70 lakh from his assistant personal secretary’s car Monday night and the casual manner of his handling of the matter afterwards.

The parliamentary body on railway ministry and officials of railway and other ministries alleged that Suranjit took the matter very lightly. They questioned how neutral the two probe committees, formed by the minister, would be when an officer of the same ministry is to investigate his subordinates.

Even the Anti-Corruption Commission joined the crowd on Wednesday. The graft watchdog said it would launch a probe into the minister’s alleged involvement in the incident, reported Channel i, a private TV channel.

The opposition BNP demanded the minister’s resignation while the parliamentary body launched a probe into the ministry’s handling of tenders over the last three years.

However, the money found in the car is believed to be bribes from railway job seekers.

Suranjit’s APS Omar Faruq Talukder, Railway’s General Manager (East) Yusuf Ali Mridha and Divisional Commandant Enamul Huq were in the car. Driver Ali Azam was driving the vehicle, stopped on the way to Suranjit’s Jogatola house, and entered into the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) headquarters at Dhanmondi in the capital around 11:30pm Monday. Ali Azam drove the vehicle into the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) headquarters in the capital and exposed the bribe money. The border guards discovered the money in the car and detained the four.

When guards at the gate rushed towards the vehicle as it had entered the BGB headquarters without authorisation, the driver told them there was bribe money stashed in the car. The guards discovered Tk 70 lakh in the car and they detained the four.

One Bangla daily has reported that Omar Faruq Talukder has amassed enormous wealth in three years.

Charge of corruption
 At the very maiden meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Railway Ministry, Minister Suranjit Sengupta faced the charge of corruption from the opposition BNP.

Rehana Akter Ranu, the lone opposition member on the committee, rejected the ministry’s probe body formed to investigate the alleged capture of Omar Faruk Talukder, assistant personal secretary (APS) of Suranjit, with Tk 70 lakh. She told reporters that Omar earned the money from the ‘recruitment trade’ and the sum was supposed to go to the minister.

Railway Minister inspires seven cartoonists
Thursday was in no way designated for any local, national or international event relating to satirical cartoon.
But in a unique coincidence in Bangladesh media, seven leading  national dailies on April 13 preferred to publish front page cartoons on Railway Minister Suranjit Sen Gupta along side reports, editorials and commentaries about the recovery of huge corruption money from the car of Sen Gupta’s APS.

The veteran politician who was made Railway Minister a few months ago, received a volley of criticism calling for a resignation from various quarters following the seizure of Tk 70 lakh ( about 90,000 US dollars) from the car of his APS around 11:30pm Monday and Suranjit’s handling of the matter afterwards.

The BGB personnel sought police help but police refused to take the responsibility, saying there was no case filed against them. Faruq, Yusuf and Enamul were eventually released but the driver is said to be still in BGB custody.

Meanwhile, the opposition BNP demanded the minister’s resignation, while the parliamentary standing committee launched a probe into the ministry’s handling of tenders over the last three years.

ACC to probe
As the critical public reactions spread quickly against the minister, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) announced on Tuesday that it would launch a probe into the minister’s alleged involvement in the incident.
Highly embarrassed by the incident, the ruling party leaders are now waiting for the prime minister to return from Turkey and tell them what to do about the scandal.

Suranjit, clearly on the back foot, termed the incident unwarranted adding, “In a country like ours, this kind of incidents has happened before. This incident has created problems for me. I will face it.”

Bribes from job seekers
Sources in the railway said ruling party people in the leadership of railway employees, ministers, lawmakers, and a section of corrupt railway officials were taking bribes from job seekers. The railway ministry recently started recruitment of 7,500 people.

According, railway officials Tk 2 lakh to 5 lakh was taken from each jobseeker assuring job in railway.

Judicial probe demanded
Opposition member of the parliament (MP) Rehana Akhter Ranu, who is also a member of the parliamentary standing committee on railway Minister, demanded that the government constitute a judicial probe body to investigate the source and destination of the money found in APS possession. She said Suranjit must resign for the sake of an impartial investigation.

 “We believe the minister’s APS and a general manager of railway were taking the money to him [Suranjit], which was bribe in exchange for jobs in the ministry.” Rehana Akhter MP said,

Awami League Deputy Office Secretary Mrinal Kanti Das, however, said there might be a conspiracy behind the incident. It could have been staged to disgrace the government.

But newspaper readers’ comments and public reactions suggest that Suranjit Sengupta should take full responsibility of the incident and resign when someone so close to him and a high-ranking railway officer are involved in such a huge bribery scam.

“Even a grade three student would realise and understand that you cannot investigate against yourself. Sengupta must resign and independent and credible investigation must be conducted. If we fail to set 

standards here we have very little chance to get out of the stigma of being the number one corrupt nation,” commented an online reader.

BY :   Abdur Rahman Kha.

We were on way to minister's residence ; Says railway security official

Two top railway officials, Railway Minister Suranjit Sengupta's assistant personal secretary (APS) and his driver along with Tk 70 lakh were going to the minister's Jigatola residence on Monday night, intelligence sources told The Daily Star yesterday. 

The minister, however, refuted the claim.

Railway's Dhaka division Security Commandant Enamul Huq, one of the four persons who were detained by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel at Pilkhana with the money, claimed yesterday that he had no idea that they were going to the minister's house.

The other top railway official is Yusuf Ali Mridha, railway general manager (East) while the railway minister's APS is Omar Faruq Talukder.

"I came to know about the money when microbus driver Ali Azam drove into the Pilkhana headquarters around 11:30pm, screaming that there was illegal money in the vehicle," he told The Daily Star at his office yesterday.

Sources say the driver might have created the scene as he was refused Tk 5 lakh as a share of the amount.

After the scandal came to light on Tuesday, Suranjit told reporters he was ignorant of the movement of the four detained persons, saying he was not supposed to know their whereabouts after office hours.

The Daily Star tried to talk to the four persons, but could reach only Enamul Huq at his Kamalapur Railway Station office. 

Yusuf Ali Mridha was neither found at his Railway Officers' Staff Quarters residence nor did he receive calls despite repeated attempts. 

The cell phones of the minister's APS and his driver were also found switched off.

Maj Gen Anwar Hossain, BGB director general, on Tuesday told The Daily Star that his force freed all the four detainees.

But Enamul Huq yesterday said the BGB men still had driver Ali Azam in their custody.

"As the driver was not released, another person called by the minister's APS drove us out of the border guard headquarters," he told The Daily Star.

This paper has also made repeated attempts to contact a number of BGB officials to verify Enamul's statement but none of the border official took any call.

ENAMUL HUQ'S VERSION:
According to Enamul, he got involved in the incident as Yusuf Ali Mridha asked him to go to the minister's house that night.

"First, we reached a house at Dhanmondi-3 by the car of the general manager [Yusuf Ali]. I waited in the car as the GM entered the house. About an hour later, the GM and the APS [Omar Faruq] came down and asked me to leave the car and get into the microbus of the APS," said Enamul.

"When we reached near Pilkhana around 11:30pm, the driver drove the vehicle into the Pilkhana BGB headquarters through gate No 4."

"At one stage, the driver asked the BGB men to detain the GM and the APS, as he screamed there was illegal money," Enamul said.

"At this, Omar Faruq told the driver and the BGB men that there was no illegal money and that it was his money. He [Faruk] said his relatives gave him the money for business and for his sister's marriage," Enamul added. 

Following arguments for around 40 minutes, some BGB personnel approached the microbus and took the keys.

"The BGB men kept us in a room in the Pilkhana [on Monday night] and on Tuesday they freed three of us after verifying our identities but kept the driver detained," he said. 

Replying to a query, Enamul said none intercepted them to know their identities when the driver drove the microbus into Pilkhana.

It may be mentioned that the BGB headquarters is heavily guarded and it is quite impossible for outsiders to enter it without the BGB members checking their identities.

Source :

 

'Railway-gate' Scandal Suranjit comes under fire

Govt embarrassed; BNP asks minister to go; ACC to probe; Tk 70 lakh alleged to have come from recent recruitment.

 

Railway Minister Suranjit Sengupta received heavy flak from various quarters over the seizure of Tk 70 lakh from his assistant personal secretary's car Monday night and his handling of the matter afterwards. 

The parliamentary body on railway ministry and officials of railway and other ministries alleged that Suranjit took the matter very lightly. They questioned how neutral the two probe committees, formed by the minister, would be when an officer of the same ministry would be investigating his subordinates. 

Even the Anti-Corruption Commission joined the bandwagon yesterday. The watchdog said it would launch a probe into the minister's alleged involvement in the incident, reports Channel i, a private TV channel. 

Meanwhile, the opposition BNP demanded the minister's resignation while the parliamentary body launched a probe into the ministry's handling of tenders over the last three years. 

The money found in the car is believed to be bribes from railway job seekers.

On late Monday, Ali Azam, driver of Suranjit's assistant personal secretary Omar Faruq Talukder's car; with him, Railway's General Manager (East) Yusuf Ali Mridha and Chief Commandant Enamul Huq on board drove the car into the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) headquarters in Pilkhana in the capital. When guards at the gate rushed to the vehicle for unauthorised entry, the driver told them there was bribe money stashed in the car. The guards discovered Tk 70 lakh in the car and they detained the four. 

adesh (BGB) headquarters in Pilkhana in the capital. When guards at the gate rushed to the vehicle for unauthorised entry, the driver told them there was bribe money stashed in the car. The guards discovered Tk 70 lakh in the car and they detained the four. 

The BGB personnel wanted to hand them over to police but police refused to receive them saying there was no case filed against them. Faruq, Yusuf and Enamul were eventually released but the driver is said to be still in BGB custody.

The Daily Star failed to reach the driver for comments despite repeated attempts on his two mobile phones. 

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir during a demonstration in the capital against price hike of essentials called for Suranjit's resignation. He said the minister should shoulder the responsibilities of what has happened, reported UNB. 

Suranjit, clearly on the back foot, held a press conference yesterday and said Faruq and Yusuf had been asked not to come to work until further notice. 

“This was unwarranted,” Suranjit Sen Gupta told the press, adding, “In a country like ours, this kind of incidents has happened before. This incident has created problems for me. I will face it.”

When the press asked if he had suspended them, he was rather vague and said, “You can also think like that if you want.”

However, after the seizure of the money the minister had told a press briefing at Rail Bhaban that the two would continue work since they have not been proved guilty of any wrongdoing. He denied that Enamul was even in the car.

Late last night, Suranjit's personal secretary sent a letter to the secretary of the ministry informing him of Faruq's suspension from yesterday morning. 

Sources in the railway said Rail Sramik League, ministers, lawmakers, ruling party leaders and a section of corrupt railway officials were taking bribes from job seekers. The railway ministry recently started recruitment of 7,500 people.

A senior railway official on condition of anonymity said, “Tk 2 lakh to 5 lakh is being taken from each candidate.” 

During the meeting of the parliamentary body on the railway ministry at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban yesterday, a number of lawmakers came down heavily on the minister over the issue. 

They even questioned how an APS has a lawmaker's sticker on his personal car.

The parliamentary body yesterday formed a five-member sub-committee headed by lawmaker Shah Alam to probe alleged irregularities in awarding tender under the ministry's various projects in the last three years.

BNP MP Rehana Akhter Ranu, a member of the parliamentary body, demanded that the government forms a judicial probe committee for this. She said Suranjit must resign for the sake of impartial investigation. 

Rehana said, “We believe the minister's APS and a general manager of the ministry were carrying the money to give him [Suranjit] as bribe in exchange for recruitments in the ministry.” 

Other members, including a ruling party lawmaker, of the standing committee asked the minister about the alleged corruption in recruiting employees in the railway ministry. 

Suranjit, also a member of the parliamentary body, said such incident was unexpected and he would place the enquiry reports of the two probe committees before the parliamentary body and take actions as per the committee's directives. 

Suranjit refused Rehana's demand for judicial probe.

Talking to The Daily Star, several railway officials and employees said the three--Faruk, Mirdha and Enamul--should have been suspended immediately and an independent investigation body should have been formed.

Joint secretary (administration) of the railway ministry Shashi Bhushan Singha was assigned to investigate the involvement of Mirdha while minister's Personal Secretary Akhtaruzzaman was probing the involvement of Faruk.

“How can the minister's PS be assigned to investigate such an incident since both work closely?” a mid-level official told The Daily Star at Railway Bhaban yesterday. He said an official of the ministry could not probe irregularities of an official of the same ministry.

Another junior official said he suspected that proper investigation would not be possible by the probe committees. “Officials of other ministries could have easily been engaged in the probe,” he said, requesting anonymity.

Another official said, “There are allegations that many of us are chor [thieves]. This is the proof of that.”

The official said if Yusuf was quizzed, everything would be revealed.

Meanwhile, the Railway Bhaban yesterday looked desert since morning as almost no senior officials attended work. 

GOVT, AL EMBARRASSED
The government and the ruling Awami League were embarrassed by the incident, The Daily Star found out after talking to several leaders and ministers. 

However, none agreed to make official comments.

“It is really embarrassing for the government and the party as well at this time [late part of the government's tenure],” said a minister requesting not to be named. “It is a very sensitive matter…”

The minister said they would discuss the matter with the prime minister upon her return from Turkey on Saturday. 

Highly placed government sources said that before her departure, the prime minister has asked the railways minister to suspend his APS immediately.

Awami League Deputy Office Secretary Mrinal Kanti Das, however, said there might be a conspiracy behind the incident. It could have been staged to disgrace the government.

ACC TO PROBE
Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman Ghulam Rahman yesterday said the commission would investigate the allegation of bribe against Railways Minister Suranjit Sengupta.

“There used to be no investigation into any allegation against ministers in the past, but now the graft watchdog will probe,” he said, addressing the concluding ceremony of a training programme for the newly-appointed 28 ACC Assistant Directors, reports UNB.

The ACC chairman also said the commission would also conduct an investigation into the allegations of corruption in the Padma bridge project and against the company Destiny 2000.

Source :