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Bangladesh does not anticipate any threat whatsoever to the 13th SAARC summit scheduled for November in Dhaka, the foreign minister, Morshed Khan, said on Monday in the wake of certain fresh developments in the region.
   ‘We’ve got no worry (about reported Maoist threat). But we will not leave anything to chances,’ he said. ‘We’ll ensure unprecedented security for every head of state and government attending the summit.’
   Talking to diplomatic correspondents at his office, Khan ruled out any adverse impact on the SAARC summit in Dhaka following the assassination of Sri Lankan foreign minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar.
   Asked if the twice-deferred summit will be held on November 12-13, he said,‘I don’t know any reason why it should not.’
   About China’s observer status in the South Asian grouping, he said a number of countries and organisations like China, Japan, EU countries are in the queue, but the Katmandu summit held in 2002 decided that unless a criterion is set, none would be given such status.
   Asked about the possibility of amending the SAARC charter, Morshed said no member-country has raised the question.
   On postponement of the SAARC foreign secretaries meeting in Islamabad following the killing of Kadirgamar, he said the current chair, Pakistan, put off the meeting to show respects to Sri Lanka’s slain foreign minister, and immediately took initiative to reconvene the meet.

The government was urged Monday to execute the verdict in the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman murder case immediately.
   The call came at a discussion meeting, organised by the Communist Party of Bangladesh, to mark the 30th anniversary of death of the founder president of Bangladesh. Speakers at the meeting also issued a call to unmask the perpetrators of the August 15, 1975 carnage whether they are at home or abroad.
   ‘Given the present circumstances, resisting communalism and imperialism has become imperative,’ said National Professor Kabir Chowdhury.
   The defeated forces of the independence war are ruling the country and destroying the achievements of the war, he said.
   The CPB president, Monzurul Ahsan Khan, urged the reinstatement of the constitution adopted in 1972 where democracy, nationalism, secularism and socialism were the four basic principles of the state.
   The CPB general secretary, Mujahidul Islam Selim, said ‘the BNP-Jamaat alliance’ government followed the prescriptions of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
   He criticised the government for signing SOFA, HANA and TIFA with the United States. ‘The US is trying to establish absolute influence on the country.’
   KG Mostafa, Syed Abul Moksud, central leaders Shahidullah Chowdhury, Morshed Ali and Sajjad Zahir Chandan also spoke.

Securty forces rounded up three miscreants and recovered an arm and ammunition from their possession conducting a raid at a house at Townhallpara in the town early Monday acting on a tip-off, said sources in the forces.
   One country made pistol with ten rounds of ammunition, two pots of gun powder and a few documents were recovered from the possession of Apuching Marma, 40, Lupuching Marma, 25 and Kewching Marma, 18, said the sources.
   The raid was led by major Tofayel of Bandarban army region, added the sources.
   The paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles and security forces recovered 132 AK-47 rifles, 211 heavy firearms of 17 types of firearms that included M-16 and G-3 rifles, 29,727 rounds of ammunition, 45 high-powered walkie-talkies, combat dresses and explosives conducting a number of raids in the jungles of Naikhyangchhari upazila in the last ten months, said the sources.
   They said 11 Myanmar-born miscreants were rounded up from 22 hideouts during the raids.
   According to the sources, several miscreant groups from Myanmar are apparently carrying out gun smuggling operations along the 88 kilometre unguarded border with Myanmar.
   The miscreant groups are reportedly the Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Organisation, Arakan Rohingya National Organisation, Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front, Democratic Party of Arakan, National United Party of Arakan and the Arakan Liberal Party.