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I find the incompetence of the joint forces becoming glaringly obvious everyday. Their inexperience and bad planning are forcing them into acts of desperation; they are making too many mistakes. They are trying to get rid of our two leading ladies but they are failing miserably. The ladies, it seems, are not for turning. Their recent actions seemed nothing but immature - Arafat arrested one day then released in 24-hrs. They are forcing random companies to file worthless cases against these leaders which will later be dismissed on a whim when it suits them. The companies will have to do business whatever government is in power, it is not fair to persecute them and create enemies for them that they did not want in the first place.
   The government is also trying to muzzle the media to stop them from reporting their mistakes. Why don’t the joint forces do some real investigation into the big power projects from which 20,000 crore has been stolen and file some charges which have some bite in them for a change? The High Court is finding the actions of the present government to be illegal every other day. If they are not abiding by the law, they cannot expect anyone else to either. The law in Bangladesh has become even more of a mockery. I am starting to worry about the intentions of the current government and whether it is better the devil you know, than the devil you don’t. The government should have planned a little more carefully before this Hasina-Khaleda crisis made the international news embarrassing Bangladesh once again. They need to take a step back, get some advice and think before they make their next move, flexing their brains, not their muscle for a change.
   Iskandar
   Mexico

Dr MA Momin’s discovery of indigenous fertilisers and insecticides for fruit, vegetables and other crops at the Pabna Agricultural Research Centre, as reported in the newspapers, deserves appreciation and recognition. The concerned adviser should to see the products personally and spread the valuable information all over the country. Widespread publicity through audio-visual media should be sponsored by the government.
   To start with, the leaflets describing this practice in Pabna, should be distributed by the caretaker government across the country. Also Dr Momin should be recognised and rewarded nationally. My congratulations to Dr Momin and his colleagues at Pabna Research Centre on a remarkable achievement.
   SA Mansoor
   Gulshan, Dhaka

The caretaker government should work on a new health and drug policy instead of eye-wash arrests and recovery of outdated medication. Lot of people are losing their kidney function, for example, by using counterfeit medication. Millions of dollars are being transferred to foreign countries unnecessarily because of lack of facilities and treatments, which could easily be prevented by installing same kind of medical standardisation. Just arresting few people will not solve the problem.
   Dr Mohammad A Karim
   General Practitioner Dandenong, Australia

I am outraged by the news of policemen beating up an innocent three-year-old girl, Tuktuki, with truncheons (April 29). If acid throwing on women is a serious enough crime punishable by death penalty, so should scarring a child emotionally for the rest of her life be treated with equal seriousness.
   In my mind, this brings back images of prisoners of war being abused in places like Abu-Ghraib and Guantanamo, images of Dutch soldiers (on UN Missions) urinating on Somalian children, images of Israelis killing innocent Palestinians in cold blood – all disturbingly displaying the utterly disgusting sides of what power can do if it gets to someone’s head.
   There is simply no excuse for this kind of inhumane behaviour by anyone, let alone a member of the police force which is there to protect the people – not scar them for life. How can these so-called policemen look themselves in the eye knowing they have just raped an innocent child’s mind? Have they no conscience? No sense of human dignity? Which part of the police code tells them that they have the license to do what they did? In whose name were they beating up this child?
   The police should, speaking ideally, be regarded as the last bastion of safety by the public. Few people see them as anything different the criminals they fight. The police force has a reputation for being corrupt, incompetent, brutal and mostly objects of humiliation.
   If the current government is serious about reforms, let them know that as a Bangladeshi I am more concerned by this incident than the exile or no exile of a couple of former prime ministers. I know we will never get it – but in a civilised country, one would expect a public apology from the chief of police, compensation, assurances that preventive measures are being taken to avoid such brutality in the future and most importantly a speedy trial and punishment of all those involved. Let the police chief know my anger and utter disgust.
   I salute this newspaper for bringing this story to our notice.
   Shabbir A Bashar
   Vancouver, WA, USA

Much has been written on the perennial corruption practised in Shiksha Bhaban. But nothing has been done to clean it, not even during the period of the present caretaker government.
   Education is the backbone of a nation. But it is the very Shiksha Bhaban that hit at the backbone and the government seems impervious to this dire situation. When the DG says that in the context of shortage of manpower there, teachers pay bribe to expedite the work they want to be done, we only become stupefied. How could he put forward that filthy logic? We do not want to see such a spineless DG in the helm of education. We urge the government to save our education from the clutches of a few corrupt officials there. The sooner it is done, the better for the nation.
   Tinku
   Lalpur, Natore

If we have to believe that there is nothing final in love and politics, the present political deal between General Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto can be a very good example.
   Gen Musharraf is not basically running Pakistan, he is just maintaining a crucial balance between the various conflicting interest in Pakistan. His coup to overthrow a democratically elected government was a brazen act of military violence against democracy. His survival and grip on power would not have been this long if there was no 9/11. He is a hypocrite by compulsion because he is playing multiple cards at the same time for his survival.
   Historically, Pakistan does not have a real national identity. It was established on the basis of religion which is the most fragile ideology for the creation of a sovereign state. Pakistan survived on a fear factor created by a religious political conspiracy. This conspiracy is so pervasive in the national psyche that it could lure the nation to support and sustain religious extremism. The lethal brew of religion and politics has played havoc since 1947 and I think General Musharraf has seen the climax of this tragedy. Now the time has come, as it comes for every military ruler, to realise that his iron grip on Pakistan is losing its power and his dream to rule Pakistan for some more years is not sustainable unless he makes a compromise with the politicians. Benazir Bhutto is the only choice because he can’t show his face to Nawaz Sharif.
   True to their legacy the Pakistani politicians are always opportunists at the cost of principles and priorities. They can make deals with anyone to grab power and Benazir Bhutto did the same thing.
   Akbar Hussain
   Canada