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The indefinite curfew, clamped on the capital Dhaka and five other divisional cities at 8:00pm Wednesday, continued after a three-hour relaxation from 4:00pm Thursday.
   Many people incurred the wrath of the law enforcers who beat up pedestrians, journalists, rickshaw-pullers and CNG autorickshaw drivers at different places for alleged violation of curfew or not carrying curfew passes.
   The cities looked largely desolate during the first spell of the 20-hour curfew as the streets were empty except vehicles carrying law enforcers, army troops and VIPs, a few rickshaws and ambulances.
   Hundreds of incoming passengers, and people going to receive them, spent the curfew hours at different airports, railway and bus stations and launch terminals, including Kamalapur railway station, Zia International Airport and Sadarghat launch terminal, following the sudden imposition of curfew on Wednesday evening.
   Army, BDR, Rapid Action Battalion and police patrolled streets mounting their guns to strictly enforce curfew.
   They forced pharmacies, grocers and restaurants at different places of the six cities, to shut down though drug stores were exempted from curfew.
   The curfew caused sufferings to many serious patients coming to the capital from far-flung areas of the country for treatment
   while Dhaka Medical College Hospital authorities had to cancel about 40 serious operations scheduled for Thursday.
   Similar situation was observed in other hospitals and clinics in the divisional towns.
   There was confusion among office-goers about the functioning of their offices under curfew. A good number of officials and staff went to work in the morning only to know that the offices were closed for the day.
   The government, in an announcement at 9 am Thursday, declared public holiday in all divisional cities, including capital Dhaka, for the day as curfew was imposed on the cities.
   All government, semi-government and autonomous organisations, banks, financial and educational institutions in Dhaka and five divisional cities were closed.
   The government also postponed all examinations of the Public Service Commission until August 30, said a government notification.
   People in their thousands stranded at different places were seen hurrying home or doing necessary shopping as soon as the curfew was relaxed. But lack of transports caused sufferings to many of them.
   Mobile phone networks remained snapped during the three-hour relaxation of curfew.
   In Dhaka, a good number of rickshaws, cars and goods-laden trucks were seen on the streets Thursday morning and many office-goers started for work till lawmen became active after 9am.
   Some students went to their schools to know if they have to take the examinations scheduled for the day.
   The lawmen asked on the PA system rickshaws, cars and buses not to ply during the curfew hours. They asked pedestrians to go off the roads.
   Pharmacies at Sutrapur, Lalbagh and Kotwali opened in the morning as they knew they were out of the purview of the curfew. But the law enforcers forced them to pull shutters at about 11pm.
   Army troops and law enforcers guarded Dhaka University campus and its adjoining areas and beat up pedestrians for violating curfew, witnesses said.
   Lawmen beat up two groups of students at Dhaka University and BUET when they tried to bring out processions.
   They raided Aziz Supermarket at Shahbagh in the city and searched some rooms on upper floors looking for students, witnesses said.
   The raid started at about 9:15am and continued through midday.
   The lawmen took away 10-15 students in a red van.
   The lawmen assaulted a group of students of Dhaka Medical College in front of Central Shaheed Minar as they came out of their dormitories when the curfew was relaxed.
   One hundred and 51 persons were produced in the court and sent to jail for violating curfew.
   In Chittagong, law enforcers and a group of local businessmen chased each other in Chowmohuni crossing in the city as the police tried to force traders to close their shops.
   Angry protesters hurled stones at the law enforcers leaving a police constable injured.
   In Sylhet, lawmen forced authorities to close 20 schools as they were trying to hold examinations.
   They also forced businessmen to shut their shops at different places in the city.
   Police also beat up some shopkeepers and detained 15 persons for alleged violation of curfew. Several hundred London-bound and local passengers were stranded at the Sylhet airport and bus stations.
   In Gopalganj, students of different educational institutions brought out processions in different upazilas Thursday.
   No local or inter-district buses plied in the district.
   In Chuadanga, police dispersed a group of students as they were trying to bring out a procession in the town. Joint forces arrested six leaders of Awami League and BNP there on Wednesday night on charges of fuelling student unrest there.
   The six were arrested at night at their residences, said their families.
   Lawmen arrested four persons for violating curfew in Barisal city Thursday.
   In Rajshahi, police charged baton on stranded passengers and journalists at local bus and rail stations.
   The lawmen forced traders to close pharmacies, restaurants and grocery shops.
   The government imposed an indefinite curfew from 8:00pm on Wednesday to quell widespread student protests that led to clashes with law enforcers leaving one person killed and several hundred injured.

Hundreds of people heading home in the six divisional towns and cities, including the capital, were stranded in streets by curfew imposed suddenly at 8:00pm Wednesday.
   Many people, who walked miles to reach their destinations after the curfew was clamped, were harassed by the law enforcers on streets.
   People including women, children and elderly people, were seen frantically looking for transports to reach their destinations before curfew came into force.
   Hundreds of passengers arriving in the city remained stranded at Zia International Airport, Kamalapur railway station, Sadarghat launch terminal and different inter-district bus terminals.
   At some places, including the Zia International Airport, taxicabs demanded fares as high as Tk 5,000 to Tk 10,000 to carry passengers.
   The law enforcers harassed pedestrians stranded by curfew in different parts of the capital and other divisional towns. Even people coming out for emergency reasons were not spared.
   Patients going to hospitals suffered a lot due to lack of transports.
   Many people remained stranded at Kamalapur railway station till the curfew was relaxed for three hours at 4:00 pm Thursday.
   Mohammad Ashraf Khan, who arrived at Ashuliya from Sirajganj at 10:00 am Thursday, said he had to change transport twice and walk about seven miles to reach Jatrabari.
   He said he came to Dhaka to get his visa for Dubai.
   An official at Zia International Airport said flights arrived and departed on schedule on the day.
   A large number of people, arriving at Zia International Airport from different countries, remained stranded till curfew was relaxed.
   Director of Dhaka Medical College Hospital Abdus Shahid Khan said patients were not discharged during curfew hours due to lack of transports.
   A few patients visited the DMCH for outdoor treatment on the day.
   Khorshed Ali, 40, a patient with a tumour in his stomach, told New Age at Farmgate that he was going home at Gabtoli on foot after receiving treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.
   Shahnaz Hossain, 30, walked all the way from Mirpur section 12 to Dhaka Medical College Hospital to see an emergency patient.
   Similar reports came from Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Khulna and Barisal.
   Many employees of government, semi-government and autonomous institutions were on their way to office when they came to know that the offices were closed for the day. The government made the announcement after 9:00am.
   Some grocers in different neighbourhoods opened in the morning but were soon forced to pull the shutters.
   During the three-hour recess from 4pm to 7pm on Thursday, people were seen buying essential commodities from local grocers.

All the offices of the government, semi-government, autonomous organisations and business establishments, including banks and educational institutions, in Dhaka and five other divisional headquarters remained closed on Thursday.
   The interim government in an official order on Thursday declared the offices and the educational institutions closed during the curfew on the day, said a handout issued by the Press Information Department. Curfew was ordered of all the six metropolitan cities at 8:00pm Wednesday following furious protests across the country spilled over from Monday’s incident on the Dhaka University campus.
   Curfew was relaxed from 3:00pm to 7:00pm on
   Thursday.
   All the examinations scheduled till August 30 under the Public Service Commission have also been postponed.
   Emergency utility service providers, ambulance and medicine shops would remain out of the purview of curfew, which will remain in force until
   further order, according to the order.
   Many officials came out on the road and tried to head for offices as they were not aware of the government order, a government official, who was stopped by law enforcers on his way to the Bangladesh Secretariat, told New Age.
   In case of emergency, all concerned have been asked to collect curfew passes from the office of the metropolitan
   police commissioner concerned, according to another order.

City dwellers suffered on Thursday as the prices of essential commodities, especially vegetables, marked a sharp rise because of short supply.
   Prices of many vegetables went up by about 50 per cent in some kitchen markets on the day.
   Aubergine and bitter grounds sold for prices between Tk 32 and Tk 44 at Nayatola and Mohammadpur Town Hall markets on Thursday against earlier prices between Tk 28 and Tk 32 the previous day.
   Pointed gourds (patal) sold for prices between Tk 28 and Tk 32 against the earlier prices between Tk 20 and Tk 24, ridge gourds for Tk 30 and Tk 36 against Tk 24 and Tk 26, cucumber between Tk 28 and Tk 36 against Tk 20 and Tk 28 and a bundle of pui shak (edible herb) for Tk 15 and Tk 20 against Tk 12 and Tk 15. Fishes sold for prices up by Tk 20 to Tk 50 a kilogram.
   Traders said there were no activities in vegetable wholesale markets, which resulted in supply shortage.
   A green grocer at New Market told New Age that he had to walk down to the Karwan Bazar wholesale market and found small quantity of vegetables with the wholesalers.
   ‘As no truck entered the city the previous night, vegetables ran short in supply, pushing the prices up,’ the retailer said.
   Shops and markets on roads remained closed in the morning, but grocers on lanes and by-lanes run their trade.
   Kitchen markets on roads remained partially opened. Customer rush was thin during the relaxed curfew hours.

The Power Division has postponed the tender and implementation processes of three, out of the five, tendered rental power plant projects and the capacity of one the two will be curtailed by a half for now because of gas shortage.
   The Power Development Board in the second week of August selected four companies for the installation of five rental power plants and sent a proposal to the power division for government approval.
   The power board selected the Bengal Electrical for a 50 MW plant at Shikalbaha for its lowest offer to sell electricity for about Tk 2.03 a unit, Desh Energy for a 20MW plant at Barabkunda for an offer of Tk 2.25 and for a 20MW plant at Kumargaon for Tk 2.38 a unit offer, Hosaf Group for a 20MW plant at Feni and Youth Spinning Mill for a 80MW plant Shahjibazar for Tk 2.35 a unit offer.
   The board decided to put out to tender again the 50MW Fenchuganj plant as it received no valid bid.
   The division decided on Tuesday to postpone Shikalbaha, Barabkunda and Feni projects as Petrobangla informed the division that it would not be able to supply gas to the selected sites because of inadequate transmission network.
   It also decided that the capacity of the plant at Kumargaon would be 10MW for the time being instead of 20MW because of gas shortage.
   Sources in the division said it would only send a proposal to the advisory council committee on public purchase for the approval of offers of two companies for the plants at Shahjibazar and Kumargaon.
   ‘In the meantime, we will continue holding discussion with Petrobangla to ensure the supply of gas to Shikalbaha, Barabkunda and Feni sites,’ said a source.
   He could not confirm whether the tender procedure of the three plants would be scrapped if the division received no guarantee of gas supply.
   Petrobangla is finding it difficult to ensure supply of gas to new power plants in the Chittagong belt as the gas pressure at the Bakhrabad Gas Systems has reduced because of a declining gas production at the Sangu field. The low pressure in the system does not allow injecting additional gas to the system from other areas.
   The total generation from the rental power plants is now expected to stand at 160MW by 2008 although initially the division planned about 260MW generation from the seven plants.
   The implementation of the 20MW Bogra plant, awarded earlier, is going on while the division hoped it would get 80MW from Shahjibazar, 20MW from Bogra, 50MW from Fenchuganj and 10MW from Kumargaon.
   Sources in the power board told New Age that the division had inquired about tender procedure of the Shikalbaha power plant as the selected bidder informed the board that it would set up the 50MW plant that was being removed from the Shiddhirganj power plant.
   They said the company informed the board that it had bought the 50MW Shiddhirganj plant that had recently been dismantled after board had declared it obsolete under pressure of the Asian Development Bank.
   The company said it wanted to refurbish the Shiddhirganj plant and set it up at Shikalbaha.
   ‘It is very unusual that the power board has selected an offer of a company that wanted to set up a power plant which it declared obsolete,’ observed a power board source.
   The 50MW Shiddhirganj power plant, which was more than 40 years old, could generate around 35MW for a generation cost of only around Tk 1.35 a unit.
   The Asian Development Bank set a condition that the plant had to be dismantled to get fund for the 240MW power plant at the same site.
   Despite protest by some power board officials, the plant was dismantled. Sources in the power board felt there was enough space at the Shiddhirganj site for the installation of a 240MW plant and the 50MW plant should not have been dismantled.
   An official of the division told New Age they were aware that the selected company wanted to set up the Shiddhirganj plant at Shikalbaha. ‘We will ask the board to scrutinise whether the tender specification allows the company to do so. It is highly unlikely that the government will approve such a proposal that an obsolete power plant will be refurbished for installation as a new plant,’ he said.

Production in garment factories in the areas surrounding Dhaka and Chittagong continued partially during the curfew on Thursday, but most of the units located in the capital were kept closed.
   Industry people said despite the morning rush of workers, most of whom went to the factories by foot, the owners did not start production after hearing the announcement of holiday in government offices, and many owners feared harassment by law enforcers if they opened their units.
   Factory owners in the capital and Chittagong said they had suffered the most due to lack of transport which prevented movement of raw materials to their factories and the finished goods to the port.
   Fazlul Hoque, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, told New Age that production in most of the knitwear units in Narayanganj and Fatullah, located some 15 kilometres southeast of Dhaka, was not hampered.
   ‘But the factories could not bring raw materials and send finished goods to the port as curfew had totally halted movement of transport in Dhaka and Chittagong,’ he said.
   Abdul Salam Murshedy, a director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said most of the factories in the capital remained closed. ‘Many workers rushed to factories by foot in the morning, but owners in different areas of the city kept their factories closed as they had not been given the green light by the government to operate factories in curfew.’
   ‘Many owners feared punitive action by law enforcers if they opened their factories during curfew,’ said Salam. He, however, told New Age that most of the factories in Dhaka’s suburbs, Savar and Gazipur, remained open.
   Abu Tayeb, a former vice-president of the BGMEA, said that less than half of the garment units in Chittagong continued production.
   ‘Owners either did not start production in the morning or discontinued operations after hearing of the holiday in government offices, which was announced at around 9.30 am,’ Tayeb told new Age.

Communications ministers of SAARC are scheduled to meet in New Delhi on August 31 to discuss the proposal of regional transit agreement prepared by the Asian Development Bank and to finalise the projects for developing the transport modalities that have been prioritised.
   The ministerial meeting, to be preceded by a meeting of the communications secretaries, will approve or disapprove the recommendations of the secretaries on implementation of suggestions by the SRMTS and framework agreement on regional transit, said communications ministry officials.
   The meeting of communications secretaries, scheduled to be held on August 30, will mainly discuss how to implement the recommendations of SAARC Regional Multimodal Transport Study (SRMTS), the actions took in the last couple of months and ADB’s proposal on developing a regional multi-model transit and transport agreement.
   An official of the ministry added that the 14th SAARC Summit, held in the Indian capital on April 3-4, endorsed the outcome of the SRMTS as the blueprint for building the regional multi-modal (road, rail, civil aviation, inland waterways, sea) connectivity across the countries.
   Officials said that the secretary-level meeting of the inter-governmental group on transport will be preceded by the technical committee’s meeting, comprising transportation and communications experts, on August 29.
   ‘If they [secretaries] fail to make any headway in implementing the recommendations of the SRMTS and the framework agreement, the issues will be placed in the ministerial meeting for getting the final nod,’ an official added.
   The communications secretaries of SAARC will also discuss the proposal of creating a regional postal union and another one on developing institutional capabilities in handling transport infrastructure-related projects.
   ‘Earlier this month New Delhi floated the idea of creating a SAARC postal union, and the ministries of communications and post and telecom are currently examining it,’ said an official.
   He said that Sri Lanka had proposed the idea of developing capabilities for handling transport-related projects.
   Dwelling on the issue of SRMTS’s recommendation, the official said that the study suggested the initiation of three types of projects for the growth of regional transport modalities.
   ‘The SRMTS recommends the taking up of projects on national, bilateral and regional levels,’ the official said.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif can return home after seven years in exile, the chief of the court said.
   Sharif, a two-time prime minister, has vowed to oppose a bid by president Pervez Musharraf for another term in office. Sharif, 57, was overthrown by army chief Musharraf in a 1999 coup.
   ‘They have an inalienable right to come back and stay in the country,’ Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry told the court, referring to Sharif and his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, who is also a politician and was exiled with his brother in 2000.
   The court called on the government not to obstruct their return in any way, Chaudhry said. Both brothers are in London.
   The timing of a return by Sharif could hardly be more awkward for Musharraf, who is expected to seek re-election from the national and provincial assemblies between mid-September and mid-October and hold parliamentary elections within months.
   After the 1999 coup, Musharraf co-opted the rump of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League to form his own political base, and analysts say that
   could splinter if Sharif were to return.
   A senior PML member said Nawaz Sharif would meet party colleagues in London and decide when he would return to Pakistan, where he still faces corruption charges.
   ‘It’s a landmark decision that will have a far-reaching impact on politics in Pakistan,’ PML chairman Raja Zafar-ul-Haq told the news agency.
   Hundreds of jubilant Sharif supporters chanted ‘go Musharraf, go!’ outside the Supreme Court.
   Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, another former prime minister in exile, are both hoping to come home and take part in the general elections that Musharraf has promised will be free and fair.
   ‘It’s a great day for democracy and rule of law and for the fundamental rights of the people of Pakistan. The Supreme Court has delivered justice,’ said Nadir Chaudhri, spokesman for Sharif, speaking in London.
   A government minister said the court decision was right.
   ‘They are part of the nation, part of Pakistan’s politics and there should be no restriction on their returning and
   taking part in the general election,’ Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told Geo Television.
   Sharif was sentenced to life in prison on various charges after he was overthrown. He and his family later went to Saudi Arabia after the government said he had agreed to 10 years of exile.
   But Sharif denied any such agreement with the government had been reached and filed a petition in the top court seeking to clear the way for the return of himself and his family.
   A spokeswoman for Benazir’s Pakistan People’s Party also welcomed the court ruling.
   ‘We welcome the decision. He was twice elected prime minister and he is a leader in his own right,’ she said.
   ‘All exiled prime ministers should be allowed to come back to Pakistan with dignity and the respect due to them.’
   Benazir has been in negotiations with Musharraf on a power-sharing deal but Sharif has criticised her efforts and called on her to join efforts to bring an end to Musharraf’s rule.

Lawyers in Pakistan have moved the Supreme Court to restrain president Pervez Musharraf from getting himself re-elected as the head of the state for another five-year term.
   In an application to the apex court, the Pakistan Lawyers’ Forum has pleaded that Musharraf’s not eligible to contest any poll as ‘he suffers from inherent pre-election disqualification’, the ‘Dawn’ reported on Thursday.
   In fact, the lawyers made the plea citing a recent ruling of an 11-member bench of the Supreme Court in the case of former exiled prime minister Nawaz Sharif versus the president of Pakistan.
   ‘Under Article 41 of the Constitution, the president is the head of the state and represents the unity of the republic, and his position is of a non-partisan person,’ the bench has held.
   In its application, the forum said Musharraf should keep out of politics so that he can maintain his ‘neutral image’ under the Constitution.
   It also prayed to the apex court to restrain Musharraf from misusing the neutral, impartial and non-partisan office of the president by trying to enter into a ‘deal’ with any political party to ensure his re-election.
   ‘The president has always been partisan and has been acting as head of a party of political turncoats. The common man takes the PML as Pervez Musharraf League and not Pakistan Muslim League-Q,’ the lawyers said.
   The forum urged the court to restrain Musharraf from pre-election rigging, issuing political statements, hobnobbing with political elements and presiding over meetings of the ruling PML-Q.
   The Corps Commanders and Principal Staff Officers of the Pakistan Army, who on June 1 had allegedly subverted the Constitution, should also be stopped from taking part in political activities, the lawyers said.

The army, Rapid Action Battalion and the police detained at least 30 journalists and harassed scores on their way to offices or back home during curfew hours on Wednesday and Thursday.
   A number of journalists, including New Age photographer Sanaul Haque, private television channel Boishakhi’s head of news Anis Alamgir, Bangladesh Today reporter Ainul Haque Royal and photographer Babu were admitted to hospital after they had been beaten by the battalion at places such as the National Press Club, Mirpur 10, Asad Gate, Dainik Bangla crossing and Sonargaon crossing.
   Although vehicles carrying journalists have been kept out of the curfew purview, the police arrested Samakal reporters Abu Kawser, Rafiqul Islam Montu, Abdul Majid, Nazmul Hauqe Tapan, Iftekhar Mahmud, subeditor Saiful Islam Sham, Janakantha reporter Shahriar Kabir and darkroom assistant Abdur Rahman and took them to the Mohammadpur police station.
   The Mirpur police detained Samakal chief photojournalist Mahbub Hossain Khan Nabin, reporter Masudul Haque, New Age vehicle driver Habibur Rahman Habib, Jugantar reporter Majibar Rahman, Daily Destiny reporter Zahurul Islam, Bangla Bazar reporters Mahbub Arefin and Shafiullah Chhoton.
   The Mirpur police produced New Age vehicle driver Habibur Rahman and Samakal reporter Masudul Haque in court on Thursday.The attack on journalists continued even after the matter was brought to the notice of the information adviser, Moinul Hosein, senior officials of the army, battalion and the police Thursday night.
   Army personnel severely assaulted Bhorer Kagoj reporter Kazi Saifuddin Avi on the Dhaka University campus at around 8:30pm Wednesday. He was admitted to Central Hospital and was later shifted to Orthopaedics Hospital. Physicians said he had both the legs fractured.
   The police severely assaulted Bhorer Kagoj reporter Rashed Ali in the Plassey crossing Wednesday night.
   Law enforcers assaulted two reporters of New Age, Helmul Alam and Anisur Rahman, in the Manik Mia Avenue crossing on Thursday even after they had produced their identity cards.
   Scores of newsmen of print and electronic media were forced to get down from the vehicles in different city areas and asked to walk down to their destinations during curfew hours.
   They also hurled abuses and kept the journalists waiting for two to three hours at different city points.
   Journalists’ associations have expressed their concern about the harassment of journalists by law enforcers during curfew hours.
   They issued statements on Thursday and requested the authorities concerned to take steps so that no journalists are harassed when they discharge their professional duties.
   The Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, Dhaka Reporters’ Unity, Crime Reporters’ Association of Bangladesh, Diplomatic Correspondents’ Association Bangladesh and the Commonwealth Journalists Association, Bangladesh issued similar statements. The organisations requested the authorities concerned to take steps against such harassment of journalists.
   The interim government ordered curfew of Dhaka and five other divisional headquarters at 8:00pm Wednesday following furious protests across the country spilled over from Monday’s incident on the Dhaka University campus.

The country’s two major political parties on Thursday reserved their comments on the present political situation, while the left-leaning organisations asserted that the government should open dialogue with politicians to find out a solution to the present crisis.
   No comment to the latest events was available immediately from the two major parties, Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party, as top leaders remained extra-cautious and avoided comments.
   ‘I will comment on it later,’ said BNP secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, when approached by New Age on Thursday, a day after the government imposed indefinite curfew in Dhaka and five other cities.
   Awami League presidium member Matia Chowdhury also declined comments on the situation.
   ‘Though curfew was relaxed for three hours, we couldn’t hold any discussion with acting party president Zillur Rahman and therefore couldn’t prepare an official statement on the events,’ said Matia.
   Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon said that they had closely reviewed the chief adviser’s televised address to the nation on Wednesday.
   ‘They are making mistakes like previous governments,’ he said. ‘They [the government] have resorted to repression as if the people are their enemy’.
   Imposing curfew will not help to improve the situation, he said.
   The government should start discussions with the political parties to resolve the problems, instead of trying to discover political parties’ involvement in the incidents, Menon said.
   Communist Party general secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim said the situation was the manifestation of various problems plaguing the economy and public life.
   ‘The economy is in a bad shape and confusions have clouded the country’s political future, while unrest gripped social life’, Selim said.
   Imposition of curfew could calm the situation for now, but it would not bring a final solution, if the core problems are not addressed, he said.
   Selim proposed that ban on politics be lifted and dialogue with political parties initiated without delay to find a way out.
   Ganatantri Party president Mohammad Nurul Islam suggested that the government should handle the issues amicably.
   Jamaat-e-Islami general secretary Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojahid said that they were observing the situation closely. He said, ‘Everybody should exercise restraint.’
   Earlier on Wednesday, Awami League acting president Zillur Rahman termed the latest development ‘unexpected and sad’, and said his party was ready to help the government in this regard, if needed.
   Talking to reporters at his Gulshan residence Wednesday afternoon after the decision of clamping curfew was announced, Zillur urged the government to resolve the crisis through discussion as he felt any other measures would only prolong people’s sufferings.

At least six cases were filed in Dhaka and Rajshahi implicating more than 3,000 people including students for clashing with law enforcers on Tuesday and Wednesday.
   More than 2,500 unnamed people, including students of Rajshahi University, were sued for furious protests and clashes on the Rajshahi University campus on Wednesday that left a rickshaw-puller killed and about 100 people injured.
   Two cases were filed with Shahbagh police station, two with Kotwali and one with New Market police station in connection with angry protests and damages of public and private property.
   Dhaka Medical College Hospital secretary Mohammad Amir Hossain filed a case with Shahbagh police station against unnamed 200 persons for vandalising his office room Wednesday evening.
   Another case was filed with the same police station by assistant sub-inspector Jamal Uddin against six to seven unidentified persons for setting fire to an army vehicle in front of Aziz Cooperative Market at Shahbagh area in the capital on Tuesday.
    Sub-inspector Shahjahan Ali of New Market police station filed a case Wednesday charging seven persons for demonstrating and damaging property in Nilkhet and New Market areas.
   Two cases filed with Kotwali police station dealt with the angry protests and damages violating state of emergency at different parts of Old Dhaka on Tuesday and Wednesday.
   Duty officer Mosharraf Hossain told New Age, ‘Two cases are under process. But we are yet to know the name of the accused.’
   Our Rajshahi correspondent adds, sub-inspector SM Faruk Hossain filed a case Wednesday night with Motihar police station alleging that more than 2,500 unidentified students and members of the public clashed with the police, causing death to rickshaw-puller Anwar Hossain and injuries to about 150 others on the university campus on Wednesday.
   None was arrested till Thursday evening in connection with the incident, the police said.

At least 151 people, including newsmen, small traders and students, were sent to jail Thursday on charges of violating curfew in Dhaka.
   Metropolitan magistrate M Shahed Kabir sent them to jail, refusing to hear their bail prayers, and fixed August 26 for the next proceeding.
   Law enforcers picked the people from different parts of the capital between 8:00 pm on Wednesday and 12:00 noon on Thursday on charge of violating curfew as they were found on the streets, the police said.
   Shahid Hossain Dhali, counsel for New Age driver Habib, said he had rushed to the court after the curfew was relaxed from 4:00 pm, but the magistrate informed the waiting lawyers that he could not hear the petitions for bail.
   Habib was arrested by lawmen at Mirpur Wednesday night when he was returning to New Age office after dropping journalists.
   Many litigants were seen waiting at the CMM court premises during the curfew hours as their relatives were detained by lawmen and sent to the courts for hearing.
   ‘My younger brother MA Awal, a university student, was picked up by the army personal as soon as he came out of his Shewrapara residence Wednesday night. He was later handed over to the Kafrul poli-ce,’ said Bilkis in the court premises.
   Editorial assistant of Bangla daily Samakal, Masudul Haque Azad was arrested by law enforcers at Mirpur when he was going back home from his office Wednesday night. Azad’s brother Khandakar Mojahidul Haque told reporters that Azad was sent to jail and the court did not hear the appeal for bail filed by the lawyer.

Internet and international telephone call services remained snapped for more than 13 hours beginning 6:00am Thursday as the telephone board fibre-optic link connected to the submarine cable was severed at two points.
   The engineers at the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board restored the link at 7:35pm, said the board officials.
   ‘We could repair and restore the link to the submarine cable at 7:35pm,’ said Zia Safdar, general manager of security and surveillance of the state-owned telephone board.
   Internet users faced disruption and telephone subscribers had problems in making calls outside the country when the 156km fibre-optic link between Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar was severed at two points at Chunati of Lohagara, some 70km off Chittagong towards Cox’s Bazar, at around 6:00am.
   The cable cut caused almost collapsed the internet services across the country as most service providers are linked with the submarine cable for data transmission.
   The internet service providers have been sending most data traffic on the SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable since the undersea cable was available for the national network in May 2006.
   The telephone board department said it had so far been using 622Mbps capacity of the 14Gbps capacity submarine cable connectivity for internet traffic of 73 service providers.
   Internet service providers said most of them had faced trouble in providing their clients with access to the internet.
   ‘Internet connection has become extremely slow and unusable in some cases,’ said Abdus Salam, president of the Internet Service Providers’ Association, Bangladesh.
   An unofficial estimate says Bangladesh has around 5 lakh internet users.
   Zia said the cable may have been severed ‘intentionally’ by someone to embarrass the telephone board.
   He said the transmission division had formed a three-member committee to investigate whether the cable cut was an act of sabotage.
   The telephone board’s underground fibre-optic network between Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar is often severed by the Roads and Highways Department and other agencies during maintenance work and by cable thieves, resulting in disruption in the services.
   The telephone board officials said an alternative fibre-optic network between Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar was essential for uninterrupted telecoms service for its submarine cable users in case of any disruption in the existing cable.
   The telephone board now uses its redundant microwave link to keep telecommunications in operation when the fibre-optic cable is severed, but the data transmission rate is ‘very slow’ compared with that on fibre-optic cable.

A Natore court on Thursday jailed former deputy minister for land M Ruhul Kuddus Talukder Dulu and 82 other BNP leaders and activists for setting fire to 30 houses and 18 shops in a village and at a market place in the district.
   Dulu was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 12 years and fined Tk 50,000, in default to serve imprisonment for two more years.
   Others, including 15 relatives of Dulu, were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and fined Tk 20,000 each, in default to suffer two more years in jail.
   The repression on women and children (prevention) tribunal judge, Mirza Abdur Rouf, ruled on the case. The court acquitted 11 of the accused.
   Thirty houses at Ramsa Kazipur and 18 shops at Amtali Bazar of Naldanga were set on fire on February 7 and 10, 2004 at the instruction of Dulu, according to the prosecution.
   After a change in the government, a resident of the village, Md Asaduzzaman, lodged a case with the Naldanga police against 105 people, including Dulu, on February 25, 2007.
   Md Arman Hossain, then officer-in-charge of the Naldanga police, submitted two charge sheets against 94 people on May 3.
   Thirty-one of the accused, including Dulu, his elder brother Nurunnabbi Talukder, cousin Atiqur Rahman Talukder, Abidur Rahman Talukder, Nazibur Rahman Talukder, Rafiqul Islam Talukder, nephew Belal, Dalim, Dollar, son-in-law Rahim Newaz, two municipal commissioners, Nasim Khan and Sadrul Islam Dambel, were present in court.
   Public prosecutor Abdul Kader moved the case for the state and Sakhawat Hossain defended it.

The interim government will serve notices on private TV stations CSB and ETV for ‘breaching emergency rules’, the information adviser, Mainul Husein, said on Thursday.
   ‘Several news items broadcast by the two TV channels breached the emergency rules. The notices will be served for this. The government will take action if they continue to do so,’ he told the news by phone.
   In a statement, the Press Information Department quoting the ‘orders’ said the two TV stations had run ‘provocative news, video footage and talk shows against the government’ for the last few days.
   But neither the PID statement nor the adviser in the phone interview explained which news item of the TV channels had exactly breached the emergency rules.
   In the wake of the curfew that started at 8:00pm Wednesday and continued into a second day with a three-hour break, the council of advisers held a meeting at the Chief Adviser’s Office.
   The meeting discussed the alleged harassment of journalists during the curfew hours, Mainul said.
   The government will take ‘necessary steps’ to make sure that journalists are not harassed, he said.
   Asked if the government would relax the curfew for Friday prayers, Mainul said: ‘I think it should be. But no decision has yet been taken.’

The comments made by the army chief, General Moeen U Ahmed, about bankers a few days ago were exaggerated by some newspapers as he had advised the banks not to be ‘over enthusiastic’ in enforcing the rules, an army spokesman said.
   ‘The army chief advised the banks against any ‘over enthusiasm’ in implementing their rules causing miseries to their clients. But some newspapers reported that he had brought allegations of blackmailing against all banks — which is completely uncalled for,’ the spokesman said.
   As a matter of fact, General Moeen had pointed out the ‘over enthusiasm’ of some banks in implementing overnight the rules causing miseries to their clients, the spokesman said.
   The chief of army staff in his address said some banks, at the cost of the miseries of the clients, wanted to implement some rules hurriedly after declaration of the state of emergency, which should have been implemented earlier.
   The spokesman said General Moeen advised the banks not to be ‘unnecessarily tough’ on the clients.
   The army chief, who is also the chairman of the Trust Bank, spoke at the annual general meeting of the Bangladesh Association of Bankers at its office on August 21.
   The spokesman said General Moeen in his address at the function also highlighted some important issues of the banking sector and appreciated various constructive activities of the banks.

Death toll from flooding rose to 662, with 24 more deaths from drowning, snakebites and diarrhoea reported from across the country on Thursday, health services officials said.
   The control room of the health services directorate general said 585 people drowned in flood water, 44 died from snakebite, 14 of respiratory problems and 19 of diarrhoea between July 30 and August 23.
   The control room said 22 people drowned, one died from snakebite, and one died of respiratory tract infection in 24 hours till Thursday morning.
   Four thousand and thirteen diarrhoea patients were admitted to public hospitals in different flood-hit districts and 573 others to the hospital run by the ICDDR,B in Dhaka in 24 hours till Wednesday midnight. The directorate said more than 76,811 people contracted diarrhoea during the period.
   The control room recorded admission of 76,811 diarrhoea patients between July 30 and August 23, 19,967 people with respiratory infections, 20,555 with skin diseases, 5,886 with eye diseases and 76,022 with other health problems caused by dirty flood water, said Afroza Akhtar, an official of the health services control room which compiles records from hospitals in the flooded districts.
   The control room on August 18 said it had identified about 1,554 unions in 218 upazilas as ‘seriously affected’ by waterborne diseases. Some 3,379 medical teams are working in flood-affected areas, said Afroza.
   Sources in the health services directorate general said many patients in divisional headquarters could not be admit to hospital because of unavailability of transports during curfew hours.
   Sources in the ICDDR,B hospital said the number of patients for admission declined because of the curfew.

Some western lobbies have continued complaining about the state of compliance as regards various legal and environmental standards in Bangladeshi garment factories despite improvements in safety, security and wages in the major export-earning industry, said sources in the government.
   The lobbies, including representatives of importers, recently complained to the Bangladesh mission officials in the US about prevalence of child labour in the garment sector contrary to the official claim that the country’s apparel sector had already been freed from child labour.
   The United States trade representatives’ office is likely to hear in October a petition forwarded by the ‘American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations’ on whether to drop Bangladesh from the list of generalised system of preference facilities following allegations of violation of labour rights in the export processing zones.
   Leaders of the garments sector said any harsh move by the US would deal a blow to the country’s $9-billion export-oriented industry although Bangladesh did not enjoy the generalised system of preference in apparel exports to the US market.
   ‘All these allegations came at a time when our industry has made significant improvement in meeting the compliance with various globally accepted standards. Based on evidence, we are sure that the foreign buyers or labour unions will not find abuse of workers,’ a high official of the commerce ministry told New Age on last week.
   Two US and Canadian importers of Bangladeshi garments — Jones Apparel Group and Target Sourcing Services — conveyed, at separate meeting, to the Bangladesh commercial counsellor in Washington that their problems in importing apparel items from Bangladesh also related to lead time, occasional flooding, political instability and price rise.
   The commercial counsellor, Kazi Mohammad Shamsul Alam, in a letter to the commerce ministry mentioned such issues, which, according to commerce ministry officials, were either old or resolved by this time.
   ‘Port services have improved, flooding does not affect garments, political stability has been restored and Bangladeshi garments are very competitive in terms of price,’ an official said dismissing the complaints.
   The Target Sourcing Services, which last year imported apparels worth $150 million, pointed out the problem of baking rules in Bangladesh and also cheating by the factory owners in payment of wages for overtime duties, the letter said.
   The importers, however, suggested that Bangladesh authorities should take initiatives for brightening the image of the country and its industry in the US through publicity in the media. Taking this into serious consideration, the president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, AKM Fazlul Haque, said they were going to do ‘something’ for image building.
   The government has in recent years strengthened regulations on apparel sector, including implementation of minimum wages, while the apex trade body of the sector, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, itself issued warning against non-compliant units.
   In another letter to the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority, the commercial counsellor said the office of the United States Trade Representatives had asked the government of Bangladesh to ensure that trade union activities in the export processing zones were permitted in line with an earlier act.
   ‘Although the Workers Association and Industrial Relations Act, 2004 provides that after October 2006 workers shall have the right to form association in EPZs, they are not yet allowed to form association. They should be allowed to form associations immediately,’ the counsellor summed up the US officials’ views.
   If the petition of the American Federation is accepted, the USTR office will form a panel consisting of officials of its own, of Department of Labor, USITC and Department of Commerce. Representatives from Bangladesh and the labour organisations will also be invited to make their submissions. Afterwards the US government will decide on whether to suspend Bangladesh from the GSP facilities, according to the counsellor.
   The US officials further recommended that the government of Bangladesh, if necessary, might engage the US embassy and American Center for International Solidarity in Dhaka to resolve the issue.

Infectious diseases are emerging more quickly around the globe, spreading faster and becoming increasingly difficult to treat, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday.
   In its annual World Health Report, the United Nations agency warned there was a good possibility that another major scourge like AIDS, SARS or Ebola fever with the potential of killing millions would appear in the coming years.
   ‘Infectious diseases are now spreading geographically much faster than at any time in history,’ the WHO said.
   It said it was vital to keep watch for new threats like the emergence in 2003 of SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which spread from China to 30 countries and killed 800 people.
   ‘It would be extremely naive and complacent to assume that there will not be another disease like AIDS, another Ebola, or another SARS, sooner or later,’ the report warned.
   Since the 1970s, the WHO said, new threats have been identified at an ‘unprecedented rate’ of one or more every year, meaning that nearly 40 diseases exist today which were unknown just over a generation ago.
   Over the last five years alone, WHO experts had verified more than 1,100 epidemics of different diseases.
   With more than 2 billion people travelling by air every year, the UN agency said: ‘an outbreak or epidemic in one part of the world is only a few hours away from becoming an imminent threat somewhere else.’
   The report called for renewed efforts to monitor, prevent and control epidemic-prone ailments such as cholera, yellow fever and meningococcal diseases.
   International assistance may be required to help health workers in poorer countries identify and contain out-
   breaks of emerging viral diseases such as Ebola and Marburg hemorrhagic fever, the WHO said.
   It warned that global efforts to control infectious diseases have already been ‘seriously jeopardised’ by widespread drug resistance, a consequence of poor medical treatment and misuse of antibiotics.
   This is a particular problem in tuberculosis, where extensively drug-resistant (XDR-TB) strains of the contagious respiratory ailment have emerged worldwide.
   ‘Drug resistance is also evident in diarrhoeal diseases, hospital-acquired infections, malaria, meningitis, respiratory tract infections, and sexually transmitted infections, and is emerging in HIV,’ the report declared.
   Although the H5N1 bird flu virus has not mutated into a form that passes easily between humans, as many scientists had feared, the next influenza pandemic was ‘likely to be of an avian variety’ and could affect some 1.5 billion people.
   ‘The question of a pandemic of influenza from this virus or another avian influenza virus is still a matter of when, not if,’ the WHO said.
   It said all countries must share essential health data, such as virus samples and reports of outbreaks, as required under international health rules, to mitigate such risks.
   Accidents involving toxic chemicals, nuclear power and other environmental disasters should also be communicated quickly and clearly to minimise public health threats.

Myanmar’s military junta on Thursday faced mounting calls from western governments and rights groups to release at least 13 activists arrested for protesting against a massive hike in fuel prices.
   Hundreds of protesters this week have defied stiff warnings and staged two rallies against the military dictatorship, grabbing world headlines and shining a spotlight on the secretive regime in the country, formerly known as Burma.
   Myanmar has confirmed the arrests of 13 members of the 88 Generation Students group, including Min Ko Naing, the country’s most prominent dissident leader after detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
   Activists say they believe 10 others have also been detained over the protests.
   Western governments including Canada, France and the United States, issued sharp demands for the immediate release of the activists.
   The United States demanded ‘an end to the regime’s blatant attempt to intimidate and silence those who are engaged in peaceful promotion of democracy and human rights in Burma,’ state department spokesman Gonzo Gallegos said.
   Washington wants the junta to engage in ‘meaningful dialogue’ with leaders of Myanmar’s democracy movement and ethnic minority groups, and to take ‘tangible steps toward a transition to civilian democracy rule,’ Gallegos said.
   France’s foreign ministry said it was ‘concerned by the use of force by pro- government militias in Rangoon against the peaceful, pro-democracy protesters.’
   ‘The military junta is responsible for the possible consequences that this unacceptable repression could have on the protesters,’ it said.
   Canadian foreign minister Maxime Bernier also joined calls for the release of the activists, saying ‘their arrest is yet another example of the Burmese authorities’ continued disregard for freedom and democracy.’
   New York-based Human Rights Watch said the arrests only worsened the plight of Myanmar’s people.
   ‘The recent price hikes in Burma make it harder for ordinary people to sustain themselves by driving up prices of essential goods and services.
   Although Myanmar is rich in resources including natural gas, decades of mismanagement have driven the economy into the ground.
   Meanwhile, about 40 pro-democracy supporters defied the junta again Thursday and staged the third protest this week against a massive hike in fuel prices.
   Such public defiance of the military government, which deals harshly with any dissent and has run the isolated and impoverished country for decades, has not been seen in Myanmar in at least nine years.

Chief Election Commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda on Thursday hoped that the government would relax the ban on political activities in September so that the Election Commission can start dialogues with political parties over reforms of electoral laws by the end of the next month.
   ‘The commission will start sending letters inviting political parties for dialogues from the first week of September and the dialogues will be started by end of September,’ said the CEC while exchanging views with high officials and concerned persons at the Collectorate Conference Room in Jessore on Thursday morning.
   Shamsul claimed that he had a fruitful discussion with the government on relaxing the ban, and expressed the hope that it would be lifted in September.
   Chaired by Abu Al Hossain, deputy commissioner of Jessore, the meeting was also addressed, among others, by Brigade Commander Colonel SM Golam Ambia, Acting Commanding Officer of joint forces Major Ahraful Haq, superintendent of police of Jessore Iqbal Bahar and chairman of Jessore Municipality SM Quamruzzaman Chunnu.
   The CEC announced that voters’ registration in Jessore would start from September 1. The Biharis who were born in independent Bangladesh will also be eligible to be voters this time, he told the meeting.

The United States and the United Kingdom on Thursday expressed their support for the interim government and urged the people of Bangladesh to refrain from ‘violence and provocation’ for the sake of the country.
   ‘The US embassy in Dhaka expresses it support for the caretaker government,’ said the US mission in a statement. ‘The embassy welcomes the chief adviser’s statement that the curfew will be lifted as soon as the situation improves.’
   ‘We call on all to refrain from violence and provocation and to work together to solve the problems in the best interest of Bangladesh’s people,’ the statement said.
   Urging restraint in another statement, the British high commission in Dhaka said, ‘We urge restraint from all sides. We hope a situation can be reached
   in which the curfew can be lifted at the earliest possible opportunity.’
   It said, ‘We understand that the caretaker government will not allow these events to deflect from its desire for credible elections, as per the election roadmap. We welcome this.’

Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt walked out of jail Thursday after being granted interim bail from his six-year sentence for arms possession, an AFP photographer said.
   A smiling Dutt shook hands with police officials, hugged a few of them and waved to scores of journalists as he walked out of Yerwada prison in western Pune city.
   Dutt was last month sentenced to six years for possessing illegal weapons received from plotters of the 1993 Mumbai bombings which killed 257 people and injured 800 more.
   The Supreme Court on Monday ordered his release on a technicality, as the Mumbai court had failed to provide a copy of its full judgement to Dutt.
   The popular movie action hero must turn himself in again to the court when his lawyers get a copy of the judgement, which could take up to a month.
   The 48-year-old star was expected to fly north to Mumbai where he has a home and where the Bollywood film industry is located.

The education ministry has planned to take tough action against the teachers who do not discharge their duties properly, especially in evaluating the answer scripts of Secondary and Higher Secondary Certificate examinations, said sources in the ministry.
   The nine education boards in the country conduct SSC, HSC and equivalent examinations and publish the results of above 10 lakh examinees every year, and some selected teachers are assigned to evaluate the answer scripts within a specific timeframe.
   Ministry sources said that they have evidence that a good number of teachers of high schools and colleges do not discharge the duties assigned to them by the boards, which creates numerous problems in publishing the results.
   ‘There are some well-known teachers who take an unusually long time in evaluating the answer scripts, which is one of the reasons for the delay in preparing the results of the SSC and HSC examinations,’ said the official.
   ‘Some teachers even lose the answer scripts of the examinees while some do the job callously and haphazardly, for which the authorities have to face untoward circumstances in publishing the results of a particular examinee,’ he said.
   ‘We had to face many problems due to the callousness of a professor of English of a renowned government college in Dhaka, as he had lost around 100 OMR (optical machine recognition) forms out of the total of 300 answer scripts sent to him for evaluation,’ said an official of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka.
   ‘Heads of some education boards have recommended that tougher action should be taken against such teachers,’ said a ministry official. ‘A directive detailing the punishment of such teachers will be issued within a short period.’

About 300 farmers went out on demonstrations on Thursday near the office of the upazila nirbahi officer at Kaliganj in Jhenaidah demanding adequate and timely supply of urea.
   The officer, Sushanta Shekhar Bhoumik, said the farmers of Shimla–Rukanpur and Sundar-pur–Durgapur unions reached the place at about 10:00am and stayed for a few minutes.
   They went back as the were assured of adequate supply of urea in September from the office, he said.

More than 100 people ranging from farmers to priests have so far registered as candidates for South Korea’s December presidential election, the National Election Commission said.
   A total of 106 people have registered on a preliminary list of contenders since the procedure started in April, a commission spokesman told Yonhap news agency in a report late Wednesday.
   ‘Probably they are promoting their faces. Not many of them will still be there at the real election date,’ said spokesman Kim Young-Hun.
   Many are from established political parties but there are many more hopefuls who declared themselves as independents. They include 12 jobless people, seven white-collar workers, six religious practitioners and three farmers.
   Kim said a new law allows anyone aged 40 or older to register as ‘preliminary candidates’ and conduct limited campaigning. Previously candidates were barred from any campaigning until three weeks before the December 19 vote.
   Most of the would-be presidents are expected to drop out when they have to deposit 500 million won (530,000 dollars), which they will forfeit unless they get more than 15 per cent of the vote.

Iran has developed a 2,000-pound (900-kg) ‘smart bomb’, official media quoted a defence ministry statement as saying on Wednesday, in the latest announcement from Tehran about progress regarding military hardware.
   The guided bomb, named Qased (Messenger), was developed by specialists within the ministry and is now operational, IRNA news agency said, adding it could be dropped from F-4 and F-5 jets.
   Iran still uses planes, such as the F-5, supplied by the United States to the government of the former shah of Iran, who was a close US ally.
   Mohammad Reza Shah was ousted in the 1979 Islamic revolution, after which Washington cut ties with Tehran.
   The two countries are embroiled in a deepening standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme, which the West suspects is aimed at making atom bombs, a charge Iran denies.
   Iran often says it has built new arms or upgraded weapons but rarely gives enough details for analysts to determine their capabilities.
   Although much of Iran’s weaponry is outmoded,
   analysts say Iran has become proficient at modifying such arms.
   Defence minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said last year Iran had designed the Qased bomb but that it had yet to be tested.
   He said only a limited number of countries possessed the technology of ‘smart and guided weaponry’.
   The United States says it would prefer a diplomatic
   solution to the nuclear row, but has not ruled out military action.
   Iran has threatened to hit back at US regional interests if attacked.