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The military-controlled interim government, amid pressure of political parties, rights groups and foreign quarters, on Tuesday said it might completely withdraw the state of emergency in a reasonable time before the elections, now slated for December 29.
   The political parties, rights groups and foreign quarters were asking the government for a complete withdrawal of the state of emergency to create an atmosphere conducive to participatory polls.
   The president, Iajuddin Ahmed, on January 11, 2007, declared the state of emergency suspending fundamental rights and indefinitely delaying the elections to the ninth Jatiya Sangsad, earlier scheduled for January 22, 2007, centring on a political changeover.
   ‘We have on various occasions earlier said the elections will not be held under the state of emergency…. We will completely withdraw the emergency in a reasonable time before the polls in keeping with the recommendation of the Election Commission,’ the education and commerce adviser, Hossain Zillur Rahman, said at a briefing at the secretariat after a meeting of the panel of advisers dealing with political negotiations.
   He, however, asserted the government was fully prepared as well as determined to ensuring free, fair and credible elections. ‘All aspirations of the nation will be fulfilled.’
   The public works and communications adviser, Ghulam Quader, the law adviser, AF Hassan Ariff, and the LGRD adviser, Anwarul Iqbal, also present at the briefing.
   The army chief, General Moeen U Ahmed, on Tuesday said he would request the government to withdraw the state of emergency before the general elections.
   ‘We want the elections to be held without the state of emergency and it will so ill happen, insha’Allah. But the matter calls for patience,’ he said as he addressed a business gathering and reception accorded to him on Tuesday.
   The BNP-led alliance Monday evening decided to allow its candidates to file nomination although it had given a warning that it might reconsider its decision on contesting the polls if the government would not announce to withdraw the emergency with effect from December 11, the last date for candidature withdrawal, according to the BNP’s secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain.
   The Awami League’s spokesman Syed Ashraful Islam on Monday said, ‘The state of emergency must be withdrawn.’
   Human rights organisation Odhikar said credible and legitimate elections could not be held under the state of emergency.
   Odhikar in a statement said the state of emergency was ‘inherently abusive, anti-human rights and anti-democracy’, which should be completely withdrawn to create an environment conducive to holding free and fair elections.
   The United Nations election assessment team which met three advisers on Tuesday also stressed the need for withdrawal of the state of emergency.
   Asked whether the advisers had assured him that the emergency would be withdrawn, Francesc Vendrell, who was leading the UN team, said, ‘I am not seeking any assurance… The general sense I have from the discussion is positive, which means there will be no emergency until something untoward happens.’
   The United Nations wants to see a right climate — political freedom and a level playing field for political parties — before the elections, according to the head of the UN panel. ‘We have no reason to believe that there will be problems regarding access to information, freedom of media and freedom of assembly.’
   The UN resident coordinator, Renata Lok Dessallien, was also present at the meeting with advisers Ghulam Quader, Hassan Ariff and Hossain Zillur on pre-election situation at the public works ministry.
   A European Commission delegation in Dhaka also said the emergency should go before the polls. ‘It is not easy to accept the emergency. Although we are sending an election observation mission following relaxation of emergency, it does not mean we are happy. We still keep saying it should ideally go,’ the ambassador and head of the EU delegation, Stefan Frowein, said after meeting the foreign affairs adviser, Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, on Sunday.

The army chief, General Moeen U Ahmed, on Tuesday said he would request the government to withdraw the state of emergency, declared on January 11, 2007, before the December 29 general elections.
   Addressing a business gathering and reception accorded to him, he put out a call for keeping ‘patience’ to allow the interim government to withdraw the state of emergency and hold the balloting in a congenial atmosphere.
   ‘We want the elections to be held without the state of emergency and it will so happen, insha’Allah. But the matter calls for patience,’ Moeen said making it clear he would request the chief adviser to withdraw the emergency before the national polls.
   Moeen made the remarks in response to the request by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry president, Annisul Huq, to create an atmosphere for free and fair elections by withdrawing the state of emergency before polling.
   Thanking the army for its support for democratic process, Annisul told the army chief, ‘I urge you [to use your good offices] to help to withdraw the state of emergency for holding the elections in a good atmosphere.’
   Moeen then said: ‘We will convey your plea to the caretaker government and the chief adviser so that the state of emergency is withdrawn.’
   The call for the withdrawal of the state of emergency came at a session of the Council of Chamber Presidents, a forum of the presidents of 64 district chambers, and the reception in the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre.
   The business leaders, including the current presidents of the leading trade bodies and two former chiefs of the federation, praised Moeen for the contribution of the Armed Forces to greater national activities such as preparation of the electoral roll after the January 11, 2007 changeover.
   Amid political turmoil centring on the elections to the ninth parliament boycotted by the Awami League-led alliance, it was the then leadership of the apex trade body which on January 6, 2007 demanded promulgation of the state of emergency to end the prevailing uncertainty.
   Recalling his talks with Moeen in a flight to Chittagong in the days of political turmoil late 2006, Annisul on Tuesday lauded his resolve to go by the constitution and said the army had not taken over the state power. The federation president hoped the army would be respectful to the constitutional rule and refrain from assuming power.
   ‘The army did not come to power through the [happenings of] 1/11, nor did it want to create it. We wanted free and fair elections and the president promulgated the state of emergency,’ claimed Moeen, adding the Armed Forces helped the government to restore law and order and address many other issues.
   Moeen said he had requested the president to allow the Armed Forces to go back to the barracks. ‘We got back to the barracks within 48 hours of the order,’ he said.
   In his speech which lasted for 40 minutes, Moeen described in details the activities carried out by the Armed Forces in two years, ranging from the demolition drive against illegal and informal structures to the drives against corruption and serious crimes.
   He said the anti-corruption campaign had just begun and hoped the next government would follow it up. ‘We have been able to give an impression to the countrymen of the extent of corruption.’
   In this context, he urged businessmen to ignore the mistakes made in drives against illegal structures after January 11, 2007 and appreciated their contribution to the wellbeing of the nation. ‘We stand beside you,’ he assured the business community. ‘Please do not indulge in unethical practice in future and will prevent others from doing so.’
   Forecasting a middle-income Bangladesh even before 2020, Moeen stressed the need for quality leadership with full knowledge of the country’s development. ‘We will definitely overcome obstacles if our mindset is right,’ he said.
   He said the members of the Armed Forces were the children of the country’s people, ‘not at all rivals [of anyone]. We will continue to stand by the distressed humanity.’
   Former FBCCI presidents Abdul Awal Mintoo and Yussuf Abdullah Harun, the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, Latifur Rahman, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association president, Anwarul Alam Chowdhury (Parvez), and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association president, Fazlul Haque, also addressed the gathering.
   The president of the Council of Chamber Presidents, Abul Kashem Ahmed, also a director of the federation, burst into tears as he praised Moeen, whom some businessmen described as a visionary and friend to the business community.
   Presidents of all district chambers of commerce and industry presented Moeen with souvenirs, representing tradition and culture of the respective areas of the country.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday sold more than 1,700 application forms for party nomination for the ninth parliamentary polls scheduled for December 29.
   Forms were being sold for 263 constituencies. Forms for 37 constituencies have been reserved for the BNP’s partner Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
   The sales will continue today from six booths for six divisions at the party’s central office at Naya Paltan.
   The party’s standing committee, which will act as the parliamentary board, will begin interviewing the aspirants on Thursday.
   The party’s central office wore a festive look with crowds of followers of the aspirants. Many of them found the crowd thinner than what it was in the past elections.
   Aspirants for the seats of the Dhaka division collected 900 forms, Sylhet 43, Chittagong about 300, Rajshahi Division 250, Barisal 120 and Khulna 112. More than 100 aspirants submitted the nomination forms.
   A nomination form has been collected for the party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, for the Bogra 7 constituency, the ancestral home of the late president Ziaur Rahman.
   A photographer of the daily Karatoya, Saiful Islam, also an aide to former lawmaker for the constituency, Helauzzaman Talukdar Lalu, collected the form.
   The sales of forms began at 8:30am and a former acting Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal president, Manzur Elahi, was the first to collect the form, for the Lakshmipur 2 constituency. He was also the first to submit the form.
   Among the heavyweight aspirants for party nomination, Jatiya Sangsad speaker Jamiruddin Sircar has collected forms for the Panchagarh 1 constituency, standing committee member M Saifur Rahman for Moulvibazar 3, standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain for Comilla 1, standing committee member Moudud Ahmed for Noakhali 5, the party chief’s adviser ASM Hannan Shah for Gazipur 4, former Chhatra Dal president Asaduzzaman Ripon for Dhaka 4 and Dhaka 5.
   Shah Moazzem Hossain, Hemayetullah Auranga, AKM Mosharraf Hossain, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, Wahidul Alam, Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, MK Anwar, Rafiqul Islam Mia, Mizanur Rahman Minu, Rizvi Ahmed, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, Mahbubur Rahman, Tariqul Islam, Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui, Selima Rahman, Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, Nitai Roy Chowdhury and Ilias Ali collected forms on the day.
   Representatives collected nomination forms on behalf of three former ministers — Moudud Ahmed, Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf, Nazmul Huda and Mirza Abbas.
   Moudud, Huda and Abbas are now in prison on corruption charges. Abbas’s wife Afroza Abbas collected the form on his behalf from the BNP office.
   Ajmal Hossain Bachchu, a new aspirant, has collected a form for the Khulna 3 constituency.
   Supporters of the party’s expelled office secretary Mafikul Hasan Tripti tried to collect a form, but they were denied.
   Chowdhury Tanvir Ahmed Siddiqui collected the highest number of forms on the day. Five forms were collected on his behalf.
   The aspirants collected the forms for Tk 1,000 each and submitted them with a non-refundable deposit of Tk 20,000 along with necessary documents.
   The highest five forms were collected by Chowdhury Tanvir Ahmed Siddiqui. A form was also collected on behalf of the sacked High Court judge Faisal Mahmud Fayezee.
   The party’s vice-chairman M Hafizuddin Ahmed, who once led the splinter group of the party, also collected a form through his representative.

The Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, on Tuesday said plots were on to make the elections uncertain by creating a crisis.
   ‘A vested interest quarter is hatching conspiracy to make the elections uncertain by creating a crisis,’ she said as he exchanged views with the leaders of Peshajibi Samanway Parishad in her office at Dhanmondi.
   Hasina said the people would not forgive the quarters who were trying to delay the national elections being scared of their defeat in the polls.
   ‘The people will not forgive any quarters, scared of their defeat, trying to defer or delay the polls though an opinion poll,’ she said, urging the people to remain alert so that none could play any trick or hatch a conspiracy with their franchise.
   Hasina said the national polls must be held on date announced in the latest schedule as the people were eagerly waiting for free, fair and credible elections in which they could exercise their franchise without fear.
   ‘What do they want? Why is the state of emergency being prolonged? In whose interest?’ Hasina said, putting out a call for no further dilly-dally with the elections as the people would not accept any further deferral of the polls.
   She said the Awami League had accepted the fresh election schedules as the party wanted free, fair and impartial elections which could ensure the people’s voting rights and allow them to elect a government of their choice. ‘Only an elected government can address the problems of the people.’
   Hasina gave an assurance that she, if her party was voted to power, would arrest the essential goods price spiral and protect the people from intimidation, crimes, corruption and exploitation. She urged the professional bodies to extend their support for the Awami League.
   She hoped the people would give their mandate in favour of her party if they could exercise their franchise in free, fair and neutral elections.
   Awami League leaders Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir and Matia Chowdhury, the Parishad convener, Kazi Faruque Ahmed, member secretary Quamrul Hasan Khan, Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, AAMS Arefin Siddique, Saidur Rahman Chowdhury, SM Khairuzzaman and Sharfuddin Ahmed also addressed the meeting.

Public Service Commission chairman Sa’dat Hussain on Tuesday said the results of the 27th BCS examinations announced in September 2008 would not be changed, showing a reverse stance against education adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman.
   ‘We will not alter the 27th BCS exams’ results under any circumstances,’ he told a press conference, three days after Hossain Zillur had assured the striking candidates of considering their demand for reinstatement of the first results announced in January 2007.
   When asked whether the candidates, who qualified the 27th BCS exams’ first results and failed to come out successful as per the September 2008 results, would be employed by creating posts, the PSC chairman said, ‘It’s up to the government as PSC cannot make such decision.’
   Hossain Zillur on November 20 told newsmen at the Central Shaheed Minar that the government was considering the matter on humanitarian and rational grounds. He also offered water to the agitating candidates of the 27th BCS tests to break their fast unto death at the Shaheed Minar.
   ‘We hope to resolve the crises as soon as possible,’ the adviser told the agitating candidates, who broke their fast following the assurance of a reasonable solution to the crises.
   The government of Fakhruddin Ahmed earlier cancelled the previous viva voce for alleged irregularities in the 27th BCS exams process of which had begun in 2005.
   Meanwhile, applicants for the 28th BCS examinations, who did not get admit cards for not providing all requisite papers, have been asked to collect cards from the Public Service Commission before the preliminary test on Friday.
   The candidates will have to collect the cards on condition that they would submit the requisite documents with the PSC within December 15, PSC member Ehsan Shameem told the press conference organised at the PSC office in Dhaka.
   ‘The cases will be examined separately and the conditional admit cards will be issued to the applicants, who did not receive the same not attaching all required documents with the application forms,’ he said.
   Out of 120,946 applicants, 115,163 could post their applications correctly, he said.
   PSC cancelled 5,783 applicants for various faults, Shameem said, adding that applications of those, who had made wrong entries in the prescribed forms in slots meant for ‘applicant’s name or applicant’s father’s name’ or had forgotten to sign the form, would not be considered and therefore no admit card would be issued to them.
   Multiple sets of question papers have been prepared and the particular set will be selected only minutes before the exam in presence of all the PSC members.
   The 28th BCS preliminary test will be held in 103 examination centres of Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet on November 28 at 10:30am.

Aggrieved candidates who qualified in the 27th Bangladesh Civil Service as per the result of January 2007, but were later dropped from the second viva voce, demanded the gazette notification of their appointment within December 2.
   They made the demand on Tuesday afternoon at the Central Shaheed Minar at a press briefing as the cabinet committee on administration reforms and good governance assured them of their appointments.
   They said the Public Service Commission chairman was misinterpreting the definition of ‘deprived candidates’ as the commission was trying to appoint candidates selected in the second viva exam but could not be given appointment for lack of vacancy.
   They said this was making the process long-drawn and further delaying the appointment of the agitating candidates who were selected and given appointment in the first viva exam.
   They said that they would initiate tougher movement if the government did not meet their demand by December 2 while they continue their sit-in programme at the Central Shaheed Meneer ongoing since November 1.

A clash between the students of Habibullah Bahar University College and employees of Karnaphuli Garden City Shopping Complex left at least 30 people, including four teachers, injured on Tuesday.
   It was the third instance that students were locked in clashes in the city within a span of four days.
   Traffic was held up for more than an hour on the busy road from Kakrail to Shantinagar during the clash on Tuesday. The college authorities postponed Witnesses said the clash ensued at about 12:30pm following an altercation between some students and employees at the shopping complex.
   During the clash, windowpanes of the shopping complex were smashed while the employees along with the businessmen pelted brickbats at the college building after they had failed to enter the institution.
   Tubs of flowering plants at the shopping centre were also smashed. The road was littered with pieces of bricks and broken tubs and plants after the clash.
   On receipt of information, the police reached the spot and brought the situation under control at about 1:45pm.
   The college authorities said four students went to a fast food shop on the third floor of the shopping complex at about 10:30am and locked in an altercation with the employees. At one stage, the employees released two of the students but confined two others.
   As the college principal Abu Bakar Chowdhury was apprised of the incident, he sent three teachers to settle the issue. The teachers with the students went to the shop and managed to free the students from confinement.
   But when they were coming out of the shopping complex, the employees also came down on to the street and took position in front of the shopping centre.
   As the students were coming out of their institution, the principal managed to calm them down. Later, the principal himself went to the shopping centre and a settlement was almost ensured but a clash erupted suddenly.
   The authorities claimed that they immediately suspended the classes and closed the main gate to stop students from going out of the institution.
   The employees and businessmen pelted brickbats at the college building and vandalised the windowpanes of front building and library.
   Four teachers were among 10 injured in the attack, the authorities claimed.
   The businessmen, however, claimed that the students assaulted an employee when he (employee) tried to resist the students from teasing some girls at a fast food shop on the third floor of the shopping complex.
   The students later went out of the centre and re-appeared with more fellows.
   The students started vandalising the shopping centre in the presence of the college principal who went to the shopping centre to settle the issue, they claimed.
   Some 20 employees, who were injured in the attack, received treatment at different clinics.
   On Monday, a clash between a group of Dhaka University students and policemen near Dhaka Medical College Hospital left seven people wounded, including three policemen.
   Besides, at least 10 people were injured in a clash between the students of Dhaka College and employees of Chandrima Super Market on Saturday.

Kuwait was plunged into a new crisis on Tuesday after the cabinet in the oil-rich Gulf state resigned over a standoff with parliament, in a move which could lead to early elections.
   ‘The prime minister submitted his resignation and that of all cabinet ministers to the emir,’ said the minister for royal court, Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah.
   ‘The emir has deferred a decision on the resignation until another time,’ he was quoted as saying by the official KUNA news agency, adding that the emir has asked the cabinet to continue to carry out its duties.
   Kuwaiti ministers — led by the prime minister, Sheikh Nasser Mohammed al-Ahmad al-Sabah, — had walked out of parliament earlier on Tuesday as the house was due to set a date to question the premier.
   The move raises the prospect of parliament being dissolved for the third time in as many years.
   Following its walkout from parliament, the government went into an emergency meeting, parliamentary sources said.
   Under Kuwaiti law, if Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah accepts the resignation — on which there was no immediate official word — he can either form a new cabinet or dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections.
   Several MPs said the emir was due to issue a decree later on Tuesday to dissolve parliament, with some expecting both the constitution and parliament to be suspended, which means no fresh election will be called.
   Three Islamist MPs had last week called for the premier to be grilled, accusing Sheikh Nasser, a nephew of the emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, of allowing a prominent Iranian Shia cleric to enter Kuwait despite a legal ban.
   They have also accused him of failing to ‘perform his constitutional duties... and that it was time that Kuwait had a premier capable of running the state and achieving the wishes of the people.’
   And they have alleged that corruption and squandering of public funds had rapidly increased under the leadership of Sheikh Nasser, who is a senior member of the ruling family.
   Despite the latest political crisis, the Kuwait stock market, which has been battered over falling oil prices and the global financial crisis, was up 0.55 percent on Tuesday.
   The OPEC member state is no stranger to such crises, with many MPs blaming disputes in the ruling Al-Sabah family.
   Kuwait’s constitution, the first adopted by an Arab state in the Gulf, was suspended in 1976 for five years and in 1986 for six years when parliament was also dissolved.
   In 2006, a power struggle among the Al-Sabahs resulted in an unprecedented vote by the elected parliament to remove the then emir, Sheikh Saad Abdullah al-Sabah, on health grounds.
   Parliament was also dissolved in March 2007 over political disputes between MPs and the government, and fresh elections were held.
   The Al-Sabah family has run the affairs of Kuwait since it came into existence some 250 years ago, and Kuwaitis have seldom questioned their continuing rule.
   The emir, crown prince and the prime minister are all from the family, which also controls the key ministerial portfolios of defence, interior, information and foreign affairs.
   Kuwait is the fourth largest OPEC producer with a daily output of 2.4 million barrels.

The United Nations wants to see the upcoming general elections taking place without the state of emergency, Francesc Vendrell, head of the visiting UN team in Dhaka, said after holding separate meetings with the two former prime ministers, Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina.
   ‘We will, of course, prefer to see the country going to the polls without the state of emergency,’ Francesc Vendrell said after meeting with Awami League president Sheikh Hasina at her Sudhasadan residence Tuesday.
   ‘The army chief apparently has said that the emergency should be lifted and we have heard a similar tone from the Election Commission. So I think emergency will be lifted,’ he said after meeting Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan office.
   Asked his observation about the perception among a section of the people in Bangladesh that the UN secretary general’s statement in January 2007 had prompted imposition of state of emergency, Vendrell said, ‘My understanding is that the secretary general simply felt that the elections in which one of the major forces does not participate and given that report he felt that it would be important to have credible elections.’
   ‘I do not think, even by a long shot, that he was trying to encourage a military takeover in the country…at UN we do not encourage coup d’etat on any country. We want to see civilian rule and people can choose their government,’ he said.
   The team noted the concerns of the parties and said they came to assess the climate and submit their report to the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon.
   Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina told the UN team that the party would participate in the upcoming polls even if its archrival BNP stays away, according to news agency UNB.
   Hasina’s special aide, Hasan Mahmud, said the UN team pointed out to the Awami League chief that even till Monday BNP had not made it fully clear if they would be going to the polls. ‘Now, if BNP does not take part in the elections, is Awami League ready to go to the polls?’ he quoted the United Nations Team for Bangladesh Election asking Hasina.
   In reply, he said, Hasina had said her party was always prepared for elections.
   ‘Awami League was fully prepared to contest the polls on the previous date, December 18. But, for a certain party’s convenience, the election has been deferred to December 29, thus making the state of emergency prolonged,’ he said.
   Hasina said if Awami League is voted to power again, it would take initiatives, including inviting names from the opposition parties for the post of deputy speaker, in order to make the parliament effective.
   Sheikh Hasina also informed the UN team about the problems election candidates were facing for not getting voters’ list this time like previous elections, he said.
   Khaleda Zia, also chief of the BNP-led alliance, told the UN team that the government should ensure level playing field for all parties for the next parliamentary elections by meeting her party’s two demands.
   ‘The government should lift the state of emergency on the last date of withdrawal of candidature and cancelling or suspending section 91(e) of the Representation of the People Order, Khaleda’s aide on foreign affairs Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury quoted her as telling the UN team.
   The UN team also met Matiur Rahman Nizami, amir of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, an ally of BNP, at the party office in the afternoon.
   Nizami stressed the need for lifting emergency on the last date of withdrawing candidature and curtailing the ‘despotic’ powers of the Election Commission to cancel candidature at any level of elections.

Election commissioner M Sakhawat Hussain on Tuesday said the commission had nothing to do if political parties would field candidates for the forthcoming national polls ignoring the recommendations of the party grassroots.
   ‘We have nothing to do if parties nominate candidates ignoring their grassroots proposals. It does not contradict the provisions in the Representation of the People Order,’ Sakhawat told reporters when he was asked about parties’ fielding candidates ignoring the recommendations made by the grassroots of the parties.
   He said if grassroots leaders were aggrieved at the party’s parliamentary board’s decision on nomination from outside the panel, recommended by local committees, they could move court challenging the party decisions.
   Asked about the commission’s action if any aggrieved leaders lodge complaints with the commission against the party’s decision of nomination from outside the panel, Sakhawat said the commission then might seek explanation from the parties about the situation which forced them to make such decisions — time constraints or anything else.
   As for changing party for tickets just before nomination submission, he said there was no problem in such cases for the forthcoming polls as the provision in the electoral laws for being members of a party for three years for party tickets would apply only after three years of party’s registration.
   Sakhawat said because of time constraints, some parties could field candidates for the forthcoming parliamentary polls without considering the grassroots proposals. But he hoped the parties would follow their constitutions.
   For registration with the Election Commission, the political parties incorporated a provision in their constitutions ‘to finalise nomination of candidates by the parliamentary board of the party from the panels prepared by members of the ward, union, thana, upazila or district committee, as the case may be, of the constituency concerned.’
   Registration of a political party may be cancelled for violation of the provision, according to the Representation of the People Order.
   Of major political parties, the Awami League parliamentary board, headed by the party chief, Sheikh Hasina, gave party tickets to some candidates for the December polls who are not on the panels prepared by the grassroots. Another major party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is yet to begin nominating party candidates.
   Sakhawat said the commission had issued notices to the registered political parties requesting them to tell their candidates to go by the electoral code of conduct and asked government officials to follow the rules and the code of conduct.
   The commission said it had also sent a letter to the Cabinet Division asking it to restrict government high officials to make official visits to constituencies during the elections if any of their relations were contesting the polls.
   He, however, made it clear the officials could visit their constituencies to cast their vote in the polls.
   Asked whether the commission has received any list of people convicted under the Emergency Powers Rules from the home affairs ministry, he said the list would go directly to the offices of returning officers.
   As for Article 91E of the Representation of People Order, he said there was no room for misunderstanding of the provision as the rules could not be abused so easily to cancel candidatures.
   He said many people might have misunderstanding of the laws as they had not read the provision properly. ‘It is not so easy to abuse the law.’
   Sakhawat said in the case of allegations against candidates, open investigations would be initiated by the inquiry committee and the commission would then hold a hearing to settle the matter. ‘After hearing, the commission based on a consensus will make a decision on the cancellation of candidature.’
   As for upazila elections, he said the elections to the upazila would be held in keeping with the schedule and there was no scope for deferral of the polls on technical grounds.
   ‘If we announce the schedule of upazila in January, we will need to allow update to the electoral roll as January, according to laws, is the month for such updates. It will cause an unspecified delay in the holding of the polls,’ he said.
   Sakhawat said the fresh election schedules had been worked out in such a way that there could not be conflicts in campaigns for the parliamentary and upazila polls.
   He, however, said if the new government would not follow the election schedules, they would be accountable to the voters.
   ‘If the elected government postpone the upazila polls by making laws in the parliament, the commission will not have any option left,’ he said in reply to a question.

The High Court on Tuesday stayed for four weeks the Election Commission’s decision baring Dhaka mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka from contesting the parliamentary elections.
   The High Court bench of Justice Tariq ul Hakim and Justice Farah Mahbub also issued a rule asking the EC to explain in four weeks the constitutionality of its decision taken on November 17 disqualifying mayors from parliamentary polls considering the post of a city mayor as an ‘office of profit’ in the service of the republic or of a statutory public authority.
   The stay on EC’s decision, so far it relates to Khoka, also the immediate past president of the Dhaka city unit of BNP, clears way for him to contest the national elections scheduled for December 29.
   Emerging from the court, Khoka’s counsel Khondker Mahbubuddin Ahmad told reporters, ‘The court order makes the way for the Dhaka mayor to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections.’
   The other city mayors, however, will need to obtain similar order from the High Court, if they want to contest the national elections retaining their offices, Mahbub added.
   According to Article 12(1)(C) of the Representation of the People Order 1972, a person shall be disqualified for election as or for being a member of the parliament, ‘if he is a person holding any office of profit in the service of the republic or of a statutory public authority’.
   The EC at a meeting on November 17 decided that mayors of city corporations and municipalities would be disqualified from the national polls, considering their posts as offices of profit.
   Election commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hussain told New Age Tuesday evening that the EC would go by the court order.
   Asked whether the other city mayors would be allowed to contest the national polls, Sohul said, ‘We have to wait for the copy of the court order to make any comments in this regard, as we are not sure whether the court has stayed the provision only for Dhaka mayor or in its entirety.’
   Earlier in the day, another election commissioner M Sakhawat Hossain said the mayors of city corporations and municipalities would have to resign from their posts to contest the parliamentary elections, but councillors could contest the polls retaining their posts.
   Asked whether the EC would prefer appeal against the High Court order, its counsel Shadheen Malik said, ‘It will be decided in consultation with the EC.’
   The High Court passed the order after hearing a writ petition filed by Khoka on November 23.
   Mahabubuddin argued that the government, by a gazette notification on October 14, 2002, declared that the Dhaka mayor would hold the status of a cabinet minister and would be entitled to the benefits, enjoyed by a minister, since his entering the officer of mayor.
   ‘As the Dhaka mayor enjoys the status of a cabinet minister, he cannot be disqualified to be elected as a member of parliament,’ he said, ‘The Election Commission has made the decision without lawful authority and it was purporting to disqualify the city mayors from the national polls.’
   Dhaka City Corporation is not a statutory public authority nor the mayor holds the office of the profit, he contended.
   Shahdeen, however, argued that the petition was premature as Khoka had neither filed his nomination paper nor it had been cancelled.

A case has been lodged with a Panchagarh court against members of the Border Security Force of India for killing three Bangladeshis near the Tentulia border earlier this month.
   Abdus Salam, brother of Golam Mostafa who was one of those shot dead on November 16, lodged the case with legal aid from the Bangladesh Human Rights Commission.
   The case names Indian border guard RP Singh as the main accused. BSF company commander SK Singh and commandant of the 10th battalion Dibakar Kumar are named as accomplices.
   Members of Noyabari BSF outpost intruded into Moynakuri village on the country’s northernmost border of Tentulia in Panchagarh district on the night of November 16. They shot dead three people — an infant, his mother Majeda Begum and neighbour Golam Mostafa.
   The villagers captured RP Singh and handed him over to the Bangladesh Rifles. He was handed over to the Indian authorities the following day, when BSF also apologised for the incident.
   After taking the statement of the plaintiff on Tuesday, Judge Abdul Malik ordered the officer in charge of Tentulia to register the case.
   ‘The ruthless killing of the three Bangladeshis is a blatant violation of human rights,’ said HRC upazila secretary, A Rahman Mukul, at a press conference.
   He demanded exemplary punishment for the guilty BSF members, adequate compensation for the families of the dead and improved treatment for Majeda’s husband Shahidul Islam, who was wounded in the BSF firing.

Britain introduced a new law on Tuesday bolstering rules against forced marriages, after foreign secretary David Miliband highlighted a case in Pakistan ahead of a visit to the south Asian country.
   The new law allows courts to stop forced marriages and provide protection to those who have been married against their will.
   It also gives judges the power to require individuals to reveal the whereabouts of people thought to be at risk of being forced into marriage, stop potential victims from being taken abroad, and seize passports.
   According to Britain’s Forced Marriage Unit, 65 per cent of known cases of the practice involve Pakistan, where Miliband is set to visit on Wednesday.
   The FMU also says that a quarter of forced marriage instances involve Bangladesh, with 85 per cent of all victims being women and a third of victims under the age of 18.
   Distinct from mutually-accepted arranged marriages, forced marriages have led to suicides and ‘honour killing’ murders in Britain, shocking a nation widely deemed to have successfully absorbed immigrant cultures.
   In a newspaper article Sunday, Miliband said Britain was taking a tougher stand against forced marriage, describing the practice as ‘a stain on those who carry it out, those who condone it and also those who ignore it.’
   He recounted the tale of British diplomats rescuing a 15-year-old girl last week from a village near Mirpur in northern Pakistan, where she was being held prisoner and beaten by her father to get her to agree to marriage.
   So far this year, the FMU has handled more than 1,500 reports of forced marriage and diplomats across the world have helped more than 400 people facing possible forced marriage or being made to sponsor an immigration visa after marriage has taken place, Miliband said. Under the new laws, those who do not comply with court orders related to forced marriage — which can be sought by a victim, a friend or the police — could face jail.
   ‘This new law is a powerful tool that will help ensure that no-one is forced into marriage against their will and those already in such marriages will receive protection,’ junior justice minister Bridget Prentice said.
   ‘Our policies reinforce that hope and send a clear message that we are committed to providing support and help to victims and that violence of any kind will not be tolerated.’
   A spokeswoman for the justice ministry acknowledged that while the ‘primary purpose of the act is preventative’ the same protection will be made available to women already forced into marriage.
   ‘Where a forced marriage has taken place, they (the courts) would also be able to make orders to protect the victim and help remove them from that situation,’ she said.
   Shaminder Ubhi, director of the Ashiana Network, which works with victims of domestic violence, noted that while not everyone would want to use the legislation, ‘this act sends a clear message that forced marriage will not be tolerated and perpetrators will be held accountable.

Britain launched the first phase of a controversial new identity card scheme Tuesday, forcing certain foreign nationals to start carrying the documents from later this week.
   The government has stuck with the programme, claiming it will help fight terrorism and illegal immigration, despite criticism from opposition parties and civil liberties groups who argue that ID cards threaten individual privacy.
   Those thought most likely to abuse the immigration system, individuals applying for marriage or student visas, will be the first to apply for the cards, which will be issued from later this week.
   Government ministers say that within three years, all new workers from outside the European Economic Area will have ID cards, with 90 per cent coverage by 2014.
   ‘In time identity cards for foreign nationals will replace paper documents and give employers a safe and secure way of checking a migrant’s right to work and study in the UK,’ the home secretary, Jacqui Smith, said.
   Shami Chakrabarti, director of rights group Liberty, has said the plan to force non-EEA nationals to apply for the cards ‘in order to soften up the public is the most unpleasant type of politics.’
   The documents will feature the holder’s name and date of birth, their visa status and right to work, as well as a photograph, fingerprint record, and other biometric data.
   Workers in airports and other high-security jobs will have to carry them from next year.
   Anyone applying for a British passport from 2011 will be automatically added to a national identity database, but citizens will not be forced to obtain ID cards.
   In addition to civil liberties concerns, the ID card scheme has been particularly hurt by a string of losses by the government of sensitive data, most notably the loss of 25 million Britons’ personal information by a government agency last year.
   The losses prompted concerns about the ability of the authorities to manage vast databanks of private information.
   There have also been disputes over the cost of the plan.
   The Home Office says the scheme can be delivered for 4.74 billion pounds (7.17 billion dollars, 5.57 billion euros) over 10 years, but some researchers say the figure could be much higher.
   Unlike its continental European neighbours, Britain has never had a mandatory ID card scheme other than during wartime, but the idea has gathered momentum since suicide bombings in London in July 2005 that left 56 dead.

The government will shortly promulgate a fiscal responsibility ordinance with a provision for presentation of quarterly review report of the government’s revenue earning and expenditures before the Jatiya Sangsad, officials said.
   They said such a law would not only establish supremacy of the parliament but also pass more responsibility to the members of parliament in preparing and reviewing the annual budget to establish fiscal discipline.
   Once come into effect, the law will provide the lawmakers with scopes for punishing the presently key players in the budget-making and implementation, the bureaucrats, for any financial misconduct relating to the budget.
   The final draft of the ‘Public Resources and Budget Management Ordinance 2008’ is expected to be endorsed by the council of advisers soon for promulgation of the ordinance by the president. The finance ministry sent the draft of the law twice earlier to the law ministry for vetting, the officials said.
   According to the constitution, the ordinances promulgated during the caretaker government need to be enacted as laws by the subsequent parliament within 30 days of summoning its first session by the president.
   ‘This law will be prepared in the form of ordinance now so that the next elected government and members of the parliament can exercise it. This will significantly improve the budget-making and implementation process,’ a finance ministry official told New Age.
   The draft law has been prepared in comparison with laws in countries like India, Pakistan and South Africa, the finance secretary wrote in a letter to the Cabinet Division.
   The draft law proposes that every ministry or division will have its budget-management wing and section. The finance ministry had taken inputs from different ministries and divisions.
   Some of the most burning development issues of recent times — devolution of power and addressing regional disparity — have also been accommodated into the draft law, said finance ministry officials.
   The planned law has proposed restriction on diversion of already allocated money under one head to another or re-allocation of budgetary funds without the permission and knowledge of the parliament — a provision which is almost repetitive of the constitutional provision.
   Article 90 of the constitution says: ‘No amendment shall be proposed in parliament to any such bill, which has the effect of varying the amount of any grant so made or altering the purpose to which it is to be applied, or of varying the amount of any expenditure charged on the consolidated fund.’
   A policy statement on the state of macro-economy shall be issued in parliament alongside the annual financial statement usually made by the finance minister during the presentation of the proposed budget before the beginning of the fiscal year, says the draft ordinance.
   Also, a medium-term budget will also be placed in parliament, stating the government’s projected allocations for subsequent two fiscal years.
   The draft law stipulates a cap on the government’s borrowing from domestic sources at a maximum of 2 per cent of the gross domestic product and also stresses on keeping budget deficit at ‘sustainable limit’.
   The planned law says that budgetary resources equivalent to at least 8.5 per cent of the gross domestic product must be allocated to meet the expenses targeting at poverty alleviation programme. Gender balance and equity have also been emphasised, the officials said.

The Institute of Public Health and Nutrition has awaken at last regarding the necessity of improving its capacity to test the toxicity of infant food in the market.
   It has sent a proposal to the health ministry for procuring modern equipment in its almost useless laboratory and develop its technical capability to conduct tests.
   ‘A proposal for procurement of modern equipments in the laboratory is awaiting approval of the ministry,’ a senior official of the institute told New Age on Tuesday.
   The institute’s officials also said the institute had earlier proposed the World Health Organization to provide necessary financial and technical support in this regard and received a positive response. It now requires approval from the ministry which is still pending.
   The official admitted that the institute had a laboratory, from its inception, but it was virtually inoperative due to lack of equipment and technical know-how for testing toxicity of infant food. However, he said that the laboratory had remained ineffective since its very inception.
   Two biochemists and food technologists are also employed at the institute but their lack of knowledge and equipment act as serious impediments for the institute’s capacity to conduct regular tests, said the officials.
   ‘At present we depend on outside laboratories to run tests required for licensing new infant formulas,’ the official admitted.
   He said adequate technical capacity would enable them to test for formalin in liquid milk and carbide in ripening fruits as those are widely consumed by infants.
   The general panic about presence of melamine in infant formulas and powder milk for children resulted in the institute’s initiative to enhance its capacity. The institute is assigned to provide registration and regulate marketing of infant formulas.
   According to the Breast-Milk Substitute (Regulation of Marketing) Ordinance 1984, the institute is responsible for promotion of breast feeding and regulation of substitutes.
   The institute has so far licensed 46 brands of imported infant formulas and cereals.
   The government banned three Chinese infant formula milk brands—Yashili-1, Yashili-2 and Sweet Baby—which however had been marketed without the institute’s registration.
   Last week, the institute filed cases against two importers and marketers involved with those brands, subsequently banned.
   Meantime, market insiders said reports of Dhaka University and the Atomic Energy Commission that found instance of melamine in all eight major milk brands, kept parents away. They said people were fearful of buying those brands although the High Court has allowed sales and distribution of five brands temporarily before finally settling the issue.
   The brands lost almost 80 per cent of their previous sales as consumers remain cautious and apprehensive, said Ahmed Kabir the country manager of Denmark-based Arla Food Ingredient-marketer of Dano.
   Shohel Rana, brand manager of New Zealand Milk and Dairy Products that markets Red Cow Diploma and Anlene brands echoed Kabir.
   Kabir said retailers and resellers of their brands were facing crisis. He said that despite the court order law enforcers that had previously seized the products are yet to return them.
   He requested the government authorities to take necessary steps to release such products and assist in the sale, display and distribution of their product.

Bangladesh are in desperate need to put on an improved show to stop the South African juggernaut from mauling them further in the second Test beginning at the Centurion today.
   The Tigers lost the first Test by an innings and 129 runs at Bloemfontein earlier this week and the hosts are in no mood to show any kind of mercy as they prepare for a giant series against Australia next month.
   A full-strength South African side comprised of four pace bowlers and six formidable batsmen and a world record holder wicketkeeper are expected to take the field against the Tigers, who were seen huffing and puffing in the first Test.
   Monde Zondekie is likely to replace injured spinner Paul Harris to give South Africa’s already world-class attack – led by Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel – more pace, but their in-form batting line-up is no less concern for Bangladesh.
   Among their top six batmen, Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie have already scored more than 1,000 runs this year and Hashim Amla, Ashwell Prince and AB De Villiers are also approaching the milestone.
   The only top-order batsman who did not perform that well in the recent times is Jacques Kallis, but still he managed to score 495 runs since January. Kallis is just 323 runs away from being the eighth batsman to score 10,000 Test runs which means his experience is always countable.
   So much is the strength of their batting line-up that a local newspaper named ‘The Star’ had to run a story on Tuesday citing JP Duminy as the most unfortunate cricketer of his country.
   Duminy could have made into any other Test side easily with the quality he has, claimed the newspaper, saying that he should not expect anything other than the job of carrying the drinks and towels during the Centurion Test as the other batsmen already sealed their spots.
   While South Africa is ruing for not being able to give one of its best batsmen a chance, Bangladesh are needed to take the players, whom coach Jamie Siddons dubbed not ready for Test cricket barely 48 hours ago.
   The two recent debutants, Imrul Kayes and Naeem Islam, have not got any mark from the coach, still one of them is certain to play as Bangladesh retained the same 12 players for the match.
   Kayes has the maximum chance of playing the Test as Naeem is vying for his place with Roqibul Hassan. Siddons is keen to play Roqibul, who has yet to make his Test debut. The only stumbling block is his lack of confidence following a thumb injury in Australia.
   ‘I would like to take him anyway. But before the final decision, I want to see how he does in the net. If he comes okay, he will play and Naeem will go out,’ said Siddons before leaving the hotel Palazzo de Monte Casino for practice at Centurion.

President-elect Barack Obama presented the economic team on Monday that will help him navigate the US financial crisis but declined to specify how much his proposed 2-year stimulus package would cost.
   Financial markets fell during the long-awaited announcement as traders were dismayed that Obama did not specify the size of a massive financial stimulus package he said he will roll out in January. Other Democrats have said it could cost hundreds of billions of dollars.
   Obama also declined to specify whether he would pursue a tax increase for the wealthy or simply allow the 2001 tax cuts to expire after tax year 2010 as scheduled.
   Obama said his team was already working on the details of a package designed to jolt the US economy out of its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
   ‘I want to see it enacted right away,’ he said. ‘It is going to be of a size and scope that is necessary to get this economy back on track.’
   Obama, who takes over for president George W Bush on January 20, announced his economic team at a news conference. The big players on his team were already known.
   Timothy Geithner, 47, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, will become treasury secretary, and Lawrence Summers, 53, a former treasury secretary under president Bill Clinton, will be director of the National Economic Council.
   Summers is also a possible successor to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, whose term ends in January 2010.
   Obama also named University of California, Berkeley, economics professor Christina Romer to head his Council of Economic Advisors and Melody Barnes to head his Domestic Policy Council. Barnes, a former chief counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee, was a policy advisor to Obama’s presidential campaign.
   Obama has backed a bailout for Detroit automakers but said he was disappointed that the chief executives for General Motors Inc., Ford Motor Co., and Chrysler LLC did not present a concrete plan when they testified before Congress next week.
   ‘I think Congress did the right thing, which is to say, ‘You guys need to come up with a plan and come back before you are going to get any taxpayer money,’ he said.
   The scope of the economic crisis has widened in the 20 days since Obama’s White House win. Except for one short news conference, Obama has kept a low public profile since his November 4 victory over Republican John McCain, remaining in Chicago to pick his Cabinet but not formally announcing any of his choices.
   By breaking that near-silence with the unveiling of his economic team, Obama signalled the priority he places on addressing the economic meltdown.
   US stocks rallied late on Friday after news leaks about Geithner’s appointment. They rose again on Monday after the US government agreed to inject $20 billion of new capital into Citigroup Inc., but fell during the press conference.
   US government bonds edged up from their lows from the day as stocks pared their gains. The dollar, broadly lower against most currencies, strengthened a bit against the euro.
   In Washington, Bush said the government stood ready to help the banking system as it did with Sunday’s Citigroup deal.
   Bush, speaking after a meeting with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, said he had also spoken with Obama about the Citigroup rescue and promised to inform the incoming president and his economic team of any future major decisions.

Almost half of married Egyptian women have been physically abused by their husbands, a study by the government statistics centre said on Tuesday.
   The study by CAPMAS said that 47 per cent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 reported being victims of domestic violence and seven per cent said a spouse raped them, state news agency MENA reported.
   Domestic violence is punishable under Egyptian law, but the police are reluctant to intervene in something that is considered a private matter, said an Egyptian women’s rights activist.
   ‘If a woman complains, it would be considered a crime. But if she doesn’t, the husband won’t be punished,’ Nahed Abu el-Qumsan, head of the Egyptian Centre for Women’s Rights, said.
   The study was released to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
   A report by the World Health Organisation published in April said that violence by men against spouses routinely resulted in troubled or aborted pregnancies, chronic pain and depression.

A Chittagong court on Tuesday sentenced four Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh activists to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment each for exploding bomb in a courtroom three years ago.
   Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal judge Shafiqul Karim handed down the verdict against Mohammed Shahadat Ali, Abdul Maleque, Jabed Iqbal alias Mohammed and Mizan alias Boma Mizan.
   According to the prosecution story, in brief, the operatives of the banned Islamist outfit exploded a bomb in the courtroom of the second joint district judge Abu Sayad Dilder Hossain on October 3 in 2005.
   The police filed a case with the Kotwali station and submitted the charge sheet on November 2 the same year. A supplementary charge sheet was submitted on May 6, 2006 implicating six people, including JBM chief Shaikh Abdur Rahman and second-in-command Siddiqur Rahaman alias Bangla Bhai.
   As Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai were executed in other cases earlier, the court convicted the remaining four after examining nine witnesses.

The Power Division on Tuesday asked the Power Cell to put out to tender again the installation of the 450MW Bibiyana independent power plant after reviewing the tender documents used in the recently scrapped bidding.
   Sources in the division said the cell would review the tender documents for a ‘wider participation’ of bidders as only one bidder had participated in the first tender process.
   The cabinet committee on purchase in the past week rejected a proposal to award a consortium the contract for installation of the large IPP asking the division to put the job out to tender again because of the high power tariff quoted by the lone bidder.
   Although three bidders were pre-qualified for the bidding early this year, only the consortium took part in the final bidding.
   ‘The division has asked the cell to change the tender documents such as pre-qualification documents if it feels necessary for a wider participation of bidders. A committee might be formed to review the documents,’ said a division source.
   An official of the cell said they might invite offers for pre-qualifying bidders in two weeks. ‘Bidders will be given 60 days to collect and submit pre-qualification documents. After the preliminary selection, pre-qualified bidders will be invited to take part in the final bidding,’ he said.

A fire broke out at a brokerage firm of the Dhaka Stock Exchange and burnt down some documents and computers of the firm early Tuesday.
   DSE officials said the fire had broken out at room no 413 of the bourse’s building at Motijheel in the capital at about 7:30am. Mona Financial Consultancy and Securities Ltd occupies the room along with two other rooms on the third floor of the building, they said.
   ‘On information, the fire fighting units reached the spot and doused the fire in a short time,’ said Salahuddin Ahmed Khan, the chief executive officer of the DSE.
   DSE officials said the fire might have originated from an electric short-circuit in the room. Some official documents and computers were burnt, they said.
   ‘We have formed an inquiry committee to look into the matter,’ said Salahuddin.
   Ahasanul Islam, the chairman of the Mona Financial Consultancy and Securities, said, ‘We have performed the day’s trading activities without difficulty as the trade server of our firm was not affected by the fire.’ Usually, share trading at the DSE starts at 10:00am and continues till 2:00pm.
   The customer services in the house remained suspended for the day following the trouble, Ahasanul added.

Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed underwent a minor surgery at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka on Tuesday, an official said.
   He will perform his responsibilities from his official residence today, the chief adviser’s aide told New Age.
   ‘He [the chief adviser] underwent a minor operation and will stay at his residence tomorrow. He will perform his official responsibilities from his residence on Wednesday,’ Syed Fahim Munaim, press secretary to the chief adviser, said.
   Fakhruddin was taken to the CMH in the afternoon and the operation was successful. He retuned home from the hospital last night. The details of the operation could not be known.

The Bangladesh Telecommuni-cation Regulatory Commission has taken steps to bring the cyber cafés and small internet service providers under a licensing system for a small fee, said a press release.
   The commission held a meeting on a draft policy in this regard with the ISPs, cyber cafés and cable operators on Monday. The meeting was chaired by the commission chairman, Manzurul Alam.
   The draft will soon be posted on the BTRC website and any feedback on the draft can be sent during seven days after its publication, it said. The BTRC will publish a final policy after assessing the views.
   The draft policy says that open licences will be distributed at the upazilas under easy conditions for a small annual fee to allow the businessmen to provide internet services and operate cyber cafés in the locality.