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Twenty-four more members of the Bangladesh Rifles arrested earlier in connection with the February 25-26 BDR rebellion case were ordered by a Dhaka court to be sent to jail on Saturday.
   Of the members, havilder Jalal Uddin in the court of metropolitan magistrate Mominul Hasan admitted to his involvement in the rebellion that killed 61 army officers.
   The court of metropolitan magistrate AKM Emdadul Haque also remanded four people — sepoys Jasim Uddin, Masum Miah, Mizanur Rahman and Rafiqul Islam — afresh for four days for interrogation in the custody of the Criminal Investigation Department.
   CID’s assistant superintendent of police Abdul Kahhar Akand, also investigation officer of the case, produced 15 members in the court after completion of their remand and sought a fresh seven-day remand for four members for further interrogation.
   The rests 13 were brought to the court from the Newmarket police station where they were detained since Friday.
   Magistrate Emdadul Haque passed an order to send the 13 to jail after they were shown arrested in the rebellion case.
   With the latest arrest, a total of 1,028 people, mostly BDR members, have so far been arrested in the rebellion case. Of them, 30 people made confessional statement to the magistrates.
   Meanwhile, Birshesthra Nur Mohammad Public School and College, located inside the headquarters of Bangladesh Rifles at Pilkhana, reopened Saturday about one and a half month after the February 25-26 rebellion.
   The attendance at the classes in both the shits was about 75 per cent, said the BDR spokesman Nurul Huda.
   The other institution, Bir Uttam Fazlur Rahman School and College will reopen on April 15.
   Two more educational institutions — Bir Shestha Munshi Abdur Rouf School and College and BDR Primary School — are housed inside the BDR headquarters but the authorities did not fix any date for reopening the institutions.
   The authorities cancelled bookings for different programmes up to April 30 at the Darbar hall, where the army officers were killed.
   The organisations, which booked the Durbar hall until April 30, have been asked to take back their booking money in full and some of the organisations have already taken back their booking money, said a release on Saturday.

Law enforcing and intelligence agencies in Barisal are keeping a close watch on the qoumi and the aliya madrassahs and people suspected to have participated in Afghan war.
   Besides, they are collecting information regarding the founders of these madrassahs, teachers, students, their sources of fund, syllabus and curricula.
   The move came in the wake of the recent incident in Bhola in which a huge amount of explosives, arms and documents on militancy were recovered from a madrassah.
   Hayatul Islam, assistant commissioner of the Barisal Metropolitan Police, acknowledged the move.
   Sources said there are at least 44 qoumi madrassahs in Barisal and 37 of them have been traced yet.
   Besides, there are 37 aliya madrassahs in the district and of them 28 receive monthly pay order from the education ministry.
   In 2007, it was revealed that at least seven teachers and students of these madrassahs visited Afghanistan to take part in the war there, the police sources said.
   Among the seven, the police could trace the names and addresses of Maulana Rafiqul Islam of Mahmudia Madrasha of the city and one of the largest qoumi madrassahs of the country, Maulana Waliullah of Rupatali of the city, Maulana Qamrul Islam, executive director of The Servant of Suffering Humanity International, an Islamic NGO of the district, Faruk Hossain, owner of a shop at Jewellery Market of Patarhut Bandar under Mehendiganj upazila headquarters.
   The police said they are yet to trace out addresses of the rest three suspected Afghan war veterans — Maulana Nesaruddin, Maulana Aminul Islam and Maulana Shahidul Islam.
   Meanwhile, Mufti Muhammad Nurullah, Barisal district president of the Qoumi Madrassah Oikya Parishad, Maulana Abdul Majid Talukdar, principal of the madrasa, Maulana Abdul Khaleq, Pir Saheb of Harinafulia, and other leaders of the organisation expressed their resentment over marking the all qoumi madrassahs as dens of Islamic militants.
   They expressing vented their anger saying Green Crescent was not a madrassah but an NGO registered during the past AL regime after verification and following rules regulations of the government for charitable works.
   If Green Crescent was found liable for any mischievous act, why all of the qoumi madrassahs would be blamed for that, they asked.
   Some of the qoumi madrassah teachers, preferring anonymity, said different controversial reports were published and broadcasted in the media in connection with the Green Crescent and qoumi madrassahs.

No single nation will stand by the 1971 war criminals, who are set to face trial for their crimes against humanity, said the foreign minister, Dipu Moni, on Saturday.
   She made the observation when reporters asked how the Awami League government would overcome any probable reservations of any countries about the war crimes trial.
   ‘I feel no civilized nation can take side with war criminals,’ she said after addressing a discussion on Bangladesh’s foreign policy at the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute in the capital.
   On the issue of Bangladesh’s branding as ‘a moderate Muslim majority country,’ she said Bangladesh is a secular country with a majority population of Muslims.
   She said as one of priorities of the Awami League’s electoral pledges, the government initiated the process of war crimes trial and sought external help through the United Nations.
   She said, ‘We will also consider similar experiences of other countries. For the success of the process [of war crimes trial], we will definitely maintain international standards and due processes will be followed.’
   Talking about whether the government has plans to sign any deal to bring back the offenders of war crimes in hiding in other countries, the minister said the government would take the move, if required.
   ‘We will conduct the trial after tribunals are set up under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973,’ Dipu Moni said.
   In reply to a question on how the government will prove local collaborators were auxiliary forces of the Pakistan army, if Islamabad does not extend any cooperation, the foreign minister said, ‘We have sufficient evidence that local collaborators were auxiliary forces of the Pakistan army.’
   Former cabinet secretary AB Chowdhury, also a former ambassador to Italy, asked the minister whether the government agreed the west’s branding of Bangladesh as ‘a moderate Muslim majority country.’
   In reply to the question, she said, ‘The Awami League-led alliance does not believe in the idea of a moderate democratic Muslim country. Bangladesh is a secular country with a Muslim majority.’
   ‘We have achieved our independence thorough a bloody war to become a secular country,’ Dipu Moni.
   She said the government would not accept anything contrary to the country’s history and heritage.
   In reply to another question on the government’s plan in connection with the branding of Bangladesh, she said the Awami League government was planning to take steps to project the country positively to the world.

The finance minister, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, on Saturday said BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia should have vacated her cantonment house earlier as it was not appropriate for political leaders to live in a sensitive area.
   ‘Political leaders should not have any residence in cantonment as general people cannot visit them when they wish,’ he told journalists after a reception accorded to him at Syed Hatim Ali High School in Sylhet.
   The finance minister also said the law did not allow one to have more than one house allotted by the government.

The police arrested a member of banned Islamist outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh from Chackbalorampur Chowdhury para at Atrai in Naogaon on Friday.
   Tipped-off, the police raided the house of Habibur Rahman, 42, and arrested him in the afternoon.
   The police said Habibur, one of the close associates of executed JMB kingpin Siddiqul Islam Bangla Bhai, was wanted in a number of cases, including extortion and looting.
   Atrai police officer-in-charge Moazzem Hossain said Habibur had gone into hiding when Bangla Bhai was executed. He returned home few days back and was trying to reorganise JMB members in the region, he said.

The National Garment Workers’ Federation on Saturday demanded that more health and security measures should be ensured for garment factory workers.
   The organisation leaders at a mourning rally in Muktangan marking the 4th anniversary of the Spectrum tragedy said the government and Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association leaders should be more sincere about increasing facilities for workers.
   Garment workers’ leaders also demanded increased salary of workers so that they could cope with increase in goods prices.
   Sixty-four garment factory workers died and 85 were wounded as a nine-storey building housing the Spectrum Sweater Factory at Savar in Dhaka collapsed this day four years ago.
   About a hundred workers holding black flags started walking in a procession from Muktangan after the rally. The procession ended in the Paltan crossing.
   The organisation president, Sahida Sarker, the general secretary, Amirul Haque Aminm and others led the procession.

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Saturday visited her ailing husband Wazed Mia at Square Hospital in Dhaka and enquired about his treatment.
   Hasina stayed beside him for an hour from 11:00am.
   Wazed was admitted to Square Hospital last Tuesday as part of his regular check-up.
   He has been suffering from heart ailments.

Experts, especially former diplomats, on Saturday observed Bangladesh would need to devise a pro-active and dynamic foreign policy with a long-term vision to overcome critical challengers of global order rather than ‘sitting and giving reactions.’
   They expressed the opinions during a discussion in the capital city on Bangladesh’s foreign policy where the foreign minister, Dipu Moni, the chief guest of the programme, disagreed with them. She said ‘Article 25 of the constitution is more than enough as a foreign policy.’
   Former Bangladesh ambassador to China Ashfaqur Rahman floated the idea of setting up a task force to devise a pro-active foreign policy.
   Dipu Moni said, ‘Establishment of a task force to devise a foreign policy is his [Ashfaqur’s] idea. It is for the government to decide its relations and policies with other countries.’
   ‘I think Article 25 of our constitution is more than enough as a foreign policy,’ she said.
   Article 25 of the constitution deals with the promotion of international peace, security and solidarity.
   The former ambassador in the discussion said the ruling Awami League in its election manifesto gave less importance to the foreign policy. Dipu Moni refused to subscribe to the view and said it was his personal opinion.
   She said the foreign policy had been given due importance by the new government.
   The foreign minister, however, agreed to the suggestion that the parliament should hold discussions on the foreign policy.
   Ashfaqur Rahman suggested a task force should be set up to work out an effective foreign policy as he said the country had ‘foreign relations, but no foreign policy.’
   The Bangladesh Enterprise Institute organised the discussion on ‘Bangladesh foreign policy and foreign relations: priorities, challenges and opportunities’ in the BEI auditorium. The institute president, Farooq Sobhan, presided over the discussion.
   Some former ambassadors, including Zia Us Shams, AB Chowdhury and Momin Chowdhury, also stressed the need for restructuring the foreign ministry and Bangladesh’s foreign missions with specific guidelines on what to do and what to achieve.
   In her keynote paper, the foreign minister pointed out three major ingredients — peace, security and development — in the foreign policy of the government of Sheikh Hasina.
   She also said friendship with other countries, based on equality and sovereignty, non-interference and peaceful settlement of international disputes were other key aspects of the foreign policy.
   Dipu Moni said the sharing of the common river waters and the settlement of the maritime boundary with India, attracting more foreign investment and market access of Bangladeshi products were important aspects of the foreign policy.
   The minister said Bangladesh would pursue the ‘Look East’ policy to strengthen ties with China, Japan and ASEAN countries and relations with the Muslim countries.
   She emphasised a regional approach to meet the energy deficit and optimum use of water resources in South Asia.
   On terrorism, Dipu Moni said it was s a critical challenge for all countries across the world, requiring concerted efforts to fight it out. ‘No country can tackle the issue single-handedly,’ and for that matter, the present government had proposed a South Asian Anti-Terrorism Task Force.
   The foreign minister hoped many problems could be resolved, if the political leadership come forward and work together, as democratically-elected governments were in power in South Asian countries.
   Asked about any changes in the government’s foreign policy, she said the government would not discontinue with the present foreign policy on the pretext that it was done by past governments or other parties.
   ‘Whatever is necessary and important for the country must be pursued,’ Dipu Moni said.
   The BEI board of governors’ chairman Salman F Rahman in his welcome address said the impact of global economic crisis had started hitting the labour and readymade garment markets.
   He said the country had suffered tremendously, both politically and economically, in the absence of a democratic government in two years.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has asked the government to have a court order to cancel the lease of the Dhaka Cantonment house of Khaleda Zia as, they insist, the cabinet has no authority to terminate the lease without having any court order.
   ‘The cabinet’s decision of April 8 was completely illegal and in violation of the basic rights of an individual as it has no authority to cancel the deed signed between an individual and the state awarding the person [Khaleda] the right to the land in perpetuity,’ said Moudud Ahmed, the party’s standing committee member.
   ‘If the government wants to cancel the deed, they have to have an order from the court of justice. The cabinet’s decision was not enough to cancel the deed and if they go beyond the legal process, we will challenge it in higher courts,’ he told reporters at his Motijheel chamber on Saturday.
   Moudud said the deed was signed on July 8, 1981 between the president of the republic and Khaleda Zia, which the military estates officer, central circle, Dhaka Cantonment, had signed on behalf of the president. ‘There were six mandatory conditions to continue the lease and none of them were violated till date,’ he said.
   The conditions were payment of rent and land improvement tax, restriction on felling trees on the premises of the house, restriction on excavation of minerals if found in the piece of land, restriction on any change of the house, restriction on handover of any of its portion to others through sale, assignment or mortgage without permission of the president of the republic, and restriction on dividing the property, Moudud said.
   There were no restrictions on political activity, running business or any other matters that could prompt termination of the deed, he said. ‘Rents and other taxes for the house have been paid up to date and no other conditions have been violated,’ Moudud said.
   The mutation of the land was done on February 13, 1982.
   Moudud said the decision to cancel the lease was actuated by ‘vengefulness’ and to hide the ‘complete failure’ of the government to run the country in past three months, to ‘distract public attention’ from the killings at the Bangladesh Rifles headquarters and the violence unleashed by Awami League’s associate body of students, Chhatra League, across the country.
   ‘The decision on the sensitive issue will trigger unrest and conflicts in the political arena. No one in the country has accepted the decision, even many senior leaders of the Awami League told me that they did not agree with the action,’ he said.
   ‘It was completely a political decision. The whole thing was done for political reason and we will face it politically,’ he said.
   Responding to a question Moudud said the house was given to Khaleda on a unanimous decision in the then parliament and it was also approved by the then cabinet. It was clearly said in the deed that the house was given to the family of Ziaur Rahman ‘in recognition of the invaluable service rendered by the late president’ as he left no property for the family.
   Although the present cabinet took the decision to scrap the lease on April 8, no notice was served till date, he added.

At least 30 people were injured when two groups loyal to the ruling Awami League clashed at Baghabari under Shahzadpur in Sirajganj on Saturday over establishing supremacy at the Baghabari Inland Port.
   The police and local people said hundreds of villagers, led by tank lorry drivers’ leader Shahjahan of village Nukalia, attacked the village Alokdiar under the same upazila at about 8:00am.
   Both the groups chased each other with lethal weapons and brickbats and the Nukalia people vandalised at least ten dwelling houses at Alokdiar.
   They also kept the Nagorbari-Baghabari Highway blocked for about one hour and a half from 10:00am.
   Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded while the state minister for energy, Shamsul Hoque Tuku, on his way to Pabna, took shelter at Shahzadpur rest house during the blockade.
   The Shahzadpur police, along with the local lawmaker, Choyon Islam, rushed to the spot and the police lobbed three tear-gas shells to handle the situation.
   At this, thirty people, including two police personnel, were injured. Among the injured, eight were admitted to Shahzadpur Upazila Health Complex while the rest were given first aid.
   The situation finally became normal after the minister assured both the clashing groups of arbitration by himself.
   Md Tozammel Hossain, officer-in-charge of the Shahzadpur police, said the clash was a sequel to another incident at Nukalia High Scholl Friday afternoon on the occasion of a reception accorded to the local lawmaker, Choyon Islam.

Speakers at an exchange of views on law and order situation in Chittagong on Saturday emphasised on expediting the implementation process of police reform programme to make the law enforcers more professional and efficient.
   They said capacity building of the police department in line with the recommendations of police reform programme was a must for improving law and order situation and establishing a society free from terrorism, drug abuse and social vices.
   They also underscored the need for a cordial relationship between the people and the police for combating crimes, particularly the militancy.
   The Chittagong Metropolitan Police organised the programme with city dwellers under the CMP’s Panchlaish zone on law and order situation.
   Parliament member Mahjabin Murshed attended the programme as chief guest while Nabo Bikkram Kishore Tripura, additional inspector general of police (administration) was the special guest.
   The special guest also replied to the queries of the people attending the meeting.
   Former vice-chancellor of Islamic University Enamul Haque, president of Community Policing, Chittagong district Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, and additional inspector general Aminul Islam also spoke at the function.
   Raujan upazila chairman Ehsanur Haider Chowdhury Babul, Chittagong City Corporation ward councillor Saiyed Golam Haider Mintu and Sabiha Musa, and president of City Auto-rickshaw Owners’ Association Babul Dutta took part in the discussion.

Islamic Law Committee has demanded resignation of the law minister, Shafique Ahmed, and the director general of the Islamic Foundation, Shamim Mohammad Afzal, over a reported comment that qawmi madrassahs ‘produce militants’.
   The group, headed by Islami Oikya Jote chief Fazlul Haq Amini, has chalked out a two-day protest programme that includes a rally in Muktangan on April 18 and a meeting in Dhaka on June 21.
   ‘We will continue with our regular protests until the demands are met,’ Amini told a press conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Saturday.
   Shafique Ahmed was reported by some newspapers recently as saying qawmi madrassahs are breeding grounds for militants. However, the law minister has since said he was grossly misquoted.
   Amini said, ‘We cannot sit idle if someone delivers such a statement against qawmi madrassahs.’
   ‘Qawmi madrasas do not have any link with militant activities. Blaming them and the religious scholars is motivated.
   ‘The law minister’s comment proves that he is ignorant about madrassah education,’ said Amini.
   The IOJ chief also demanded a stop to any intervention in the qawmi system. The law minister had said earlier this month that qawmi madrassahs might be brought under the education ministry.
   Shafique was speaking at an anti-terrorism workshop on April 1, held just days after the seizure of arms and bomb-making equipment at a Bhola madrassah.
   But the minister made no direct reference between madrassahs and militants at the time.
   Meanwhile, education minister Nurul Islam Nahid has since said that madrassah students would receive ‘modern lessons’ along with religious lessons in line with new education guidelines.
   He made the comment last Wednesday as he named a 16-member committee tasked with formulating a new national education policy.
   Amini said on Saturday the alems would not accept any change, ‘in the name of modern education’, to the teachings of the Quran and Hadith by madrassahs.
   If the government forcibly tried to amend the qawmi syllabus it would be treated as a move to close the madrassahs, he said.
   Amini said false information was being spread to divert attention from the government’s failure in handling the Pilkhana incident.
   Asked to comment on the government’s steps to try 1971 war criminals, he said, ‘We don’t have any problem with trial of war criminals. But the real war criminals must be uncovered first.’

Qul khwani of professor Md Mozharul Islam will be held today after asr prayers at Road No 5, House No 53 at Nirala Residential Area in Khulna city.
   Mozharul Islam, a Bangladeshi professor at the Cambridge University, was buried at the Tutpara graveyard in Khulna city on Saturday.
   Son of late Shah Mohammed of Khulna city, Mozharul Islam died of heart attack on the university campus in the UK on April 3 at the age of 66.
   His body was flown in Dhaka on Friday and his namaz-e-janaza was held on the Khulna Aliya Madrassah premises on Saturday. Hundreds of people from all walks of life paid homage to late professor.
   Mozharul obtained master’s degree in mathematics from Dhaka University in 1963 and PhD from University of Liverpool in 1966. Later, he joined Queen Merry College. He also worked with University College in London.
   He is survived by his mother, two brothers and two sisters.
   Professor Md Mazharul Hannan, former treasurer of Khulna University and principal of Shahid Suhrawardy College in Khulna, and Iftekhar Husain, principal information officer of Press Information Department, are bother and brother-in-law respectively of late Mozharul Islam.

The Bangladesh Astronomical Society on Saturday called on the government to immediately launch a communication satellite as well as to establish an independent space agency to operate the satellite and promote the astronomical education in the country.
   ‘Bangladesh immediately needs to launch a communication satellite, otherwise it would lose orbital slot,’ BAS general secretary FR Sarkar said in a statement.
   Bangladesh lies between 88.01 and 92.41 degree East Longitude. Within this area four foreign satellites, owned by Russia, Japan and Malaysia, have already occupied their slots, he said.
   He praised the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, for her vision to send communication satellite in the space.
   But only launching satellite would not solve the problem, he said, adding the government should set up an autonomous space organisation to control and maintain the satellites, as well as create opportunity for space education, space technologies and space applications.
   ‘About 45 countries including many with low GDP compared to that of Bangladesh have their own centres for development of space research and technology,’ he said.

The 12th death anniversary of Mohiuddin Ahmed, a former central leader of Bangladesh Awami League and a parliament member, will be observed today.
   On the occasion, wreaths will be placed and Qur’an khwani and special munajat will be held at Mirpur Intellectuals Graveyard at 10:00am today.
   Besides, a milad mahfil has been arranged after
   asr prayers at his Dhanmondi residence in the city.

Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council chairman Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, also known as Santu Larma, on Saturday inaugurated a procession on the occasion of Biju festival in Rangamati.
   In his inaugural speech, Santu Larma said the government should take steps to properly implement the Chittagong Hill Tracts accord signed 11 years ago.
   Also the chief of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samity, Santu Larma asked the ethnic minorities to uphold their culture and tradition through various activities.