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The country’s parliamentary system of governance continues to fail to live up to its potential, with the opposition lawmakers staying away from the proceedings of the House on various pleas during successive regimes since early 1990s.
   The political analysts assert that the opposition bench is an integral part of the House in a Westminster type of parliament, but their on-again off-again boycott, often over petty political rows, renders the legislative process dysfunctional, giving the treasury bench an easy walkover.
   Over the year since restoration of the parliamentary system in 1991, the two major parties – the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which have been ruling the country in turns, have practised the culture of boycotting the House.
   When in the treasury bench, these political parties claim that that the boycotting opposition is playing irresponsible by not attending the parliament proceedings. The same parties, when in the opposition, blame the treasury bench for compelling them to stay away from the proceedings of the House.
   The democratically oriented political analysts, in this regard, suggest that a change of the mindset of the country’s political leadership on both sides of the political divide is the need of the hour. They are for creating of an atmosphere conducive to debate issues of national interests on the floor of the House.
   ‘Parliamentary democracy will never be meaningful unless the culture of parliament boycott ends once and for all,’ Dilara Chowdhury, a political scientist, said, suggesting both sides should be accommodative to each other to uphold the people’s cause.
   Whichever party sat in the opposition bench since 1991, boycotted the House proceedings over frivolous excuses, often over such petty plea that they were not given the floor to speak.
   According to statistics available at the parliament secretariat, the main opposition parties remained absent from the House for nearly half of the total parliamentary sittings in last three parliaments.
   The opposition boycotted 521 out of a total 1,155 sittings during the fifth, seventh and eighth parliament. The sixth parliament, elected on February 15 1996 without any opposition participation, lasted for only a few days to pass the 13th amendment to the constitution, introducing the system of non-party caretaker government for holding national elections.
   The then opposition AL had stayed away from the parliament for 135 out of a total of 400 sittings of the fifth parliament spanning from 1991 to 1996. The short-lived sixth parliament had no opposition parties as they had boycotted the controversial election.
   Being in opposition bench in seventh parliament between 1996 and 2001, the BNP had boycotted the proceedings for 163 out of 382 sittings.
   The AL, which was in opposition in the last eighth parliament, boycotted 223 out of 373 sittings of the House.
   Like the previous ones, the current ninth parliament, that was elected after two years rule under a military-backed interim government, has had 71 sittings of which the opposition has boycotted 34 sitting days.
   ‘It’s a reflection of our politics of negative attitudes. The politicians should realise that this tradition should end now whatever justification the opposition might have to skip the parliament sessions,’ Talukder Maniruzzaman, a retired Dhaka University professor of political science, told New Age.
   ‘They should join the assembly and express their views. The sooner is the better,’ he said, referring to the current boycott of the House by lawmakers belonging to the BNP and its allies – Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and Bangladesh Jatiya Party.
   The BNP-led alliance have been boycotting the parliament over a row over seating arrangement in the House.
   Asked whether the BNP and its allies would return to parliament soon, opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque said that his party (BNP) was yet to decide.
   ‘It absolutely depends on the government. If they (the government) accept our demands we will definitely return to the House. There is no response from their side,’ the opposition whip said.
   Asked about BNP’s election pledge that they would not boycott parliamentary proceedings, he said there is no relation between the pledge and the current abstention.
   ‘We want to return to parliament, but the government must ensure an atmosphere for that,’ he added.
   During the last one-and-a half decade, the mainstream opposition parties remained absent from the House sittings for long periods, but their MPs enjoyed all the perks and privileges they were entitled to from the public exchequer.
   Although the opposition lawmakers are staying away from the regular House proceedings, they are taking part in the standing committee meetings, joining parliamentary delegations visiting abroad and drawing their salaries and allowances, according to officials at the parliament secretariat.
   Professor Harun-or-Rashid of political science department of Dhaka University said that the government must be accommodative to keep the opposition inside the House as the opposition is an indispensable part in a parliamentary form of democracy.
   Both the ruling Awami League and the opposition BNP had made it clear in their election manifestos that they would never boycott the parliament whether they sit in opposition or in treasury benches. And ahead of every election, they promise to make parliament effective, vibrant and a platform for resolving national issues.

The BNP secretary general, Khandaker Delwar Hossain, on Friday said the Awami League was planning to do away with the caretaker government system by amending the constitution as it wanted to cling to power by vote rigging.
   ‘Awami League wants to clear the way for its retaining power by vote rigging and that’s why they are planning to scrap the caretaker government system. But the people will not accept the move,’ he said.
   Delwar also found no rationale for seeking suggestion of the Law Commission for amendment of the constitution. He said the ministry concerned could take initiatives in this regard and the issue could be discussed in the parliament.
   The BNP leader came up with the views while talking to newsmen at his Armanitola house in Old Town of Dhaka on Friday.
   The minister for law, Shafique Ahmed, on Thursday said the government had initiated a move to ‘update the constitution’ by bringing 15th amendment with changes in various provisions, including the ones related to the caretaker government, tenure of the parliament and the local government system.
   Delwar said the Awami League and Jamaat-e-Islami had jointly forged a movement in 1996 for introduction of the caretaker government system and it was introduced as per section 266 of the constitution and by consensus among all parties. He said four general elections had taken place under the system although the last election was the ‘result of conspiracies at home and abroad.’
   The BNP leader said any amendments to the constitution had to be made on the basis of an all-party consensus after discussion in the house. Besides the opinion of the majority in the house, opinion of the public should also be sought before amending the constitution, he added.
   ‘No changes to the constitution should be made unilaterally,’ he said.
   Delwar, however, welcomed the comments of LGRD minister Syed Ashraful Islam that the proposed amendments would be made after discussion among all parties.
   Delwar said the BNP would return to the house and take part in discussion on the issue if an environment was created to enable the party to join the parliament. ‘Create the environment and we will join the parliament session,’ he said.

Acting Awami League chief Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury has said the party would not tamper with the country’s constitution which was drafted under the leadership of independence hero ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
   ‘AL believes in democracy, not in vote rigging,’ she said, while distributing clothes among distressed people at Dhakeswari National Temple after visiting the Durga Puja mandap there on Friday.
   Sajeda, a senior presidium member and also deputy leader of parliament, greeted members of the Hindu community on behalf of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
   She said, ‘We want to build a secular Bangladesh in cooperation with all sections of the people, but certain evil quarters are trying to create unrest.’
   ‘We’ll fight them with the great spirit of Goddess Durga,’ Chowdhury added.
   Law minister Shafique Ahmed on Thursday said his ministry would write to the law commission for amending the country’s constitution.
   Recommendations for bringing necessary amendment to the constitution will be prepared on the basis of the commission’s opinions, he told reporters.
   On the same day, local government minister Syed Ashraful Islam said the AL will not seek to change the constitution even though it enjoys absolute majority.
   ‘The government would like to see the required changes such as the caretaker government system, the tenure of the parliament and the local government system. But any such change would be brought about through dialogue with all,’ he added.
   State minister for law Quamrul Islam, AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin MP, Haji Selim, CR Dutta, among others, also visited the Dhakeswari temple.

Leaders from both sides of the political divide have asked the government to disclose identities of the conspirators who want to jeopardise the democratic process by repeating the events like January 11, 2007.
   Commenting on the recent statements of the prime minister and one of her deputies that the forces, which masterminded the political changeover in early 2007, are still active, the leaders said that the people should know the conspirators to guard against such plots.
   Sheikh Hasina and Syed Ashraful Islam, also the president and general secretary respectively of the ruling Awami League, expressed the same fears in a span of 10 days.
   The prime minister in her speech in the parliament on September 15 said that people who did not have public support and who had tried to usurp power after the political changeover in January 2007, were still hatching conspiracies against the elected government to jeopardise the democratic process while her party deputy Ashraf on September 24 expressed his fear of recurrence of events like January 11, 2007 if democracy could not be institutionalised.
   He also called upon all political parties to behave responsibly.
   When approached for comments on the ruling party’s fear, the chief whip of the opposition in the parliament, Zainul Abdin Farroque, told New Age that the government should disclose identities of the forces, if there were any, which wanted a repeat of the events of the so-called 1/11.
   ‘We earlier demanded trial of the masterminds of the unwanted political changeover, and that the government should bring them to justice as they had halted the democratic process for long two years,’ he said.
   The conspirators should be identified publicly.
   Mujahidul Islam Selim, general secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh, said that the people should know the conspirators, whether they were at home or abroad.
   ‘If there is any plot like 1/11 as feared by the ruling party leaders, the government should disclose the identities of the plotters so that people can remain alert and safeguard the democratic process.’
   ‘Otherwise the people will consider such statements politically motivated,’ the CPB general secretary said.
   The government must speak out strongly against the plotters, he added.
   Ruhul Amin Hawlader, general secretary of the Jatiya Party, an ally of the Awami League-led ruling alliance, said that the matter ‘definitely carries value since the prime minister has spoken about it.’
   ‘We should not take it lightly,’ the JP leader said referring to a number of past incidents, including the killing of two presidents, martial law proclamations and emergency rules in the turbulent political history of the country, that had changed the political scenes overnight.
   ‘Those incidents could not be predicted. Such events never take place by giving notice,’ he said and called upon all to remain alert against any plots.
   ‘We believe the prime minister has credible information and that’s why she has repeatedly warned the people [of such conspiracies].’
   Syed Zafar Sajjad, general secretary of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, said a repeat of something was not possible, ‘but it is certain there are forces active against the democratic process.’
   ‘We must fight such forces to let democracy flourish,’ he said adding that if the government had information it should make them public.
   ‘It will help create public opinion against the conspirators and protect the democratic process,’ said the general secretary of the JSD, also an ally of the AL.
   Fazle Hossain Badsha, a lawmaker of the Workers Party of Bangladesh, declined comments on the issue at the moment.
   He said that his party would discuss the matter in its central committee meeting scheduled for October 1.
   Against the backdrop of mistrust among the political parties, an army-backed government took over on January 11, 2007 and ran the country two years beyond constitutional mandate. It persistently tried to keep the leading politicians away from politics.
   The unelected government handed over power to Awami League on January 6, 2009 after the party won a landslide victory in the December 29, 2008 general elections.

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has said her government has set its sights on boosting foreign direct investment into the country to $7 billion by 2015.
   While addressing a small group of investors at Hotel Grand Hyatt in New York on Thursday evening, she said it had also set aside $350 million for three public-private partnership programmes in an effort to draw foreign money.
   She urged global investors to invest in Bangladesh and said her government would extend all support to encourage investment.
   She called upon the investors to consider Bangladesh as their next Asian investment destination as it offers low-cost labour, large domestic market and market access to nearly 3 billion people in Asia.
   Bangladesh’s economy has remained somewhat insulated from the fallout of the global financial downturn that has ravaged even many developed economies.
   Hasina mentioned that the envisaged improvement of the investment environment in the private sector and the public-private-partnership initiative would soon be brought under the PMO, which would enable it to work closely with the Board of Investment.
   Geographically, Bangladesh is today considered a country of immense possibilities, as its millions of youths have already created waves in the global labour market, she said.
   Highlighting the stupendous growth rates achieved by India and China in the recent past, Hasina said the two promising Asian giants expected to attain 50 per cent more growth by 2050.
   Bangladesh hopes to fall successfully into their footsteps soon by introducing e-governance throughout and cutting in on internet expenditure by 75 per cent.
   Sajib Wazed, the prime minister’s son, also spoke at the function sponsored by Trans-First, a US-based money transfer agency.
   He made a presentation on the investment scopes in Bangladesh at the programme.
   Sajib said Bangladesh saw a good growth in its GDP.
   ‘Poor people are taking microcredits on higher interest since there is no other way. But their repayment rate is surprisingly high, which brings success to this sector,’ he added.
   Sajib said there was no chance of shrinking down people’s mandate towards the Awami League, who, with its alliances, secured around 60 per cent votes in the last general elections.
   JP Morgan, Citibank, Bear Stearns and other big business firms were represented at the function.
   Last month, the Bangladesh Bank said FDI during 2008 topped $1 billion for the first time with the fast-growing telecommunications sector drawing nearly two-thirds of the money.
   The government is now shifting focus to boost infrastructure projects and deal with a chronic power-shortage problem. Bangladesh can produce about 3,500 megawatts although it needs approximately 5,500 megawatts of energy production capacity.
   The IMF projects the economy to grow 5 per cent in 2009 and 5.4 per cent in 2010.
   Hasina said her government expected 2009 growth of 6 per cent.
   Officials are also using Bangladesh’s proximity to larger, more rapidly developing consumer markets like China and India as a key selling point, calling it the ‘India-plus-one strategy.’
   Bangladesh is especially targeting Bangladeshi expatriates to continue investing in the country.
   During the fiscal year ended in June, remittances rose 22 per cent, or by $1.2 billion, growing faster than the country’s garment export business, its largest industry which has suffered during the global economic crisis.

President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed expressed his gratitude to Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina for her strong leadership in arranging funds for the Least Developed Countries, including his country, to face the challenges of the global climate change.
   ‘Sheikh Hasina not only in Bangladesh but also made the whole world aware of the adverse impact of the global warming,’ he said during a bilateral talks with Sheikh Hasina at the UN headquarters on the sidelines of the 64th UN General Assembly session began here on Wednesday.
   In this context, the Maldives president referred to Sheikh Hasina’s address to the last World Climate Conference-3 in Geneva and appreciated her for playing a prudent role in the conference to tackle global climate change caused by excessive carbon emission by the developed nations.
   President Nasheed mentioned his government plan for expansion of higher education and sought further cooperation of the government of Bangladesh for opening a University in his country.
   In reply, Sheikh Hasina assured the Maldives president of providing every necessary support in expansion of higher education in Maldives, said prime minister’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad while briefing newsmen after the meeting.
   Lauding the role of the present democratic government led by Sheikh Hasina, Mohamed Nasheed said Bangladesh can help Maldives in further strengthening democracy in his island country.
   State minister for forest and environment Hasan Mahmud, ambassador M Ziauddin and foreign secretary Mijarul Quayes were present on the occasion.

Dhaka and Kathmandu have committed to working together for achieving economic progress by alleviating poverty and establishing peace in the region.
   This view came when Nepalese prime minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal, and Bangladesh prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, had a meeting at the United Nations bilateral booth on the sidelines of the 64th UN General Assembly session on Thursday.
   During the meeting, the two prime ministers discussed wide range of issues of bilateral and regional development as well as peace, progress and prosperity of the region, said prime minister’s press secretary, Abul Kalam Azad, after the meeting.
   Referring to the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord signed by the previous Awami League government of led by Sheikh Hasina in 1997, the Nepalese premier sought cooperation of Bangladesh for maintaining lasting peace and stability in his country and strengthening Nepal’s democratic foundation.
   ‘Your (Sheikh Hasina) government can help Nepal in a better way to maintain peace and stability in the Himalayan state as the previous Awami League government under your leadership had been successful in restoring peace to the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh,’ he added.
   Besides, Madhav Kumar said as Bangladesh has a glorious experience on democracy, it can share its experiences with Nepal to help the country in the process of strengthening its democratic foundation.
   As various matters of bilateral trade and business, and regional development came up in the discussion, Sheikh Hasina stressed the need for transit facilities with Nepal for expediting the long-cherished economic emancipation of the South Asian region.
   She also apprised the Nepalese prime minister of her government’s initiative to modernize Mongla Port and said the neighbouring countries, including Nepal, would be benefited by using the port, apart from accelerating regional development.
   The prime minister further emphasised making best use of water resources in the region in a bid to attain the development targets.
   Both the prime ministers discussed the prospect of tourism industry in the two neighbouring countries.
   In this regard, Sheikh Hasina reiterated her call for introducing tourism packages between the two countries, as it will have significant impact on the economy of the two states.
   The packaged tourism with the Himalayas and the Sundarbans and the beaches of Cox’s Bazar would open up earning potentials in this sector of both the countries, she added.
   The Bangladesh premier said that Nepalese students can also take quality education in various universities of Bangladesh particularly in medicine and engineering.
   Around 1000 Nepalese students are now studying in various disciplines in Bangladesh.
   State minister for forests and environment Hasan Mahmud, ambassador M Ziauddin and foreign secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes were present on the occasion.

A cross-section of the people on Friday called for immediate legal action against the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association for constructing its 15-storey headquarters on Hatir Jheel in direct violation of the laws.
   They also demanded an inquiry into the failure of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha to enforce the concerned laws against construction of structures on a water body. The contradictory statements of the Rajuk should also be probed and all the documents regarding the building should be made public, they said.
   They also blasted the BGMEA officials’ claim that they do not need formal approval as two former prime ministers had laid the building’s foundation stone and inaugurated it on completion of construction.
   Urban planner and academic Nazrul Islam, now chairman of the University Grants Commission, said it was unfortunate for the nation that such a major organisation had paid no heed to the laws, and said he expected the authorities concerned to proceed to enforce the laws which prohibit any building on a water body.
   ‘It does not matter at all who laid the building’s foundation stone or inaugurated it. The former prime ministers might not have been aware of its illegality or they might have been kept in the dark,’ he said. Nazrul was of the opinion that the Rajuk itself was liable for violation of the laws as it remained silent when such a big structure was erected in such a place.
   Nazrul said the BGMEA’s leaders need to admit their fault and apologise for such flagrant violation of the laws. ‘We have seen due action being taken against such violation of the laws and bigger buildings been demolished,’ he said.
   Syeda Rizwana Hasan, executive director of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, blasted the Rajuk for hiding the information on approval of the building. ‘They once said that the building was approved, then again they said it was partially approved. One of them said it had no approval at all. Why such hide and seek? We had sought the information twice as per the Right to Information Act, but they have provided no data yet,’ she said.
   Rizwana wondered at the government’s silence and its apparent wish to protect an illegally constructed ‘clubhouse’ of a group of businessmen. ‘Would the government have acted the same if the building had not belonged to such important people?’ she asked, and said she expected the government to take legal action immediately.
   Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal’s convener Khalequzzaman said it was illegal to construct any structure on a water body. ‘It does not matter how powerful the persons were who inaugurated it. Nobody is above the law. Action has to be taken against violation of the law and the persons responsible for it should face trial,’ he said.
   Playwright Mamunur Rashid was surprised at the claim of BGMEA officials that they did not need formal approval. ‘The prime ministers might not have delved into the legality of illegality of the building after being invited to lay the foundation stone or inaugurate it. Their presence at the programmes does not make violation of the law legal,’ he said. He demanded that the government act immediately against such violation.
   Rights watchdog Odhikar’s secretary, Adilur Rahman Khan, said that such an illegal structure has remained untouched as none of the approving bodies has been punished for abetting violation of the law. ‘Such gross violation of the law could not occur if anyone of Rajuk or the land ministry had ever been punished. Though the books say the country belongs to its people, the continued violation of the law indicates that the country belongs to the powerful section only,’ he said.
   Trade Union Centre’s president Shahidullah Chowdhury said any unauthorised building should be pulled down. ‘The presence of such an unauthorised building on a water body cannot be supported at all,’ he said.
   The coordinator of the National Alliance for Protection of the Garments Workers and Industries, Abul Hossain, said that the BGMEA Bhaban must be relocated for the sake of the environment. He was of the opinion that the building should be demolished like the Rangs Bhaban. ‘There cannot be different treatment for a similar fault,’ he said.
   Amirul Haque Amin, president of the National Garments Workers Federation, said no unauthorised building should be allowed to stand. ‘We were astonished at the presence of former prime ministers at the programmes of laying the foundation stone and inaugural of an unauthorised building,’ he said.

A Chittagong city Awami League faction, led by lawmaker Nurul Islam BSc, from a meeting Thursday night demanded expulsion of ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, president of the city unit AL, from the party.
   They raised the demand against Mohiuddin, also the Chittagong city mayor, for inviting BNP leader Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury to his residence.
   Nurul Islam, also a vice-president of the city unit AL, told New Age that 11 members, including three vice-presidents and a joint secretary, out of a total 17 members of the committee, were present at the meeting held at Darul Fazal Market.
   He said they had demanded expulsion of Mohiuddin from the party as he held meeting with a war criminal in his residence with an ill motive to tarnish the party image.
   ‘An AL leader holding responsible post can never hold meeting with the man who recently termed the tragic incident of August 15 in 1975 as unavoidable,’ he said, adding that Mohiuddin had defamed the ‘father of the nation’ by holding the meeting.
   SQ Chowdhury, accompanied by 50 to 60 of his loyalists, visited the residence of Mohiuddin at Cashmahill at about 9:00pm on Tuesday to exchange Eid greeting. The mayor entertained them with dinner and held a closed door meeting with SQ Chowdhury for more than an hour.
   City AL vice-presidents Nurul Islam BSc, Naimuddin Chowdhury and Mahatub Uddin Chowdhury, organising secretary Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, members AZM Nasiruddin, Jamshedul Alam Chowdhury and Shafiqul Islam and ward councillors of the city corporation Tareque Soleman Salim, Jalaluddin Iqbal, Mohammed Giashuddin and Jamal Hossain in a joint statement issued on Thursday night criticised Mohiuddin for the incident.

Indian freelance journalist Jiten Yumnam, also an anti-Tipaimukh dam and rights activist, has been tortured in custody in India and remains at risk.
   The Asian Human Rights Commission, a Hong Kong-based regional rights organisation, said it in a statement issued on Thursday.
   ‘We have obtained court documents which show Jiten and seven others accused were arrested on mere suspicion and unsubstantiated allegations.
   The documents stand as proof that arrests, detention and torture are being used to silence voices of protest in the state,’ the statement said.
   Jiten Yumnam and seven others were arrested at places around Manipur on September 14.
   All the eight — Jiten, Chungset Koireng, Likmabam Tompok Singh, Shamjet Sabano Nanbo Singh, Irom Brojen Singh, Amom Soken Singh, Toarem Ramanda Singh and Thiyam Dinesh Singh — were produced at the home of the chief judicial magistrate the next evening where investigation officer Ibomche Singh sought a 20-day custody of the eight.
   The police claimed to have received information that the detained had met on September 14 to plan further protests against the extrajudicial executions of civilians to intensify the pressure on security forces.
   Although the police claimed the detained had confessed to the charges during interrogation, when questioned by the magistrate, the detained denied confessing, and said they had been badly tortured. The magistrate recorded this and agreed to police custody till 29 September.
   ‘Alarmingly, we learnt that the police ignored the magistrate’s order, and the detained were only examined once by a doctor, on 18 September. The medical certificate from Imphal Government Hospital mentions that Jiten complained of pain in his groin and genitals, and the doctors prescribed medicine accordingly. This bolsters concerns that more torture has taken place, and continues,’ the statement said.
   The victims are still in police custody and an application for bail is being filed by Jiten’s lawyer in court.

Former Awami League general secretary Abdul Jalil was assaulted by UK Juba League workers on Thursday, a day after he launched a scathing attack on Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina in an interview with bdnews24.com.
   Jalil, on a private visit to the UK, came under attack in Birmingham in the afternoon when he had gone there to open a money transfer agency and attend a reception.
   Some 10-12 activists of the AL’s youth front assaulted him after the AL advisory council member had got down from his car to open the money exchange of Mercantile Bank at Coventry Road, witnesses said.
   Those accompanying Jalil, also the chairman of the bank, whisked him away into the money exchange office.
   The Juba League workers then went away chanting slogans.
   In the interview, he said that he had made a mistake by not going against Hasina on his return to the country to protect his post during the 2007-08 caretaker government regime.
   ‘It was my mistake not to go against her. My offence was extreme loyalty to her,’ Jalil said on Wednesday.

Petrobangla has decided to short-list a pool of ‘drilling contractors’ for appointment to drill five production wells and conduct workover in one well in Titas and Rashidpur gas fields to increase gas production by 130 million cubic feet per day on a fast-track basis.
   The state-run corporation will also appoint ‘seismic contractors’ for carrying out 2D seismic survey of 3,100 kilometres of four onshore blocks – 3, 6, 8 and 11 – for exploration of hydrocarbon, officials said.
   For preparing the short list, Petrobangla last week invited drilling and seismic contractors to submit applications by October 28.
   The contractors, who will be in the short list, will be asked to submit their proposals for drilling the wells and carrying out seismic survey under the ‘Augmentation of Gas Production Under Fast Track Programme’ of the government.
   The government has assured Petrobangla that around Tk 1,150 crore will be given for increasing gas production and finding gas on a fast-track basis, Petrobangla officials said.
   The selected contractor or contractors will drill four production or development wells – 19, 20, 21 and 22 at Titas gas field and production well 8 in Rashidpur gas field, owned by the Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Limited, a subsidiary of Petrobangla.
   The contractor will also conduct work-over in an existing production well at the Rashidpur gas field for increasing production.
   The decision to appoint contractors for the gas fields was taken by the government as the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Production and Exploration Company, which usually drills wells for the BGFCL and conducts seismic survey, will remain entirely busy in the next two or three years in drilling a host of production wells in Titas, Bakhrabad and Semutang gas fields, officials said.
   ‘We aim to produce around 130mmcfd of additional gas from Titas and Rashidpur gas fields by 2011 by appointing drilling contractors,’ Petrobangla chairman Muqtadir Ali told New Age on Wednesday.
   He said that when the short list of the contractors would be prepared, they would be asked to submit their work programme. ‘Final selection will be made after we look over their proposals.’
   Petrobangla is expected to get another 100mmcfd of gas from well 17 and 18 of Titas and well 9 of Bakhrabad gas field, which would be drilled by Bapex in next two years.
   The country at present has a gas shortage of around 250mmcfd and with an annual increase in demand by eight to 10 per cent, the shortfall of gas will be higher in next two to three years if production could not be increased. The country produces around 1,950-2,000mmcfd of gas at present.
   The seismic contractors, on the other hand, will be given two ‘working field seasons’ or two winter seasons for completing 2D seismic survey of 3,100 ‘line kilometres’.
   ‘The contractors will carry out seismic survey, analyse the data and hand it over to us. Besides, it will also train officials of Bapex,’ said another official.
   A high official of Bapex told New Age that they had recommended appointment of seismic contractors for four blocks, two of them owned by Bapex, as the company could conduct seismic survey of only 300 kilometres a year. ‘Appointment of contractors for the survey has been recommended because we need to explore gas on a fast-track basis,’ he said.

The government has approved preliminary selection of four bidders, out of the seven, for participation in the final bidding for the installation of the 330–450MW Bibiyana independent power plant.
   ‘The Power Division in the past week approved the tender evaluation committee recommendation for the pre-qualification of four bidders out of the seven for the power project,’ the power secretary, Abul Kalam Azad, told New Age on Friday.
   The committee, headed by the Power Cell’s director general Abdul Mannan, on September 10 submitted the evaluation report to the Power Division mentioning four out of the seven companies, consortiums and joint ventures that had applied for prequalification fulfilled the bidding criteria.
   Three of the selected companies and consortiums are the YTL Power International Berhad of Malaysia, a consortium of the Summit Industrial and Mercantile Corporation and the GE Energy LLC of Bangladesh, and the MPC consortium of Meiya Power Company Ltd of Hong Kong and the Shasha Denim Ltd of Bangladesh.
   The fourth selected company is the joint venture of the China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation and the Shenzen Shenwan Power Gas Turbine Engineering Technique Company Ltd from China and the Asian Entach Power Corporation Ltd and Otobi Ltd from Bangladesh.
   The committee, in its report, said three other companies — the Ranhill Berhad from Malaysia, the Independent Power Corporation and the Globeleq Advisors Ltd from England — were not selected as they had not fulfilled the bidding criteria.
   Power Division officials said the Power Cell would be notified about the government’s approval next week.
   The cell will invite the four selected companies to submit technical bids detailing what sort of machinery they would install and the financial bids including power price, along with other details.
   The company or the consortium meeting the technical qualifications and offering to sell electricity to the Power Development Board at the lowest price will be selected to install the power plant on a build-own-operate scheme.
   The selected bidder will be given about two years to install the plant and the power board will be buying electricity from it for 22 years.
   The Power Cell invited pre-qualification applications from bidders in January and the seven bidders submitted the required documents on April 23 to try to take part in the second tender for the installation of the large independent power plant.
   The first bidding during the interim government failed for the first time as the lone bidder’s price for power was too high.

Pakistan’s Taliban movement is stronger than ever despite the killing of its top commander and will stage more suicide attacks if the army launches another offensive against it, a top militant told the news agency.
   Qari Hussain Mehsud, known for training Taliban suicide bombers, met with an AP reporter Thursday at a secret location in North Waziristan, near the Afghan border, just hours before a US missile strike hit the tribal region and killed 12 people.
   The US has launched dozens of missiles to take out top Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan’s northwest over the past year. Although Pakistan routinely protests at the strikes, it is widely believed to secretly cooperate with them.
   One such missile strike in August killed Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, and Qari Hussain Mehsud’s comments appeared to be the latest attempt by militants to end speculation of a rift among insurgent commanders following the killing.
   ‘Our movement has gained more strength after the martyrdom of Baitullah Mehsud,’ he said. ‘We are united.’
   The militant commander, who looked to be in his 40s and had a curly black beard and mustache, was surrounded by dozens of other militants and local residents. At one point, he assured those gathered that Islam allowed suicide bombings.
   The AP was given the interview on condition it not reveal the meeting’s exact location and wait a day before publishing the remarks.
   The commander said he had been appointed the latest spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban’s new chief, Hakimullah Mehsud. He also acknowledged that he was leading a group of suicide bombers known as the ‘Fidayeen-e-Islam,’ and said the attackers were ready to give their lives if Pakistan proceeds with offensives in the tribal areas.
   ‘We have enough suicide bombers, and they are asking me to let them sacrifice their lives in the name of Islam, but we will send suicide bombers only if the government acts against us,’ he said.
   Pakistan’s northwest region bordering Afghanistan has provided Islamist militants with safe havens from which to plan attacks on US and NATO troops in Afghanistan. In particular, the mountainous, lawless tribal regions — where the government wields little control — are favoured breeding grounds for insurgents, who have also attacked Pakistani government workers and security forces.

Two more crime suspects were killed in separate incidents of ‘encounter’ with the law enforcers in the district headquarters and at Mirpur in Kushtia early Friday.
   Friday’s incidents took to 89 the total death figure from such incidents of ‘encounter’ or ‘crossfire’ with the Rapid Action Battalion and the police after January 6 when the Awami League-led government assumed office.
   The deceased, Aroz Ali, 36, and Edu Mondol, 40, were operatives of the ultra-left outfit Purba Banglar Communist Party.
   In the district headquarters, the police raided a hideout of the operatives at Mollateghori where Aroz was meeting his associates.
   As the team reached the spot, the operatives fired into the lawmen, who fired back. At one point during the gunfight, Aroz was killed being caught in the gunfight.
   The law enforcers seized a shutter gun, four bullets, and two homemade bombs from the spot.
   The police said Aroz was accused in seven cases — three for murder and four for extortion — filed with the Gangni police at Meherpur and in the district headquarters.
   In the other incident at Mirpur, Edu was killed in ‘crossfire’ with the police early Friday. The police said one of their teams raided a field at Ursha where the operatives were holding a meeting.
   As the lawmen approached, the operatives fired on them. The law enforcers fired back.
   At one point during the gunfight, the operatives got away. The police found Edu lying dead on the spot. The police seized a Chinese pistol and 16 bullets from the spot after the gunfight.
   Edu Mondol was accused in four cases, including two for murder, filed with the Mirpur police, the police said.

The president Zillur Rahman, now on a six- day state visit to Saudi Arabia, will leave Makkah for Madina Friday. The President performed rituals of the Umrah from 6:15pm to 8:45pm local time yesterday at the holy Kaaba Sharif, according to a message received here from Saudi Arabia Friday.
   He offered his both Magreb and Esha prayers within the Umrah rituals, it added.
   During the Umrah, the president prayed for development of the country as well as welfare of its people.
   Zillur Rahman’s son and member of parliament Nazmul Hassan, his other family members and the entourage members also performed the Umrah with the president.
   Earlier, the Saudi Royal protocol escorted & carried the president from Jeddah to Makkah by road with state honour.
   President Zillur Rahman will offer Asr, Magreb and Esha prayers at Masjid-e-Nababi after reaching Madina Friday.
   Later, he will offer fateha at Rawza Mubarak of Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (SM) after Esha prayers. The president left here for Saudi Arabia on September 22 at an invitation of Saudi Arabia King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to attend the inaugural ceremony of newly-built King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, one of the largest universities in the world, on the outskirts of Jeddah on September 23.
   Zillur Rahman is scheduled to return home on September 27.

The prime minister Sheikh Hasina attended a luncheon meeting early on Friday (BdST) hosted by the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, in New York.
   The reception was according to female heads of state and government and foreign ministers at the Empire Room of Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City at 1:30pm.
   German chancellor Angela Merkel was also present.
   Heads of state from eight countries, heads of the government from seven countries and foreign ministers from quite a number of countries also attended the party.
   Chili, Argentina, Lithuania, Finland, Philippines, Liberia, Germany, Ireland, Iceland, Mozambique, Croatia, Haiti were among the countries.
   Earlier in the day, Hasina, who is in New York to attend the 64th UN general Assembly and Cimate Summit, met with Nepalese prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal at 11:00am and Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed at 12:30pm.
   She will address the General Assembly on Saturday.
   Hasina also joined a special ceremony hosted by the US president Barack Obama on Wednesday at 12:00pm in honour of heads of top ten countries chosen on the basis of their contribution to UN peacekeeping missions.
   Bangladesh is ranked second in terms of its military contribution to UN peacekeeping operations.

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, is set to address the United Nations General Assembly in Bangla on Saturday.
   She will be the only second head of Bangladesh government to address the Assembly in Bangla after her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who delivered his speech on September 24, 1974.
   Foreign ministry sources say Hasina will, however, be the third head of government to address any UN session in Bangla.
   ‘The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, will be the second to address the general assembly in Bangla,’ Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, former permanent representative to the UN, told bdnews24.com on Friday by telephone from Singapore.
   ‘Then prime minister Khaleda Zia addressed the UN’s special session on children in Bangla in 1992.’
   ‘I translated her Bangla speech into English,’ said Chowdhury, a former foreign adviser to the 2007-08 caretaker government who was then the director general of the UN desk at the foreign ministry.
   Foreign ministry sources say Sheikh Mujib had for the first time delivered his address as the prime minister in Bangla after Bangladesh got UN membership on September 17, 1974.
   Hasina is set to address the General Assembly as the eighth speaker.