The Friday massacre at shrine

It is not yet known why Mr. Anwar Choudhury, the first British High Commissioner of Bangladeshi origin to this country, was targeted by terrorists who have had blood-letting as their broader agenda. The enormity of the crime is hard to describe. We are dumbfounded. This senseless, barbaric attack will only serve the purpose of the enemies of the country.

Now, it is highly imperative that the motivation behind the rising incidence of such attacks is determined and their operatives and mentors are ferreted out and given deterrent punishment. It is precisely here that our track-record has been uninspiring, to say the least. There were several bomb attacks in the recent years which took a heavy toll of human lives. But not a single case has been resolved so far; investigations into the attacks remained inconclusive with political recriminations serving only to deflect them off-course. Police could not even submit their report on the blast that took place at the same shrine last January. The law enforcers' failure must have emboldened the terrorists to strike the way they have at the time and place of their choice. As we have said before, so we say now, the government should not hesitate in seeking cooperation of appropriate international agencies which specialise in countering terrorism of different forms and shapes.

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The attack on the High Commissioner has made it clear that extremists are very much active, partly because of a sense of impunity and in part due to the lack of counter-offensives. As an appropriate beginning, we hope the political blame game will not derail the investigation and the culprits will be brought to justice as a matter of utmost priority.