Editorial
Ramna bomb blast charge sheet
Now the legal process must move fast
AT long last, after seven and a half years of the Ramna Batamul incident, charges have been formally pressed against the alleged perpetrators. We feel, however, that it has come several years too late, but nevertheless take the news with a sigh of relief.
That said, we cannot but express our anguish at the fact that during the past regime no headway was made in the case whatsoever, perhaps at the behest of certain interested quarters. It was an example of providing political cover to extremists, with very little regard for the security of the country. The worrisome aspect is that, of the twenty-two accused and fourteen charge sheeted, all but six are at large.
It may be worthwhile to take note of the fact that of those charge sheeted in this case, the six under custody have all confessed to participating in the August 21, 2004 bomb attack on the AL meeting. Perhaps the mastermind in both the cases was the same person. Insofar as investigations have revealed, the supplier of the lethal weapons for the Batamul and August 21 grenade attacks happens to be one and the same person. And he also happens to be the brother of a BNP high up found complicit in the August 21 grenade attack. It is our belief that had the Batamul investigation been allowed to take its due course, the grenade attack on the AL leadership might never have taken place at all.
The nation has had to pay a heavy price for such acts of abetment, most of it in the form of enhanced militant activity, since then. Apart from being described as "hotbed of Islamic terrorism" to a "new Afghanistan," which did great damage to our image as a democratic and tolerant society, the country has seen a growth of an intolerant group that has resorted to misinterpreting religious teachings to perpetrate acts that aim at dividing the nation and fracturing our social integrity.
Let it be understood that extremists and terrorists belong to no religion or political party. These elements cannot be wished away and must be dealt with firmly. The only way to expose them and their sponsors, and bring them to book, is to complete the investigations of the bombings and other militant attacks since 1999, and allow the legal process to move in an unhindered manner.
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