Editorial
Missing BDR arms
Immediate recovery should be the high priority
IT is worrisome indeed that the law enforcing agencies of the country have yet to make a full assessment of the number and types of firearms that are missing from the BDR armoury since 25 February. We infer from various reports that a large number of weapons of various descriptions have been taken away by fleeing BDR personnel and their cohorts after perpetrating the carnage inside Pilkhana. And it is most disconcerting that there is no clue as to whether these looted arms and ammunition remain abandoned in some remote places or have already been sold to anti-social elements.
Our concern finds expression in the words of the IG of Police himself when he says that the number of arms and ammunition that were on record before the carnage and the number that has been looted cannot be confirmed as yet. So, until a tally is made we shall never know the exact number that remains to be recovered. The IGP also echoes our other concern that if we fail to recover the missing weapons without delay then those might fall in the hands of common criminals and anti-state elements. This undoubtedly will contribute further to the deterioration of law and order in the country.
The gravity of the situation thus demands attaching high priority to mobilising men and material for quick recovery of the missing arms and ammunition and arresting anyone in possession of them. Effective intelligence gathering from those already arrested would help in tracking down their cohorts. The job also demands flawless coordination among all the law enforcing agencies from planning to field level operation, as success to a great extent will depend on how effectively they will be able to exploit the element of surprise.
It needs no emphasising that the entire nation is waiting keenly for the investigating authorities to find the missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle and tell the world what really happened that fateful day. We, therefore, ardently hope that the combined efforts of the law enforcing agencies will result in the recovery of the missing BDR arms and ammunition and arrest of the escapees.
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