Prepared to face the challenge of Taliban rise in Afghanistan: Hasina
Hasina: Prepared to face the challenge of Taliban rise in Afghanistan
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that her country is ready to face the challenges of the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan. “There is nothing to be worried about Afghanistan.
At a time when the Taliban was emerging, many have received training from Afghanistan to spread militancy in Bangladesh. “We are ready to face such challenges. We have to remain vigilant so that change of power in this SAARC country does not affect Bangladesh,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina also said the indiscriminate killing of armed forces officers during the dictatorship of the military ruler and opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)’s founder Ziaur Rahman, should be investigated.
“Nearly 2,000 armed force officers were killed. As the demand for an investigation into the killing has been raised, I think a step should be taken in this regard. Public opinion should also be drummed up,” she told reporters at a virtual briefing from her official residence Ganabhaban.
Prepared to face the challenge of Taliban rise in Afghanistan: Hasina
Hasina slammed BNP for its continuous efforts to make elections questionable and controversial as she said top leaders of the party are not able to contest the polls due to their conviction.
“How a party will win the polls? Where is their leadership? One person is accused of embezzling money meant for orphans while another one is fugitive and sentenced to a life term in jail in a grenade attack case.
Why people will cast votes for the party?” she said. Hasina, also the President of the ruling Awami League (AL), asked what have people got from the BNP, which had turned the country into “a champion of corruption for five times in a row and a safe heaven for acts of militancy”.
“Who will cast votes for that party? BNP knows it very well that they do not have any possibility of winning the polls. That’s why they are trying to make elections controversial,” she said. Contending that the BNP has lost confidence in contesting the elections, she said its target is to make the polls questionable or destroy the continuation of democracy.
“Voters cast votes in the polls spontaneously but efforts have been made to make the polls questionable,” she said. Noting that violent acts, including arson attacks, had been carried out to foil the polls, she said: “But the elections were held.
You had experienced development as the atmosphere remained calm after the polls.” Urging people to make a comparison between the tenure of the BNP and the AL, Sheikh Hasina said the country got the recognition of developing country status during her party’s government.
