Nahid in Parliament: If the Government Cannot Provide Security, Let It Say So, Otherwise We Will Find Our Own Way

Opposition chief whip and National Citizen Party (NCP) convener Nahid Islam has raised the question of whether the country's law and order situation has deteriorated after the arson attack on a member of parliament's home.

He raised the question on a point of order at the start of the National Parliament session on Thursday afternoon (12 November). At the same time, he expressed doubt over the government's capability to provide security and demanded a clear answer.

Nahid Islam presented the details of the attack on the home of Nusrat Tabassum, a member of parliament from a reserved women's seat and a candidate nominated by the NCP and the 11-party unity. He said that at around 12am on Wednesday night (11 November), four petrol bombs were thrown and a fire was set at Nusrat Tabassum's home in Daulatpur, Kushtia. Livestock kept at the home were burned to death in the incident, he also told parliament.

Expressing anger over the police role after the incident, the opposition chief whip said they had contacted various levels of the administration from that night. He himself had also spoken with Kushtia's superintendent of police (SP). Yet on Thursday, the officer-in-charge (OC) of the relevant police station said no evidence of a petrol bomb was found at the scene.

Nahid Islam questioned how the station's OC could comment that the incident was not a petrol bomb attack without any forensic team visiting the scene and without a forensic investigation, saying it was beyond his understanding.

Expressing concern over the country's overall security situation, the NCP convener said it is now clear who the main targets are of the anarchy and sabotage the fallen fascist force has started across the country. Earlier, there was an attack on Hasib Al Islam, a coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, in Moulvibazar. Even after 48 hours had passed, no one had yet been arrested in that incident, he alleged. Petrol bomb and cocktail explosions are also taking place across the country, and cocktails are even exploding in the Dhaka University area, he said.

Nahid Islam said that from members of parliament to the leadership of the July mass uprising and the leaders and activists of the anti-fascist movement, everyone is now suffering extreme insecurity. He called on the government to state clearly if it has failed to provide them security.

He said that if their human rights are not ensured and the government is more concerned about the human rights of the opposing side, they will have to find their own way to security. He also said that although they are the fascist force's first targets, people of the government could be the next targets. Referring to that force's brutality, he said that if their families are attacked, the families of the government's ministers and MPs will not be spared either. He therefore demanded a clear explanation of the government's position on the trial of the Awami League and the fascist force, and on allegations of compromise.

After the opposition chief whip's speech, National Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad took the matter seriously. Giving a ruling on the matter, the Speaker said the question raised by the opposition chief whip is extremely important. An attack on a member of parliament's home is a serious matter. He drew the attention of the treasury bench and the home minister to take necessary action on the matter.