India needs to deliver
Pranab's statement very welcome
We couldn't agree more with the Indian Finance Minister regarding the need for India to take steps expeditiously on specific outstanding issues between the two countries. We welcome the frank admission he made to the visiting Bangladeshi journalists that there has been delay and slippages in this regard.
While we very much appreciate the acknowledgement we fail to understand why it has taken so long on India's part, after the joint communiqué was signed by the two prime ministers in January 2010 that agreed in principle to address these issues urgently.
The Indian finance minister voices the sentiments of the people of Bangladesh when he says that people want to see more things visible done by the Indian side. It needs hardly be repeated that Bangladesh has been more than expeditious in making good on its commitment as per the joint communiqué.
The issue of transit and Indian insurgents in our territory, two issues that relate to India's two vital interests of security and economy, and which India had been seeking for a long time, have been addressed with the utmost rapidity by Bangladesh without even asking for a quid pro quo, whereas, there was strong opinion in Bangladesh that these two be used as give-and-take issues between the two countries. We fear that lack of reciprocity on India's part is likely to dilute the recent gains and lead to severe disappointment among the people of Bangladesh.
The outstanding issues are by no means intractable, but regrettably India's commitment is sometimes hamstrung by its internal dynamics. A case in point is the border killings by the BSF, which, in spite of assurances at the highest level, has not stopped. This is entirely unacceptable, and it is for India to remove the impediments, bureaucratic or otherwise, that stand in the way of the implementation of its policies and directives.
It is with great interest that people in Bangladesh are waiting for the impending visit of the Indian PM to Bangladesh, where announcements from the Indian side are likely to be made including on the Teesta and the longstanding and vexing border issue, according to the Indian finance minister.
Criminals targeting cars
Deal with them ruthlessly
As many as 159 incidents of carjacking were recorded by the police over the last three months. And all these incidents occurred in the capital. One is certainly surprised at the figures. The bigger truth, however, is that the figures could be higher. Be that as it may, the fact that such incidents have been going up in frequency points to the dismal state of law and order not just in Dhaka but elsewhere in the country as well. It is clear that organized gangs of criminals are at work and indulge in their acts in various ways. Sometimes they simply pounce on individuals in cars cruising on the road; sometimes they shadow a car before finding an opportune moment to terrorise the driver into parting with the keys. In many instances, car robbers have acted violently, leaving drivers wounded from attacks with sharp weapons.
Incidents of carjacking must necessarily be observed as part of a bigger picture of lawlessness. Of late, murder, kidnapping and rape have featured increasingly in the news. With car stealing or commandeering now coming into the list, it now becomes a critical question of whether the law enforcers are in a position to roll back the slide and, more importantly, willing to do it. Carjackings have happened earlier too, but the difference between then and now is that these days it is not empty cars that are stolen. The criminals today are not loath to go up to a car owner or driver and ask him to hand it over. Audacity has now taken over where stealth was once the pattern. It only shows the degree to which citizens' security has dwindled.
The police have certainly been nabbing car thieves. That is appreciable, but more to the point would be a sustained, ruthless operation against these criminals before they spread their tentacles any further.
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