Staff Reporter :The BNP has denounced the abduction of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) member by Myanmar border force and called it a shameful incident. The party has also criticised the government for its poor role over the incident. Addressing a press briefing at the party’s Nayapaltan central office in the city on Saturday, BNP’s current spokesman and the party’s International Affairs Secretary Dr Asaduzzaman Ripon urged the government to take immediate step to bring back the abducted BGB Nayek.He also asked the government to issue a note of strong warning to Myanmar so that they do not dare to repeat such an incident in the future. “It is a shame for us that Myanmar newspapers published a photo of BGB Nayek Abdur Razzak, who was abducted by the Myanmar border force, in a lungi and handcuffs. We urge the government to bring back him immediately through intensified diplomatic efforts. We also demand enhancing the efficiency and capability of the BGB force to stop recurrence of such incidents,” Dr Ripon said.Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP) opened fire on a BGB patrol boat in Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar in the early hours of Wednesday. A BGB sepoy, Biplob Kumar, suffered bullet wounds during the firing and Abdur Razzak abducted by the BGP.State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and BGB said that the incident had occurred due to a ‘misunderstanding’, but Abdur Razzak is yet to be released by the BGP.Voicing deep concern over the incident, Dr Ripon said that the border force of another country dared carry out such incident, as the BGB members are not used properly. “Our people are killed along the borders every day. It is the BGB’s responsibility to guard the security of our border and the lives of our people. It is not their duty to suppress the opposition and shoot them. We’re observing with regret that our border guards are not used properly and they are not developed efficiently,” he said.Referring to the statement of BGB Director General Major General Aziz Ahmed, he said that during the opposition’s movement, the BGB chief made a boastful remark that BGB men carry arms to use those. Why the BGB member was shot and another abducted by the border force of another country though they were equipped with lethal arms? The BNP’s spokesman also talked about the price hike of essentials. He alleged that the price of essentials are shooting up for lack of strong market monitoring by the government.Mentioning that the Commerce Minister assured people that they would strongly arrest the price hike during Ramzan, Dr Ripon said that the minister failed to keep his promise. He, however, said that the price hike of essentials during Ramzan has become a culture and common practice. “We should discard this culture,” he said. He urged the businessmen not to hike the commodity prices considering the convenience of those fasting. He also urged the government to intensify its anti-adulteration drive to check health hazards caused by the adulterated and toxic food.Mentioning the country’s political situation now normal as their party is not on movement, he urged the government to immediately release BNP leaders and activists, including party acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
