As the spate of targeted killing is spreading growing horrors in Bangladesh the USA and India have agreed to work together with Dhaka to counter violent extremism here before it takes root, media report said Tuesday quoting diplomatic sources in Dhaka. To make it clear the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal came to Dhaka on a quick visit after the killing of the US embassy staff Xulhas Mannan and his friend to offer the US government total support to Bangladesh government in its fight against extremism. And now immediately after Biswal’s visit, Indian foreign secretary Mr Subramanyam Jaishankar is due in the capital this evening carrying similar message of help to combat extremism. Bangladesh has become easy for the killers to kill people whether they are terrorists or hired killers taking advantage of inimical and intolerant politics of the country. It is a hotspot now for carrying targeted killing of bloggers, writers, professors, religious preachers and minorities publicly defying the presence of the government and throwing challenge to its authorities. These killings cannot be called secret killings. The killers demonstrate defiance or feel safe. The recent rush of such killings gives the feeling of total insecurity about ones personal safety. The people are rightly worried where the country is heading without political discussions or debate taking place between the government and civil society members. It is also not known who are on the list of target killing. Only in yesterday’s papers a family member was killed in Rupganj near Narayangonj, not too far from the capital city in the morning giving the clear impression that the killers have nobody to fear. Many are not sure if the impact of political vacuum can be blamed for suspecting terrorists with international connections or the killers are just home grown disaffected persons. Blaming police cannot be of any help when they are not free from political control and politics. We have efficient police, well educated and trained, but they are restrained by politics. Whenever any killing takes place the people in the high positions of government hold the opposition responsible. After that how independent police investigation is possible is a matter for everybody to know. In New Delhi’s assessment that killers are homegrown militants responsible for the recent attacks, as the Bangladesh government also so believes. The US on the other hand thinks they may be indigenous or even affiliate of the Islamic State (IS). That is why the truth is important to find a solution. US ambassador Marcia Bernicat after meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque on Monday in the capital further said “Our three governments — Bangladesh, India and the United States — all fighting extremism. We’re all on the same page here. All three of us are on the same page in that regard.”We are not sure if people of Bangladesh are on the same page. We shall ask the US and India governments not to impose any theory of their own about extremism in Bangladesh. Our observation is that we have no terrorism but our political intolerance is promoting extremism. We must know the truth about the killings and the whole truth. The country is going through a terrible time. The government cannot see how mismanaged it is. Our government and our people need help.
