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Bangladesh : Khaleda Zia released on bail |
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Former Bangladesh Premier Khaleda Zia was freed on bail on September 12 after spending a year in jail under alleged corruption charges and announced that her party, the BNP – will run in December Parliamentary elections. Her elder son, Tariq Rehman, was freed on bail earlier last week to go to London for medical treatment. He has accused to be at the centre of the corruption ring during Begum Zia’s last tenure between 2001-2006. A beaming Zia was received by thousands outside her temporary jail. Soon after her release, she announced that her party would join the dialogue with the interim Government and take part in the upcoming elections. But she asked the caretaker Government to hold the stalled parliamentary elections first and then withdraw the state of emergency.
Her release is widely viewed as the last-ditch effort by the Army-backed Government to lure the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) into running in the December poll, after securing the participation of the Awami League by releasing its chief and former Premier Sheikh Hasina on parole in June. Zia’s announcement would ensure participation in the elections by both parties which is seen as crucial for the local polity and the international community to consider the poll credible. The elections in December would restore democracy to the country, which has been under a state of emergency since polls were stalled on January 11 last year after the Army backed change in power. Khaleda’s release is seen as the last of freeing high-profile politicians accused of corruption, who were detained under the Government’s anti-corruption drive, one of the central tenets of their tenure. The three-time Prime Minister Zia was arrested along with her youngest son Arafat Rahman Koko, on September 3 last year on corruption charges. She faces charges in four cases of corruption and misuse of power dating back to her two stints as Premier from 1991-1996 and 2001-2006, including in the awarding of State contracts. No trial dates have been set.
With both the Begums released from detention, a senior official said, the Government is now working out ways to seek their cooperation in bringing back democracy in the emergency-ruled country. “We will bring the two leaders accross the table to create an atmosphere of trust and a new mode in politics”, Commerce Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman said.
Bangladesh building missile arsenal
Bangladesh is all set to build its own missile arsenal. The caretaker Government in Dhaka is in the process of clinching a deal with an integrated European company MBDA for buying OTOMAT MK-II surface-to-air missiles and five launch systems. These missiles can carry a payload of 210 kg and can hit targets 180 km away.
In addition, highly-placed intelligence sources say the Bangladesh Air Force is negotiating with Turkish arms dealer ASLSAN to buy Shorad (Short Range Air Defence) system and 3D air defence radars during the current financial year.
Bangladesh has already set up a missile launch pad near the Chittagong Port with assistance from China. Breaking protocol, it did not bother to inform India about its missile tests. Bangladesh’s missile programme is a recent one. Its maiden missile test was conducted on May 12, with active participation of a group of Chinese experts. It successfully test-fired land attack anti-ship cruise missile C-802A with a strike range of 120 km from the frigate BNS Osman near Kutubdia Island in the Bay of Bengal.
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