Besides the individual or family tours, there has been an increase in business tours and corporate leisure trips — mainly in the pro-tourist countries like Nepal and Thailand — where local people live on selling tourism, and the tourists want something unusual in their regular life — either it be alcohol or free movement with prostitutes.

A major portion of the tourists are assumed to be travelling for the first time and face different odd situations in the foreign atmosphere. Many tourists cannot adopt with the environment, many others have been mugged or robbed, in the countries but those in sophisticated Scandinavian region, while others becoming victim of fraud while purchasing products or taking service from mobile shops, tourist guides, and at many times, hookers.

Because of these common problems, the tourists are usually requested to be cautious. The latest alert came in from Thai police who early this week wanted to remind all tourists that “taking strangers back to the hotel room, for whatever reason, carries significant risks which can lead to the loss of valuables or in extreme cases, loss of life.”

The bell had to be rung after three Bangladeshi tourists had fallen prey to a “Thai prostitute of 20 years of age” at their hotel room in Pattaya in the wee hours of May 11. They were drugged and robbed. The girl left the hotel saying that she needed to go to a laundry. But she never came back.

Photo Courtsey >> Pattaya People newspaper

As the hotel employees were looking for them in the morning, one of the three was found lying on a bed, dead, while two others unconscious. Police came in, surveyed the room and traced the identities of the three and that of the hooker, as she had left mistakenly her ID. It has later been proved to be a fake ID.

Pattaya police have taken the matter seriously as it has affected the tourist spot adversely. Local newspapers say such incidents of hookers drugging and robbing tourists at hotel rooms and even at bus stops and restaurants are quite common in Pattaya, but left mostly unpublished.

According to local media reports, the guide said the three old men of around 50 came from Bangkok after attending the Rotary International Conference. They were supposed to stay over in Pattaya for two days and fly to Bangkok again.

Publicly forbidden in Bangladesh, prostitution of teenagers is widely accepted in Thailand and popular among the foreigners. The hotel authorities saw the three group-sex lovers taking the girl to the room; they did not restrict them, and reportedly not even when the girl stepped outside after a massacre in the room.

Police say the hooker’s ID & the CCTV photograph do not match. The identity card at the reception belongs to a Big C Department store clerk — not the hooker who was caught on CCTV footage.

The person on the ID card is Pornthip Thaveethin age, 20, address: 59 Moo 7, Tambon Yangwai, Amphur Konsawan, Chaiyaphum province. This is the ID card that the hooker gave to the hotel clerk.

The police compared the photograph in the identity card with the footage from the CCTV. On the CCTV images the police can see a Thai woman age, approximately 30 up, rather fat, white skin, long hair, height about 155-160 cm.

The police believe that the suspected prostitute might have stolen the identity card which she gave to the hotel clerk.

KILLER ARRESTED

The culprit, Malee, was caught on Monday with 2 mobile phones, a digital camera, 4 diamond pendants and the clothes she wore on the night of the crime.

In tears, Miss Malee confessed that she did not intend to kill anyone. She claimed to have been approached for a sexual encounter by the dead man, and when she arrived at the hotel room, 2 of his friends were also waiting in the room.

She convinced the 3 Bangladeshis to each take a tab of some kind of purple tranquilizer. Her friend had urged her to use it to knock out her clients, to be able to steal their belongings, and it worked. Off she went with the stolen goods.

Without any specific motive that cannot be the lead news of any national newspaper. Why their thoughts should be so much highlighted in a newspaper? Do they do politics? Are they any sort of representative of Bangladesh government? Why do people of Bangladesh have to read such news?

Much has been talked about the recent visit by the Secretary of United States of America Hillary Clinton. Hillary pushed the ruling and main opposition party to reach a solution on next general election in Bangladesh that is to be held in 2014. She also cautioned the government not to hamper Grameen Bank’s activity; though one should remember that the Secretary did not advocate reappointing her family friend Dr. Muhammad Yunus as the managing Director of the bank- the post that he left after a long ‘drama’ between the central bank of Bangladesh and him.

Hillary met with the prime minister, opposition leader and some other civil society members of Bangladesh. And in the very next day the leading Bangla daily Prothom Alo did not bother to amplify its shameless bias to motivated journalism. The lead headline of the daily on the 7th May read “Dr. Yunus & Abed favors election under caretaker government”. Well there has been debate on the government system that is to run the next election in Bangladesh. It was the caretaker governments that run the country during last three national elections in Bangladesh. Last year the Awami League abolished the system by 15th amendment of constitution. Since then the opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has been demanding the reinstate the caretaker government system. BNP has given the government an ultimatum of 90 days to return to the caretaker system that will end on 10th June.

Secretary Clinton did not urge for the reinstatement, at least in public, she pushed for dialogue between the rivals.

The news treatment of Prothom Alo made us confused as well as frightened. After seeing this type of disorder in news treatment it very simple to raise a question in everyone’s mind and that is “Does the Prothom Alo has any vision to promote someone or to frighten the government to ensure the share of the power of the government or to capture it?”

We have already seen that the Prothom Alo has made a parallel government within the existing governing structure through promoting a group of civil society members of the country because of what it is the most vital pressure group for the existing government. That is why the Prothom Alo should be more careful and responsible to its news treatment. You might recall the well spread concept among the people Bangaldesh that Mr. Matiur Rahman, the editor of the Prothom Alo, was one of the key player of implementing ‘Minus two’ formula after 1/11.

Clinton invited Dr. Mohammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank, to morning tea before the cameras at the U.S. ambassador’s residence; a day after her meet with Bangladesh’s bickering political leaders- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the opposition leader Khaleda zia. Fazle Hasan Abed, founder of BRAC (Another Bangladesh-based non-government organization) was also invited at that meeting.

Undoubtedly Mr. Yunus and Mr. Abed are very significant personality for our country. Their meeting with Clinton is also very significant. They have talked about micro credit, women empowerment as well as the present condition politics of Bangladesh. Dr. Mohammad Yunus has told at the meeting that the caretaker government is must for the next election. Without any specific motive that cannot be the lead news of any national newspaper. Why their thoughts should be so much highlighted in a newspaper? Do they do politics? Are they any sort of representative of Bangladesh government? Why do people of Bangladesh have to read such news?

It was for the first time that Prof Yunus met Hillary after he was ousted from Grameen Bank which he set up three decades ago. Yunus, a personal friend of the Clintons, was ousted from the bank last year by the Bangladesh’s central bank because he was well past the retirement age of 60. Yunus’ allies said the ouster was political and pointed to Hasina’s anger at his 2007 effort to form a political party backed by the army when the country was under a state of emergency and Hasina and Khaleda were behind bars. Yunus had tried to form a political party in 2007. It also widely perceived that Mr. Yunus lobby is responsible for the suspension of World Bank funding in the Padma Bridge project.

Secretary Clinton met two famous NGO owners; unfortunately they failed to focus on their own business, rather both the businessmen jumped into political issue. And that is Bangladesh!

“In Bangladesh too there are people and groups who do not wish to see South Asia come together or our relations flourish. We should not arm them by withholding Teesta.”

Coming a day after US secretary of state Hillary Clinton talked about water being a potential source of conflict in this region, it’s a sign of growing pressure on the Indian government to get moving on Teesta.

Dipu Moni

According to sources, the central government has been working hard to get West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to get off the bench on this agreement. Since this is now linked to Mamata’s own wishlist from the Centre, there is expectation in the government that a political deal could be worked out after the current parliament session which ends on May 22. In his joint press interaction, Krishna said, “We are trying to develop a political consensus in India. It is important that the views of all those who are dependent on the waters are taken into account and the burden is shared fairly and equitably. Meanwhile, there is no change in the ground situation. The waters are flowing, and in the last technical level meeting held in Kolkata in February this year, both sides exchanged data at Dalia in Bangladesh and Gazaldoba in India.”

However, Dipu Moni expressed satisfaction at the trajectory of the bilateral relationship. “Lot of things are moving ahead. From our point of view, our trade has nearly trebled in the last three ears. We’re very happy. We will see more investments from India.”

But now the situation is different. Now Bangladesh is seeking investment from the countries in different sectors, interested to have growing trade regime, and looking for prospective areas of cooperation to land in a win-win situation.

The oil-rich Gulf countries have expertise in energy sector and showed their interest to invest in the sector. In March, a delegation from an Omani corporation visited Bangladesh and handed over a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in energy sector. Petrobangla is actively considering it and after evaluation it is expected to sign a deal. The Omani corporation has expertise in offshore drilling. A company from Qatar also showed interest to expand the Eastern Refinery located in Chittagong. Saudi Arabia Bangladesh Investment Company (SABINCO) is operating in Bangladesh for many years.

There is no statistics how many Bangladeshis are living in the Middle East but in the most conservative estimation, it would be over five million. Bangladesh enterprises can target the Diaspora and export local products to the Middle Eastern countries. Pran has already started exporting to those countries and many others can follow suits. Cooperation in agriculture and fisheries is another prospective area where both the parties are working together. Bangladeshis are primarily responsible for making the desert of the Middle East into a green land. Their hard work in the field resulted in supply of fresh crops, vegetables and fruits to the markets of those countries. The food security risk has also driven the countries to produce more so that there would be enough supply from their own fields. A Gulf country, Oman, has undertaken a massive plan under which it wants to triple its production by 2020.

Bangladesh is considering to sign a cooperation agreement with Oman under which Dhaka will share agriculture knowledge and help the country to grow more crop. There is a possibility of cooperation in the field of fisheries also. During the visit of foreign minister Dipu Moni to Oman this April, she discussed about the cooperation in the sectors and agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury is likely to visit the country in July.

The United States is currently facing sluggish growth while the Eurozone is reeling under debt crisis. These two are the biggest destinations of our export items and also we get most of our foreign investment from the regions. Due to the bad conditions in those countries, our export growth is slowing down while foreign investment is drying up. In this backdrop, the future is the Middle East. They have a lot of cash and are looking for good investment destination. Bangladesh needs to provide a favourable regime for Middle East investment, which ultimately helps the country to create more employment opportunities and to grow more.

In a report “Ghost of 1/11 returning in Bangladesh” of the lady published on May 02, 2012 may be analyzed here. People are very much aware of the background of 1/11 .We are aware that misrule of the BNP led 4 party alliance government and its desperate ploy to cling on to power through politicizing all democratic institutions laid the basis of 1/11. Their own laid out Army Junta backed the interim Government headed by their hand chosen personalities including their own President , Dr Fakharuddin Ahmed and General Moin Uddin Ahmed [ 3 Uddins]. People know who was Lt General Masud Uddin Chowdhury .We are all aware that the caretaker / interim government actually maligned all political parties and were aiming to form a new political front. But all those ill designs of few ambitious generals were foiled. So there cannot be any basis of a little known journalist carrying out propaganda war against Bangladesh stating that Ghost of 1/11 is returning to Bangladesh. However, some of the weird matters she raised must be responded to.

There was an earlier report of so called “hit list “of Crusader 100. That report was an ill conceived attempt to create controversy and sour relation between India and Bangladesh. However considering the seriousness of the matter Bangladesh and Indian Government should look into it and take actions against the publications of such trash reports aiming at creating bitterness among neighbors. She wrote about some BNP leaders / activists against whom there has been allegation of plotting some destructive activities and arsenal during the recent hartals. She wrote that there was no trace of BNP General Secretary Fakhrul Islam Alamgir since the lodgment of the case. We won’t go into details of whether or not the allegations are justified or not as this is under judgment. The apprehension of the lady journalist was proved wrong as opposition leaders including Mr. Fakhrul appeared in High court seeking bail only few days after publication of the report.

There has been many unfortunate incidents during BNP led opposition organized hartals over the last few weeks when public properties were vandalized, explosives were exploded inside secretariat in front of Home Ministry, some transports were damaged in front of Prime Minister’s Office [PMO], some innocent people were killed, bus driver was burnt to death. These incidents are well documented. It is the responsibility of any government to protect life and property of innocent civilians. No person responsible for such incidents can remain above law. Lodging cases against persons suspected for plotting such incidents cannot be compared with mass arrest of political leaders of all parties after 1/11. The lady journalist misconstrued the recent police actions of against opposition leaders following several untoward incidents during hartal. The time was very critical as well. VVIPs like Japanese Deputy Premiere, US Secretary of States and Indian Minister Pranab Mukherjee visited Bangladesh almost at the same time.

There is however no doubt that Politics in Bangladesh unfortunately follow mutual hatred, disbelief and mistrust. During 4 party alliance rule Two MPs -Late SAMS Kibria and Late Ahsanullah Master were killed while they were addressing at public meetings. Ruling government at that time took no genuine initiative to nab the killers, uncover the plotters. A deliberate attempt was made at the heart of the capital Dhaka in broad day light to wipe out senior leadership of Awami League including the then leader of the opposition and present PM Sheikh Hasina on Ausgust 21st massacre in front of Awami League office. Present incidents cannot be compared to those acts of BNP regime. Leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia in recent times had several anti government rallies and agitation programs with little or no obstruction from any quarter. There has been no attempt to kill her by government sponsored terrorist groups.

Political leaders in public meetings in Bangladesh are pelting stones at each other and uttering many non sensible phrases. Some mid- level leaders of both ruling alliance and opposition are very often are crossing the battery limits of sensible political statements. The politics is definitely back on the lanes dark of confrontation and chaos [deliberately created by opposition]. But still the situation is much better that that of 2005 which created 1/11.

We do not understand what made the lady journalist to write “AL will make sure that the opposition voices are completely suffocated, while it will march ahead with the agenda of establishing Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s one-party system once again in the country, prior to the general election, which is scheduled for 2014”. The lady Journalist definitely has no knowledge of Bangabandhu and his BAKSHAL Concept. It is not felt necessary either to argue with her about it here. She also stated that Indo –US lobby is trying to neutralize Chinese influence in the region. It is not new that International Masters will always try to balance influence of competing forces in the region. USA will always try to neutralize Chinese influence in the region and Indo –US relationship will always try to achieve that goal. It is real and none can deny it.

The Hardliner Mystery

Let us see what the lady journalist wrote about Hardliner Mystery: “All on a sudden, the AL government has gone into hard-line policy by lodging criminal cases against most of the top-brasses in the opposition quarters, while it has also decided to lock them into prison at least for a period between 3-6 months, with numerous charges, which would come at a later stage. The reason behind such tougher decision is, the AL government is pledge-bound of signing a number of treaties during the “joint-visit” of Hillary Clinton and Indian minister Pranab Mukherjee, which will take place during 5-6th May. Washington wants to get the TIFA treaty along with several contracts on the oil-gas blocks at Bay of Bengal singed during Hillary’s visit, while India specifically wants five treaties to be sealed during Pranab Mukherjee’s upcoming tour. The Indian desired treaties are: Full fledged corridor facilities to India, both on land and river route enabling it to mobilize “civilian” and “military”cargoes onto the north-eastern states, Allowing Indian Central Bureau of Investigation along with other “counter-terrorism” forces to conduct raids, investigations, interrogations and arrests “in special occasions” within Bangladeshi territory for the “sake of countering terrorism and jihadist activities”, while the Indian counterpart will have legal access to existing data of the Bangladeshi law enforcing and intelligence agencies, Handing over ULFA leader Anup Chetia along with other members, who are inside Bangladeshi prison, Allowing Indian army to join Bangladeshi forces “in case of emergency and necessity” for the sake of “protecting the democratic government” in Bangladesh, Giving 3-4 oil and gas blocks at Bay of Bengal to Indian mining companies.

“It is understood that Indian lobby at Washington has been making strong efforts in convincing the US administration in extending support to Delhi’s demands, in order to ensure Bangladesh from being free from any possible influence of China in particular.”

But what happened in those tours? TIFA was not signed, there were no discussions on offshore gas block leasing and transit matters were not discussed. Pranab was special guest in the concluding session of Biswa Kobi Rabindranath Tagore Birth Anniversary celebration. He off course talked about Indian Government commitment in finalizing all agreed deals at the sonnest. He said that no common rivers will come under River connecting program of India. He reassured that Tipai Mukh dam will not harm Bangladesh. He also announced that 20% of the Indian Loan to Bangladesh will be turned into grant. Hillary Clinton talked about political stability and expressed her concern about ongoing political instability and urged upon all parties to return to discussion table to break the political impasse. Rather opposition leader in her meetings with Indian Minister and US Secretary of state’s complained against government actions requesting Indian Minister to delink with BAL. Hillary met Nobel Laurite Prof Mohammad Yunus and Sir Fazle Hussian Abed of BRAC. These two gentlemen however echoed the demands of opposition leader.

Now that the VVIP’s visit is over can we ask the lady Journalist the following questions: Has TIFA been signed, has any offshore gas blocked been handed over to US or Indian Companies, has transit treaty been signed, has Anup Chetia been handed over? None of her ill conceived speculations and wild guess has come true. So what is the credibility or authenticity of her report?

She also wrote about government actions against Tareq and Koko. All who knows will go with us those two sons of Zia – Khaleda were involved in massive corruption and other unsocial activities during her mother’s last term in state power. There have been several credible evidences against them about money siphoning. Tareq virtually run shadow government through his HAWA Bhaban syndicate. There are several pending cases against them and court has declared them absconding .Tareq and Koko must face legal actions. None is above law. We will never demand any immunity against any ruling party Ministers or their children if there is any authentic and credible allegations against them now or in future.

She wrote about repression of press stating about some actions following publications of some controversial reports in Sri Lanka Guardian. Media – both print and electronic are enjoying the highest freedom now than ever before. True there are some isolated incidents of harassment of some media personality’s .But in some cases some journalists also behave irresponsibly. We are also concerned about abduction of political activists, murder of Journalist couple [Sagar –Runi]. But we also strongly condemn irresponsible opposition actions of creating chaos and anarchy, destruction, arsenal of public property and killing of innocent citizens. The opposition actions following abductions of Ilyas Ali may give wrong signal that Opposition may have plotted this incident to create a situation of launching anti government agitation. But we also want the end of abduction and unconstitutional cross fire and other sad incidents. There has been several other issues of public interest like Market price of essentials, Gas-Power –Water scarcity, grid locks. Opposition is not bothering about all these.

The political situation and overall situation of Bangladesh is now passing through a critical stage. Democratic government has another one and a half year term. Opposition must play its role in parliament in strengthening democracy. There is no possibility of undemocratic force coming to power in Bangladesh in foreseeable future. Opposition must talk across the table with government party to resolve political impasse. All must wait for next election due in early 2014. Government and opposition must go to the people with election pledges. There must be some meeting of minds about the kind of establishment under which the next election will be conducted. What should be the composition of interim government? There is no last word in politics. We must remember people of Bangladesh can do or undo anything. People are no longer naïve in Bangladesh.

We request the Lady Journalist Jessica Fox to refrain from writing ill conceived reports having no basis. These make her credibility questionable.

Here night comes after a day; people live in facet of colors that always change its ratio within, of which not all are healthy and desired. Since the sunrise until sunset, a detail of internal and external colors of living and non-living stuff that play in Dhaka is impossible to portray. Even then color signifies life, so an attention to the colors means the adherence and sensitivity to the nature and ecology.

How many colors exist is perhaps beyond imagination. How many colors people need in life is also questionable, or what color in what proportion reaches the extreme level of aesthetic is also subject to individual taste. Or can it be said that things could be different than the present setting, anyway, like other things or matters, aesthetics have varying ideologies, outlooks, and social, cultural and economic significance.

Is it possible to draw a generalized detail of colors, which are exposed in the life and aesthetics of Dhaka, both in Old and New Dhaka? Could there be any study that Dhaka people live with and in? Or which color is the maximum in extent or in ratio, or which is the lowest? The assessment is as unnecessary as impossible. No more assessment, query or doubts in this regard, let us have an attempt to realize the colors of the capital.

Perhaps the bright shopping malls, fast foods, auditoriums, theatres, schools-colleges-universities, offices, footpath, slums, factories are the main determinants of the color of Dhaka.

If one goes on a rooftop of a high-rise building, he will obviously fall into thirst for particularly green, you might find a little bit of green around university or a few areas somewhere else, but never adequate. The memoire of green doesn’t take too long to get faded in the commuters who come here from across the country.

Art Galleries take new colors every week, the artists talk in color. Rickshaws—the monotonous butterflies—carry extravagantly colorful picture of the Bengali movie stars. Everyday the young people are adopting newer style, newer colors, and following graceful manikins in each level at the shopping malls.

The things that once were believed to be cliché, faded up—the young are awarding those substantial space in their getup as dress or ornaments—adjust fine as fashionable, and trendy, at the same time they are pretty comfortable with acute colors, and even the they are simply adding color to those which once their predecessors were used to use. The colorful and colored dailies are coming out every morning.

We have festivals, but the seasons are not well felt in the city, but red letter days in the calendar, particular flowers in the garden and parks, events of media and firms reminds us the festivals, then the women make the spring visible in the streets, and the first day of Bengali year exposition of all the intense color with such a composition. When a gloomy girl stands beside the window in the room in a rainy day, who knows whether her tears mingled with the rain washes all the colors of the city. The city finds warmth in the deep colors in winter. We observe February 21, a day to mourn collectively with black, and we observe other historic days with different colors. Those days are more colorful than other days.

Densely constructed white buildings all around the city make a grey tone. Crows are black. Black is its smoke, and so is the water of the river, Buriganga or any ditch. The colonial offices are red. Bright billboard tortured with colors, the sequential yellow, green and red at the signal or police wearing the color of the state. Color is meaningless in jam. Either moonlit or dark night, sodium lights are consistent to mislead your eyes to detect colors.

There are colors in every object. Somebody makes color, somebody spreads it, and somebody gets colored. So the man with grey hair can remain ever-green. Somebody reflects in colors outside, somebody doesn’t. Numerous people lives here, poverty makes it clumsy as colors of the rich and the poor are not the same at all.

So the colors are not a few—very same to other places. The ratio may differ. The environmentalists say, Dhaka has no ecological balance, so normally it has a reflection in the whole color setting—colors reflects its imbalance. Moreover, the black texts are inept to draw the whole scenario, aren’t they?

Concerned corners opine that this ‘co-operation declaration’ is not a bolt from blue. On 19th of the last month both the country had hold the first ever security dialogue in Dhaka. US Assistant Secretary for Political and Military Affairs Andrew J Shapiro attended the security dialogue on April 19 with Bangladesh. And the Foreign Minister Dipu Moni had clearly stated that  Bangladesh had big cooperation with the US to fight terrorism and militancy.

Bangladesh’e first internet newspaper bdnews24.com quotes from the joint statement, “We affirm our dedication to deepening dialogue in security cooperation, including in combating terrorism, violent extremism, and transnational crime, such as narcotics trafficking, piracy, and trafficking in persons and arms.”

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni sign a joint declaration on Bangladesh-US Partnership Dialogue at the Prime Minister’s Office on Saturday in the presence of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina >> Image :: bdnews24.com

The declaration was signed by Hillary Clinton and Dipu Moni in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office. The two countries believe that “a strong partnership between Bangladesh and the United States, working together to further mutual peace, security and development, is in the interests of the people of Bangladesh, the United States and the world.”

Though US was against the liberation war of Bangladesh its interest is seemingly growing to the country that was termed as ‘bottomless basket’ in the 70′s by the then US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. US navy failure in the Afghanistan to contain the Taliban and the political instability in Pakistan- a close ally to the the country in the South Asia- might have accelerated US attention to Bangladesh. A recent report by the Congressional Research Service of the US also demonstrates the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh in the South Asia, “Bangladesh is also of interest to the United States for the role it plays in the larger geopolitical dynamics of South Asia.”

The report says that independence of Bangladesh “forever weakened Pakistan’s position relative to India. This has enabled India to operate as a key actor not only in South Asia, but in Asia as a whole.” And the report, prepared for members and committees of congress, ends with a caution: “Some Bangladeshi strategic thinkers believe that China should now be pursued as a strategic counterweight to Bangladesh’s relationship with India.”

“Ongoing engagement by China with South Asian states, particularly in the area of developing port access, has led to suspicion of China’s motives among some in strategic circles in India and the United States,” comments the congressional research report. And it continues, “From this perspective, port development in Bangladesh could be seen as part of a ’String of Pearls’ strategy that could be used by China to secure sea lanes that cross the Indian Ocean and link its industrialized eastern seaboard with the energy resources of the Middle East.”

Yes, after two years of the the report both the countries have declared to review ‘security co-operation’ and etc.

• The congressional research report

The world’s third-most populous Muslim-majority country stands out as a model of moderation. Unlike in virtually every other country in the Muslim world, Islamists in Bangladesh are on the defensive. Seven people, including high profile leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami, South Asia’s most powerful Islamist group, face war crimes charges for their role in slaughtering Bangladeshi patriots, Muslim and Hindu alike, during the country’s 1971 war of independence against Pakistan.

Current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920-75) led that struggle, which claimed 3 million lives according to the Bangladesh government. The trial reveals the government’s willingness to deal with one of the most painful episodes in the young nation’s history. It also shows its refusal to allow Islamists to label the regime as “anti-Islam” for pursuing them, a form of blackmail that often obstructs justice in other places.

In a similar vein, Bangladesh can boast one of Asia’s best records of fighting Islamist terrorism. The South Asia Terrorism Portal estimates that only nine people have lost their lives since Ms. Hasina swept to power at the end of 2008. In the four years before that, terrorists claimed 56 lives at home, while the Bangladeshi terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (or HuJi-B) carried out high-profile terrorist strikes in India.

Much of Bangladesh’s success in confronting the most intolerant elements within its own society comes from crafting an inclusive national narrative. Unlike Pakistan, Bangladesh does not define itself by faith alone. Most Bangladeshis see no contradiction between being proud Muslims and proud Bengalis. This self-confidence gives the country the ability, which some other Muslim societies lack, to push back against extremism.

Then there’s the down-to-earth pragmatism present in Dhaka’s approach to development. Over the past five years, the economy has expanded on an average of 6% per year. Unlike India, which is hobbled by socialist-era labor laws that interfere with hiring and firing, Bangladesh has built a world-class apparel industry that employs more than 3.5 million people and supplies global brands like H&M, Walmart and Tommy Hilfiger. Thanks to this, the country is already the world’s second largest exporter of readymade garments after China. If it plays its cards right, Bangladesh, more than any other South Asian nation, could attract a fresh wave of labor-intensive manufacturing looking for cheaper alternatives to China. Goldman Sachs lists Bangladesh among its “Next 11,” countries that have the potential to become major economies.

And after years of tensions with its bigger neighbor, Bangladesh is now being practical and seeking to normalize ties with India. The two countries have already settled long festering territorial disputes and opened up trade. A landmark transit agreement would place Bangladesh at the heart of a potentially dynamic growth corridor encompassing northeastern India and a newly democratizing Burma. This is currently being stymied by Indian politician Mamata Banerjee, who as chief minister of the West Bengal state that borders Bangladesh opposes an allied water-sharing agreement with Dhaka.

Still, Dhaka and New Delhi are pushing for this agreement and it could succeed, possibly ushering in a new peace dividend in the region. At any rate, Dhaka’s pragmatism in its foreign relations stands in contrast to India, which can’t always suppress its preachy rhetoric of nonalignment (toward the West), as well as Pakistan, which often sputters in a sea of Islamic fundamentalism and knee-jerk opposition to India.

No one knows how the BNP official in question disappeared, though, and a string of similar disappearances reflect a deteriorating law and order situation. Either law enforcement is engaged in extra-judicial actions, or vigilantes can roam free with impunity. Neither is encouraging. Meanwhile, the Islamist threat has been reduced but not eliminated. The BNP remains at best ambivalent and at worst actively sympathetic toward Islamist forces similar to those that have helped drag Pakistan in a downward spiral. >> Flag of Bangladesh. Image :: Wikipedia

That said, Bangladesh is hardly free of problems. Ms. Hasina and her chief opponent, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s Khaleda Zia, have created a poisonous zero-sum politics, which has come to the fore again in recent days. The BNP is up in arms at the disappearance of one of its leaders last month and they blame Ms. Hasina’s ruling party. They have shut down the country with crippling national strikes four times in the past month.

No one knows how the BNP official in question disappeared, though, and a string of similar disappearances reflect a deteriorating law and order situation. Either law enforcement is engaged in extra-judicial actions, or vigilantes can roam free with impunity. Neither is encouraging.

Meanwhile, the Islamist threat has been reduced but not eliminated. The BNP remains at best ambivalent and at worst actively sympathetic toward Islamist forces similar to those that have helped drag Pakistan in a downward spiral. And though Bangladesh’s army deserves some credit for keeping its distance from politics since late 2008, it’s by no means certain that the country’s latest experiment with democracy, barely three and a half years old, will last. The military first seized power in 1975, and has done so repeatedly since.

But for now, these worries can take a back seat. This weekend, a country once dismissed by former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as a basket case, gets to show one of his successors how wrong it has proven him.

• Mr. Dhume is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, and a columnist for WSJ.com.

The state minister for Bangladesh labour and employment Monnujan Sufian has hinted that ‘disappeared’ BNP leader M Ilias Ali is dead. Yesterday she urged Ilias wife Tahsina Rushdir to inform the Prime Minister everything so that the ‘killers’ get in net.

The Bangla daily Prothom Alo reports that the minister made the call to Mrs. Rushdir on Tuesday while addressing  at a program on May day in the capital. The report states that the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was also present at that program. The state minister said, “Ilias Ali’s wife, the widow, I want to say your heart knows about the killers of your husband. I feel when appear on television. You can not utter the words that are in your heart.”

“And you also know who had abducted your husband, where is he toady … if alive, or dead I do not know.”

In the early hours of 18th April police found a car abundant, later that was identified as of Mr. Ilias Ali- the central organizing secretary of BNP. The car was abundant at Amtali, a place close to his home in the capital at Banani. On the next day Ilias wife filed a writ petition at the high court claiming his husband has gone missing.

The state minister Monnujan on Tuesday asked Tahsina to be prepared in ‘that manner’. She said, “You should give the correct info to the Prime Minister, so that she can find out your husband. Who were the enemy of your husband, … of your political party [BNP]. If you do not hesitate to inform Sheikh Hasina, killers of your husband will grilled.”

BNP has observed strike for 6 day since then demanding ‘release’ of the party leader. At a press conference on Monday Tahsina seek permission to meet the Prime Minister. Later in the evening Sheikh Hasina asked her to meet on Wednesday evening.

In the end it’s the game of politics. It’s the blame game legacy of the two key political parties of Bangladesh- the Awami League and the BNP. The parties, the media, even the people do not care about the number of disappeared. Only the name is the countable one!

Well, do you think that the ‘disappearance’ phenomenon- of political & rights activists- marked its presence with the much talked about BNP leader Ilias Ali disappearance incident? That’s not true. If you agree to do the ‘hard work’ to Google with few appropriate key words, you will find that this is been happening for quite a few months. Really? Could that be so! Yes, in the awake of criticism by the international human rights groups’ extra-judicial killings by the ‘elite police force’ Rapid Action Battalion has sharply gone down in recent months.

Disappearance of a Bangladesh Chatra Dal local leader- the student wing of Bangladesh Nationalist Party- did not mean much for the party or media. The disappearance of an ex-Student Union leader did not turned out to be first page news for the newspapers.

And interestingly incidents of disappearance have been reported since that fall down in extra-judicial killings. The 2012 human rights report by the New York based rights group Human Rights Watch states, “Although the number of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) killings has dropped following domestic and international criticism, there was a sharp increase in enforced disappearances, leading to concerns that security agencies have replaced one form of abuse with another.” In some cases relatives of the disappeared one had spoken in press conferences. All of them claimed that plain clothe police had taken their relatives, and they did not return. In the middle of 2011 we had experienced reports of discovering ‘unknown’ peoples’ dead body from rivers in Munshiganj, later their relatives identified them. Though the law enforcers were not held responsible for those disappearances, it’s widely speculated that their enemies had ‘used’ the law enforcers to disappear them.

All the disappearance incidents had become ‘regular’ news item in Bangladeshi newspapers. Disappearance of a Bangladesh Chatra Dal local leader- the student wing of Bangladesh Nationalist Party- did not mean much for the party or media. The disappearance of an ex-Student Union leader did not turned out to be first page news for the newspapers. There was no follow up report on the disappearance and death of a garment workers’ rights activist. The garment activist’s disappearance and death managed to draw the attention of international media, as their country buy readymade clothes from Bangladesh. But all on a sudden the Ilias Ali disappearance awaked the international media. Why is it so? Because he is a ‘central leader’ of the main opposition party BNP. His disappearance causes countrywide dawn to dusk strike. A huge number of the media outlets jumps in to report on the disappearance issue, following the Ilias aftermath.

Dear reader, do I want to say that world media should not have reported on disappearance? Do I intend to make you think that we should not be concerned of such an issue? No, I just want to say, if the disappeared one was you or me, there would not be such a vibration. There would not be any strike. There would not be any report in the world. In the end it’s the game of politics. It’s the blame game legacy of the two key political parties of Bangladesh- the Awami League and the BNP. The parties, the media, even the people do not care about the number of disappeared. Only the name is the countable one!