A war of words erupted in Bangladesh today after opposition chief Khaleda Zia questioned the nationality of troops deployed in a violence-hit district that borders India, with the ruling Awami League issuing a 24-hour ultimatum to her to apologise for the "seditious" comments.
Referring to a controversial report by pro-opposition Inqilab newspaper that claimed Indian forces had helped the government contain violence in Satkhira before and during the January 5 polls, Zia had expressed her doubt whether all those deployed in that district were members of Bangladeshi forces.
"The houses of the people have been destroyed in a way which seems they were not people of the country. No citizen of Bangladesh can do this to his own countrymen," Zia had said at a public rally on Monday.
"Nobody can say for sure if only (Bangladeshi) security forces were there in Satkhira operation. People have doubts (about it)...Is our sovereignty still intact or the government has sold it to others?" she asked.
The Awami League yesterday took strong exception to Zia's comments and gave her a 24-hour ultimatum to apologise to the people.
"The government will take appropriate measure if anyone appears to be a threat against national security, plays with sovereignty of country and conspires against our armed forces," Awami League spokesperson Syed Ashraful Islam said.
"Does she want a fight with our neighbouring countries? A political person cannot make such fearsome comments. The nation did not expect such irresponsible language from a former prime minister," Islam said.
"Where does she want to take the country by making this attacking comment on a friendly country?"
Defending the party chief, BNP's acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today claimed that Zia's remarks were not "seditious".
"There was no seditious comment in her speech," Alamgir told a press briefing. "I do not know why he (Islam) said it, in which condition he said it - but he did not tell the truth. He lied."
Detectives raided the office of Inqilab, a Dhaka-based right-wing Bangla-language daily, on January 17 and picked up three senior journalists. They have also sealed the press, plate- making and server rooms, and seized three computers.
