Malaysia, finds the recent bombings horrifying. The incident shows that we are facing a serious problem. On behalf of all the students, I condemn these attacks and I hope that the entire country would unite to eliminate this menace.

Bangladesh as a country should be moving forward, and not towards self-destruction. I sincerely hope that the government will take stern action against these people. I also hope that the opposition will assist the government in this regard.

The gruesome and ruthless incident of simultaneous bombings on August 17 has shaken the entire nation. This cowardly and organised attack has once again raised big questions about our national security, our intelligence agencies and overall failure of the government and the politicians.

From the Chittagong arms scandal to the August 21 bombings of last year, the government is still not able to find the criminals and has shown little or no interest to find them out. The statement made by the home minister regarding the bombings has raised some serious questions about the efficiency and willingness of our intelligence and law enforcement authorities. This is really a wake up call for everyone to stand up together against terror and take immediate action. At the same time, the opposition parties should not make this an issue to topple the government. We have seen enough rivalry among the political parties, but now it is time to be united for the greatest interest of our nation.

M. Yamin Iftekhar Chowdhury Atlanta, USA

I condemn in the strongest possible words the August 17 bombings. The perpetrators would not succeed in achieving their goal because bomb attacks won't help them grab state power. It would not be possible to blackmail the nation by creating a pandemonium.

Cowards always attack from behind but their defeat is inevitable in the long run.

Haris, JU

The bomb attacks are the result of the government's denial of existence of Islamic extremists in Bangladesh.

Time & again they refused to admit the truth that extremists do exist in the country.

So the extremists got the opportunity to launch the bomb attacks. They have a countrywide network & have the capability to create havoc. They want to exploit the sentiments of the Muslims & they are against all progressive thoughts.

The countrywide bomb attacks have proved that our intelligence agencies are unable to face the situation. They have to think ahead of the extremists.

Solaiman Palash East Jurain, Dhaka

Bangladesh was rocked by simultaneous bomb attacks in 63 towns. The pattern of attacks reminds me of recent bombings in London. Already the arrested JMB persons confessed to their involvement in the bombing.

The problem is that the ruling coalition does not want to blame the JMB or any other hard-liners, rather they want to shift the blame to a foreign intelligence agency. But that is not helping us.

Jewel Ahmed Basabo, Dhaka

The home ministry spokesman's briefing states that "26 suspects were taken to the Joint Interrogation Cell in Dhaka and more would be interrogated for information on the attack and the attackers". Unfortunately, no time frame was given indicating when this would be complete. Maybe, it could be twelve days, or even twelve months; no one knows! As reported earlier there was a directive from the government to catch all AL suspects. Later it was withdrawn, as identity of suspects could be international, and the investigation time interminable. That is the logic and fallacy that we have to live with!

Interestingly enough, another new items in the media states that the Jamaat-e-Islam Amir Md. Motiur Rahman Nizami on 20 August accused RAW of India as the mastermind, AL as patron and also that Mossad of Israel might have been involved in it!

A frightened citizen Dhaka

17th August 2005, I will always remember this as my birthday and the day Bangladesh broke out from being a tolerant democratic country to an Islamic fundamentalist country. The bombings shall haunt Bangladesh more than we can guess. Business, travel, religion, economy, culture --almost every area has been hit. This massive bombing was nothing but a vibrating alert to the general public. The attackers have been operating in the country for over a decade now, and this recent event has actually obliged us to open our eyes and stand up against the barbaric people inhabiting our land. The intellectuals and learned people of society should stop talking in seminars and get on the ground to educate the general public on religion, terrorism and tolerance. Much has been said but least has been done. The actual attackers are deprived of happiness money food and education, without these basic elements their options of survival are limited.

Let all of us save our country and work together for a solution against terrorism and revive the spirit of our independence- freedom, rights and justice- which have been greatly undermined.

Mashruf Habib Connecticut, U.S.A

We were shell-shocked at the gruesome bomb attacks across the country. Sixty three districts of Bangladesh were bombed concurrently. After the blasts, as usual, the BNP and the AL blamed each other for this heinous act. Has our country been Talibanised?

Most of the bombs were blasted in front of courts, banks and other important installations.

An well-organised Islamic militant group is desperate to destabilise our country. We are greatly concerned. The government seems to be indifferent to our security. The BNP led four-party alliance government shrugs off the worry of the people. They do not want to admit that there is any militant group in our country. Why are they reluctant to pulverise the militant groups? Why do they try to bypass the militant issue? What do the sluggish and impotent intelligence agencies of our country do? If such incidents occur regularly, Bangladesh will be boycotted by most of the countries of the world. The donors will not help us. The foreign traders will say goodbye to us forever. Some unruly hooligans will rule our country.

Who will salvage us from this tinderbox?

Molla Mohammad Shaheen Dept of English, DU

Trading of allegations and counter allegations between the two mainstream political parties is the main cause behind the extremists becoming so bold that they could explode bombs across the country. To thwart the attackers from doing such harm to the country, our prime need is to attain political consensus. I personally see no ray of hope in this domain without a mass movement by common people.

Our so-called educated and elite people are busy meeting personal parochial interests, which normally go against the interest of the nation. Our intelligence agencies are not doing their job.

Bazlur Rahman Dhaka University

The series of bomb blasts occurring in the country on 17 August 2005 was barbarity at its worst and no word is enough to condemn it. Violence is not new in the country, but such orchestrated bomb blasts are utterly unprecedented not only in Bangladesh but also in the subcontinent. We are jolted.

The intelligence agencies have to provide answers to our queries.

Anis Rahman University of Dhaka

I am really agitated hearing the news of the series of bomb blasts in a synchronised way in Bangladesh. In London the metropolitan police along with other agencies tracked the attackers not only by CCTV footage but also by tracking the phone calls in the mobile networks. Technology is playing a vital role in nabbing the terrorists. I would request the authorities in Bangladesh to investigate the telephone networks to find out the communications among the perpetrators who co-ordinated the heinous acts in 63 districts. There is no doubt that these people were planning this attack for several weeks prior to this fateful date. They might be using the net even now to have shelters in safe places. Time is very important in such investigations and police and other agencies have to act very fast to track down the cells.

S. Uddin London

'Islamic extremism' looks like a recent coinage for the earlier term used for 'Islamic fundamentalism'. This recent coinage and use of the term has possibly surfaced due to the reality that the term fundamentalism failed to make any headway into the minds of the intelligent people suffering lately from spiritual starvation all over the world.

Islam is middle of the road, and there is no place for any form of extremism in it. But one has to be very careful to define what is extremism and what is not. Muslims, much less Bangladeshis, have hardly been known for resorting to any form of extremism on religious grounds. The Muslim rulers and the masses in the past were very open minded and tolerant to non-Islamic beliefs and people and so they are still today. They lived side by side with mutual respect and dignity.

Of late, things have changed in some degree not only in Bangladesh but elsewhere as well. But why is this deviation from age-old norms of behaviour and attitude?

M. T. Hussain Ibrahimpur, Dhaka

The whole country waited for the return of the prime minister from China and to the utter relief of the panic-stricken countrymen Begum Khaleda Zia shortened her tour. However, after returning she kept mum and asked her ministers to make no comments about the bomb incident. After all, newspapers, 'the major enemy of the state', will not get much news if ministers stop facing newsmen! Well, the August 17 incident was too serious to be forgotten easily. Unlike the August 21 incident in which the AL was attacked, the August 17 bombing targeted the whole nation. After the August 21 incident, the four- party alliance put blame on the victims for killing themselves. The four party supporters endorsed this view because their political rivals were killed. But this time the bomb attack did not discriminate between the AL and the BNP. Who is to blame? As usual the Awami League. But this time the four party alliance is also busy discovering foreign hands. Yes, there is foreign hand behind the attack. But the alliance will not go after that foreign power because it will not suit its political purpose. Many of the arrested people had gone to Afghanistan, Kashmir and other M-E countries. They admitted having links with some of those countries. They might have had close links with the intelligence agencies of other countries. Will the government go after these? No. Because the government will always try to appease the bombers for gaining political advantage.

Nazmul Hasan Oshawa, Ontario