Govt staging drama over verdict

The government has started a drama over the recent verdict on maritime dispute with India even though it did not get what it had demanded, said BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday.
“We have lost 6,000 sq km in the sea [Bay] including the South Talpatti but still they term it a big win. How can you say it is a win even after we got less than what we had claimed? It would have been a victory if we could secure more than our claim,” said Fakhrul.
He was addressing a discussion at Dhaka Reporters Unity in the capital yesterday.   
On Tuesday, United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in a landmark judgment upheld Bangladesh's claim of 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone and its territorial rights in the Bay of Bengal.
The Hague-based court awarded Bangladesh 19,467 sq km area out of the disputed 25,602 sq km with neighbouring India.
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali termed the judgement “a victory of friendship” and said it was a win-win situation for the people of Bangladesh and India as the judgement finally resolved the issue peacefully.  
On a separate note, Fakhrul yesterday alleged that the government had given the construction work of the Padma bridge to the companies lacking experience.
Meanwhile, BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi yesterday at another press conference alleged that the government had been misusing law enforcers to detain opposition leaders and activists as it was afraid of the movement they would wage after Eid.