How long must this go on?

Fifteen injured and five dead including a child, screamed a headline. Burnt to death, thanks to the hurling of a petrol bomb on a moving bus in Rangpur, which was in a convoy escorted by police and Border Guards (BGB). The blockade being enforced by the 20-party alliance whose primary weapon of choice is the Molotov cocktail thrown at will at moving targets like vehicles on roads and highways is a reality on the ground. With this incident, 190 vehicles have been torched without any regard for loss of life or injury to passengers on board. Those who survived the latest incident will have to live with the psychological shock of flames and burning flesh. What words of solace do we have for the family of Tasiran who died at 11pm after suffering 96 per cent burns? That this was fate?

That is hardly any consolation for the bereaved families of those who did not survive the attack. While we are informed that a case has been filed implicating more than a hundred opposition activists, the sheer sense of terror that has gripped the general populace around the country cannot be underestimated. Dhaka has seen, and continues to witness, the terrible effects of torching of vehicles in broad daylight and the evenings. We are also informed that authorities have given orders to BGB members to shoot at sight arsonists. Although we do not condone a “shoot on sight” policy, arsonists need be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.