<i>Anarchy, not rally</i>

Instead of holding their scheduled rally, Jamaat-e-Islami yesterday once again resorted to widespread violence in the capital.
Apparently, they have adopted the strategy to call a rally at one place and launch planned attacks elsewhere, especially to take the law enforcers by surprise.
The party and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir yesterday carried out simultaneous flash attacks at Karwan Bazar, Arambagh, Motijheel and Panthapath around 1:35pm.
Police and witnesses told The Daily Star that about two hours before their scheduled rally at the south gate of Baitul Mokarram mosque in Paltan area at 3:00pm, Jamaat-Shibir men equipped with firearms, iron rods and sticks launched planned simultaneous attacks.
Each of the attacks did not last more than 10 minutes and like before, the Jamaat-Shibir cadres vanished in the crowd after the attacks, added police and witnesses.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Tejgaon Monzurul Kabir said the Jamaat-Shibir men had adopted the strategy of posing as pedestrians, especially during the violence in Karwan Bazar area.
"All on a sudden, around 200 Jamaat-Shibir men began vandalising vehicles at Karwan Bazar and after 10 minutes they got mixed with the panicking crowd," said the DC.
Meanwhile, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General of Dhaka city unit Shafiqul Islam Masud said they could not hold the scheduled rally due to police obstruction.
The party, however, did not announce any fresh programme yesterday.
On February 9, Jamaat termed the countrywide demonstrations, including the one at Shahbagh, a government plot to create anarchy in the country. It had also declared to stage demonstrations across the country for yesterday for, what they said to protest against the countrywide anarchy patronised by the government to implement its political agenda.
However, none of the Jamaat-Shibir leaders were seen at the rally venue yesterday. This correspondent was present in Paltan area from 2:00pm to 3:00pm. Only members of police and Rapid Action Battalion were found around the rally venue.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Motijheel zone Anwar Hossain, the Jamaat-Shibir men had launched the planned attacks to create anarchy in the city and blame law enforcers of barring their rally.
"We asked Jamaat not to hold any rally today [yesterday], as people have been waging protest against Jamaat-Shibir across the country. For their safety, we requested them to postpone their programme. But instead, they carried out violence," he added.