Shooting of Khaleda's adviser

We are shocked at the murderous assault on Reaz Rahman, an adviser to BNP chairperson, in the capital on Tuesday night, and strongly condemn the shooting of the adviser and torching of his vehicle. What gives us cause for even more consternation is that the attack, which seems to be premeditated, took place as he was coming out his meeting with Khaleda Zia in her Gulshan office, signalling that attempts are being made from vested quarters to intimidate the opposition, by any means possible.

Previously, BNP Vice-Chairman Shamser Mobin Chowdhury was arrested soon after his meeting with Khaleda. On Monday, we witnessed the torching of Sabihuddin  Ahmed's vehicle right in front of the Gulshan office, reportedly in clear view of the police. In this instance, too, reports suggest that policemen were present on both sides of the 50 yards-long lane near where the shooting took place.

We urge the government to immediately investigate the incident and bring to book the perpetrators and mastermind, if any, of this violence.However, our sad history of political violence shows that most of these cases get stuck in a cesspool, as investigations are derailed and delayed indefinitely, two cases in point being the murder cases of Shah S.M. Kibria and Ahsanullah Master during BNP's tenure. We strongly believe that truth can't be a matter of recriminatory conjectures, nor eye-washing; it has to be one of substantiation.

What began as denial of democratic space and suppression of the opposition is now turning into political vendetta, which can only signal a dark future not just for the opposition, but for the country at large.