83-hour blockadefrom tomorrown Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

For the � fth time in a month, the oppo-sition BNP-led 18-party alliance has an-nounced another nationwide rail, road and waterway blockade programme, this time stretching to 83 hoursfrom 6am tomorrow, demanding sus-pension of the election schedule and holding polls under a non-partisan government.

This blockade will continue until 5pm on Tuesday. The opposition an-nounced the programme yesterday as its 72-hour blockade ends at 6am today.

“The government, on one hand, is staging drama of a farcical election, and on the other, increased repression on the opposition across the country.

“This cannot go on any longer. That is why we have no other option but continuing the movement,” Nazrul Is-lam Khan, Standing Committee mem-ber of the BNP, told reporters at the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan o� ce.

He said the programme was an-nounced keeping the Christmas on De-cember 25 in mind.

Wishing to remain anonymous, a senior BNP leader told the DhakaTribune that the blockade wouldbe extended until Thursday after the Christmas.

With only two weeks left before the national elections scheduled for Janu-ary 5, and with 154 candidates already elected uncontested, the opposition BNP believes there is no option left for

them except to wage a movement for a credible election under a non-partisan government.

The opposition started enforcing prolonged blockades after the an-nouncement of the election schedule on November 25.

Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan announced that the government would take initiative to ensure uninterrupted vehicular movement on the highways during blockades.

Nazrul Islam said newsmen-carrying vehicles and ambulances would be out of the blockade’s purview. Vehi-cles of the UN and health departments would also be exempted for tomorrow because of the National Immunisation Day.

At the press brie� ng, the BNP lead-er said they believed the people would observe the blockade spontaneously for the greater good of the country.

Nazrul said only the suspension of the election schedule and elections un-der a non-partisan polls-time govern-ment would deter the people from the movement. “Adopting any strategy to mislead the people and using force will be futile,” he warned. l

Bangladesh mission under Taliban threatSecurity beefed up as Dhaka draws attention to Pakistan authorities n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Taliban in Pakistan have threatened to attack the Bangladesh High Com-mission in Islamabad in retaliation for the execution of war criminal Abdul Quader Molla, a senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader.

“We came to know about the [possi-ble] terrorist attack…[yesterday] morn-ing through a Pakistani newspaper,” Mohammad Ishtaque Hossain, press wing o� cer of the Bangladesh mission in Islamabad, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“We contacted the Pakistan author-ities and they have deployed addition-al police around the high commission complex,” he said.

The Nation newspaper reports that the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) threatened to attack the Bangla-

desh High Commission in Islamabad.“Law enforcement agencies have

submitted a report to interior ministry, quoting a security agency that Taliban have expressed annoyance with the Bangladesh government over the kill-ing of Abdul Quader Mulla [sic] and could attack the Bangladesh embassy [sic],” the Nation report said.

Ishtaque said they had not received any threat letter or phone calls from anybody.

Pakistan Jamaat activists in the guise of a civil society group had demonstrated in front of the Bangla-desh mission on December 17, after which more police had been deployed, he said. “They threatened to demon-strate yesterday [Wednesday] but did not turn up because of the police de-ployment.”

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

‘The government, on one hand, is staging a drama of a farcical election, and on the other hand has increased repression on the opposition across the country’

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Several Ganajagaran Mancha activists hurt in police actionn Abu Bakar Siddique

A number of Ganajagaran Mancha ac-tivists including its spokesperson Im-ran H Sarker were injured as they came under police attack at the diplomatic enclave of Gulshan circle 2 yesterday.

The activists were marching towards Pakistan High Commission, for the sec-ond consecutive day, to lay a siege to it demanding cancellation of diplomatic tie with Pakistan.

Around 3:30pm, law enforcers sud-denly charged baton on the gathering to disperse the protesters who were chant-ing slogans condemning the Pakistani parliament’s resolution on the execution of war criminal Abdul Quader Molla.

At least 15 people were injured in the clash with police when they were forced to leave the place, the activists claimed.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Army comes outfor ‘exercise’ n Tribune Report

Members of Bangladesh Army have started winter exercise in di� erent districts amid pos-sibilities that they are likely to be deployed after the practice for the January 5 polls.

The troops were found “pa-trolling” on Dhaka-Chittagong highway at Sitakunda upazila of Chittagong yesterday after-noon. They were also seen in Satkhira, Barisal and Jessore.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission is likely to decide on the army deployment issue at a meeting with returning o� cers in Dhaka today.

Abdul Mannan, deputy commissioner of Chittagong, told the Dhaka Tribune that

the army men were patrolling on the highway to resist sub-versive activities including felling of roadside trees, and torching and vandalising ve-hicles by blockade supporters.

He, however, could not con� rm as to how many of them were on patrol.

Dr Anwar Hossain, DC of Satkhira, told the Dhaka Trib-une that some army men had reached the district. “It is an advanced team of the force,” he said, according to our cor-respondent.

When the Dhaka Tribune approached an army person-nel on-duty at Satkhira sta-dium yesterday afternoon to know about the nature of

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

A policeman swings into action with a shotgun to charge Ganajagaran Mancha activists yesterday in Gulshan 2 when the latter tried to lay a siege to the Pakistan High Commission protesting the Pakistan parliament’s resolution on the execution of war criminal Quader Molla MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Ministers richer than � ve years backn Kamran Reza Chowdhury

Former railway minister Suranjit Sen-gupta, whose assistant private secre-tary in April last year was caught by law enforcers while carrying bribe money of Tk74 lakh allegedly to his residence, now uses a vehicle worth about Tk96 lakh.

If the duty is included the market value of the 4,500CC Land Cruiser is over Tk6 crore while his two previous cars together cost only Tk30 lakh.

According to the a� davit he submit-ted to the Election Commission for the 10th parliamentary polls he declared he had cash in hand Tk500,000 and his wife Joya Sengupta Tk1,000,000 on December 1 this year.

In the a� davit of the ninth polls Suranjit had Tk1 lakh in cash and his wife Tk2.47 lakh.

Now, his investment in the postal and savings certi� cates stand at Tk19.25 lakh while his wife Joya Sengupta’s over Tk84.75 lakh. His investment in the postal and other savings certi� cates � ve years ago stood at Tk11.20 lakh and his wife’s around Tk54 lakh.

In the previous a� davit Suran-jit said his income from agriculture was Tk37,800, which has now risen to Tk1.18 lakh.

He has shares of listed and unlisted companies worth Tk1.37 crore which was previously Tk1.46 crore. His wife has shares of listed or unlisted compa-nies worth over Tk46 lakh.

As a minister and lawmaker he earned around Tk22 lakh, according to the wealth statement.

Suranjit, his spouse and the depend-

ents’ immovable property includes 10 acres of agricultural land worth Tk6 lakh, two non-agricultural land worth Tk22.4 lakh, commercial spaces of

18,500 square feet valued Tk7.52 crore and a house worth over Tk54 lakh.

Former home minister Muhiuddin PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, December 20, 2013

One day o� for bank o� cialsn Tribune Report

Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of the country, has issued a circular ask-ing all the scheduled banks to ensure at least one day o� per week for the em-ployees through internal coordination.

“The banks have to ensure that the o� cials enjoy at least one day o� ,” said the circular issued yesterday. The direc-tive followed a previous order to keep the branches open even on the weekly holidays for the sake of public interest.

According to the circular, the banks have been instructed to keep the branches open today on a limited ar-rangement to carry out the cash and clearing related activities only, there-fore, the o� cials need not be present at the o� ce.

In another circular, banks have been asked to give priority to the executives who would have to attend the banking diploma examination scheduled fortoday. l

Hasina: Talks on 11th JS polls if BNP leaves Jamaat n Emran Hossain Shaikh

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said her government would dissolve the 10th parliament and hold a fresh elec-tion if the BNP cut ties with Jamaat-e-Is-lami, and stop killing and violence.

Hasina, also the Awami League president, said this while addressing the party’s election steering committee meeting at the Ganabhaban.

“If we can reach the deal, we can car-ry on with the dialogue after the polls. Then we will dissolve parliament to pave the way for a fresh election,” she said.

The election activities were on and it would not stop, said the premier add-ing that Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia had missed this election.

She also alleged that the BNP had re-frained from contesting the polls as its ally Jamaat could not compete.

The High Court scrapped Jamaat's

registration leaving the anti-liberation force out of the election race.

Referring to Khaleda, the premier said: “You cannot stop any activities of the government except for attacking the poor. You are burning and looting houses of Awami League leaders.”

She also cautioned that if the oppo-sition did not stop violence, the gov-ernment would take stern measures to ensure people's safety and security.

The prime minister also slammed Pakistan for adopting a resolution ex-pressing concern over the execution of war criminal Abdul Quader Molla.

After her speech, the premier sat in a closed-door meeting with the Advisory Council, Central Working Committee and Election Steering Committee.

Hasina to join campaign next weekThe Awami League president would take part in the election campaign from

December 26, party sources said. Presidium member Nuh-Ul-Alam

Lenin told the Dhaka Tribune that Hasina as well as the central leaders would take part campaign in favour of the party candidates.

But he did not con� rm the date when the party chief would start the cam-paign. “It may be next week,” he said.

During the meeting, Hasina ex-pressed interest to join the campaigns, a source said con� rming that she would start the campaigns on December 26.

In line with the electoral codes, as an important person of the state, the prime minister can campaign in her favour or for a party candidate under some conditions.

She also asked party-nominated candidates to go for election cam-paigns while asked the uncontested MP aspirants to assist party candidates in adjacent constituencies. l

US Senate for substantive dialogue n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

The US senate has condemned the political violence in Bangladesh and urged the country’s political leaders to engage directly and substantively in a dialogue towards free, fair, and credi-ble elections.

The resolution was submitted by Senator Richard J Durbin on Decem-ber 11 and was agreed in the senate on Wednesday.

The senate resolution said it “ex-presses great concern about the contin-ued political deadlock in Bangladesh that distracts from the country’s many important challenges.”

The resolution came in the backdrop of the current political stalemate in the country over the polls-time govern-ment arrangement.

The senate urged political leaders in Bangladesh to take immediate steps to rein in and to condemn the violence,

as well as to provide space for peaceful political protests.

It also urged the political leaders in Bangladesh to ensure the safety and ac-cess of observers in its upcoming elec-tions and supported the ongoing e� orts made by United Nations Assistant Sec-retary General Oscar Fernandez-Taran-co to foster political dialogue between the political factions in Bangladesh.

It urged “the government of Bangla-desh to ensure judicial independence,

end harassment of human rights activ-ists, and restore the independence of Grameen Bank.”

The resolution considered that the “Ongoing antagonism between the country’s two ruling parties, the Awa-mi League and the Bangladesh Nation-alist Party, distracts from the important needs of the country.”

About the war crimes trials, the res-olution said it had fallen short of inter-national standards. l

Activists of Ganajagaran Mancha try to prevent police from arresting the platform’s convener, Imran H Sarker, yesterday in the capital’s Gulshan 2 area MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Bangladesh mission under Taliban threat PAGE 1 COLUMN 2The TTP, an umbrella organisation grouping numerous militant factions, has killed tens of thousands of soldiers, police and civilians in its campaign against the Pakistani state since its for-mation in 2007.

In late August, the group reported-ly threatened to attack the European embassies across the world, including those located in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.

About the safety of embassy sta� , Ishtaque said their residences were lo-cated in di� erent parts of the city, and so far, they were not threatened in their neighbourhood.

Another high commission o� cial said: “We can feel that there is hatred. But so far, there has been no crime. We

have also restricted our movements.”About 20 Bangladeshi o� cials and

sta� are posted in the Islamabad mis-sion, which is located in F-6/3 residen-tial area, considered as one of the most posh sectors of the Pakistan capital.

Bangladesh government has drawn attention of the Pakistan authorities to the reported Taliban threat. “We have brought the issue to the notice of the Pakistani authorities,” a foreign minis-try spokesperson told the BSS.

Without further elaboration, Director General of External A� airs Shamim Ah-san said: “They assured us of doing what-ever needed to ensure safety and security of our high commission and its o� cials.”

The Pakistan National Assembly on Monday passed a resolution put for-ward by a Jamaat lawmaker and sup-

ported by the ruling party, Pakistan Muslim League-N.

Bangladesh summoned Pakistan High Commissioner in Dhaka Afrasiab Mehdi Hashmi and strongly protested the resolution adopted by the Paki-stan National Assembly and the Punjab Provincial Assembly, and the remarks made by the Pakistan home minister.

Meanwhile, a foreign ministry o� cial said Dhaka focused on ensuring security of its high commission in Islamabad and the Pakistan mission in Dhaka as both were under threat of protesters. “Both are concerns for the government,” he said.

The government has been in touch with the Pakistan authorities through its Islamabad mission since last week to ensure security of the o� cials and the complex, he added. l

Army comes out for ‘exercise’ PAGE 1 COLUMN 2deployment, he said the o� cer-in-charge of the team would not talk to the press.

Bakahid Hossain, Babugabj upazila nirbahi o� cer, said a team of the army camped at the Agriculture Research In-stitute for “winter exercise.” The insti-tute is located at Rahamatpur on Bari-sal-Dhaka highway of the upazila.

Report received from Jhalakathi said one contingent of the army tented at Raipura School near Kalijira Bridge on Barisal-Jhalakathi road.

Inter-Services Public Relations said yesterday evening that the army had been in winter exercise in di� erent re-gions including Jessore and Satkhira, according to a press release issued by its Assistant Director Muhammad Re-za-ul Karim.

The EC claimed that it was not aware of the army deployment in Satkhira and Chittagong.

The commission did not deploy the army, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad said yester-

day. “Army came out for their winter exercise in di� erent areas.”

He, however, said even a deputy commissioner could call army, if need-ed, in line with di� erent laws.

“The army was not deployed for the election purpose...We will take decision about army deployment for the elections tomorrow [today],” he told reporters.

The CEC said: “We take assistance from the army as we arrange election in a single day. We only call them [army] for the election purposes as we bear their expenses.”

Asked, EC Secretary Muhammed Sadique yesterday told the Dhaka Tri-bune: “I do not know whether army deployed in Satkhira or not. But if the government wants, it can deploy army as an aid to the civil authorities.”

The commission must have been in-formed about the army deployment in election purpose, Sadique added.

According to the commission’s working papers, the EC proposed sta-tioning one battalion of army in the

district headquarters and two to four platoons of army at the upazila towns as striking force.

The EC proposed deployment of army as an “aid to the civil power,” which means the army should not play any role inside the polling centres or vote counting rooms.

For the January 5 polls, there is no need to hold elections to 154 parlia-mentary constituencies.

The commission will sit with the heads of law enforcement agencies and the returning o� cers at 3pm today for taking the decision about army deploy-ment.

On Wednesday, Principle Sta� O� -cer of the Armed Forces Division Lt Gen Abu Belal Muhammad Sha� ul Huq held closed-door meeting with the CEC.

On December 10, the division sent a letter to the commission seeking around Tk27 crore for maintaining law and order during the polls.

During the ninth parliamentary elec-tions, army was deployed for 12 days. l

Ministers richer than � ve years back PAGE 1 COLUMN 3Khan Alamgir, who was jailed by the im-mediate past military-led government on corruption charges, ahead of the 2008 general elections had Tk5 lakh in cash.

According to the a� davit submitted to the Election Commission for the 10th general elections, the former home minister has over Tk3 crore and his wife over Tk2 crore as moveable property. In the previous a� davit, he showed no amount deposited in his wife’s name.

In the a� davit prepared � ve years ago he had no share of listed or unlisted companies. The present wealth state-ment says that Muhiuddin Khan Alam-gir is shareholders of � ve companies including the newly launched Farmers Bank, Active Fine Company Limited and Beximco Limited. His spouse is

also shareholders of Farmers Bank and the Paci� c Carriers Limited.

As he showed he earns Tk60 thou-sand from agriculture, Tk13.80 lakh (he gets Tk3.80 lakh and his wife over Tk10 lakh) from house rent, over Tk4.68 from business, interests from bank de-posits and shares, job and others.

Another minister Shajahan Khan, who has come under public criticism for his controversial comments on road accidents after the tragic road accidents that killed famous � lm maker Tareq Ma-sud and journalist Mishuk Munier, in his wealth statement says he is a politician and general businessman. But he has not shown any income from business.

He has earned over Tk17 lakh as allow-ances as minister and MP. The minister earns Tk22, 119 per annum from interest

against his bank deposit of Tk18 lakh.He owns a jeep worth Tk50 lakh, ac-

cording to the wealth statement.He owns 20 tolas of gold worth Tk80

thousand. His one pistol and one gun cost Tk60 thousand.

First home minister of the Awami League government Shahara Khatun had Tk6 lakh in cash in 2008 but the amount rose to over Tk21 lakh in De-cember this year. She had bank depos-it of around Tk5.7 lakh, which comes down to over Tk1.10 lakh.

The Bangladesh’s � rst woman home minister earned over Tk6.37 lakh in al-lowances as minister.

Shahara Khatun had a jeep valued over Tk4.8 lakh before the 9th parlia-mentary polls. Now she uses a vehicle worth Tk45 lakh. l

Several Ganajagaran Mancha PAGE 1 COLUMN 6Roadside shops in the area were imme-diately shut amid the scu� e. As police tried to pick up the activists a skirmish took place.

Among the injured, Imran was ad-mitted to nearby Labaid Hospital with several injuries, said Muktijoddha Sangsad organiser and freedom � ghter MA Awal.

“The law enforcers dispersed the gathering as the activists had no per-mission to hold a rally there,” said Maj Mostaque Ahmed of Rab 1 who was

present at the spot.He said the marchers also tried to lay

a siege to the Pakistan High Commis-sion which is located in the diplomatic zone.

Freedom � ghter Abul Kalam Azad termed the police attack a “shame.”

The police brought the situation un-der control around 4:30pm.

The law enforcers detained � ve ac-tivists from the area who were later released from Gulshan police station around 5pm. They are Shipra Bose, Lopa, Shammi Akhetr, Monir and Noy-

on, said OC Ra� qul Islam of Gulshan police.

On Wednesday, after demonstrat-ing near the Pakistan mission, theplatform gave an ultimatum to the gov-ernment to temporarily break o� its diplomatic tie with Islamabad by 3pm yesterday and warned of a non-stop sit-in programme if the demand was not met. 

On Monday, the Pakistan National Assembly adopted a resolution ex-pressing concern over Jamaat-e-Islami leader Quader Molla’s execution. l

One killed, many injured asblockade endsn Tribune Report

The fourth spell of blockade called by the BNP-led 18-party opposition alli-ance which will end at 6am today was marked with stray incidents of vio-lence, clash, arson and vandalism in a number of districts while in the capital it was apparently relaxed yesterday.

There were fewer vehicles and com-muters on the streets than normal, but more than the previous blockades.

On the other hand, police, Rab, BGB and Ansar joint forces continued their raids in several districts to nab those involved with the recent political vio-lence. Yesterday they arrested 70 peo-ple, our correspondents reported.

A total of 115 people have died in political violence since the � rst spell of nationwide blockade was called on November 26 after the Election Com-mission announced schedules for the 10th national polls. Jamaat’s mayhem in several districts before and after the execution of their leader war criminal Quader Molla contributed to the vi-olence heavily, raising the death toll since December 12.

Yesterday a Jubo League man Abdul Jabbar, 25, who sustained injuries in a Jamaat-Shibir attack nine days ago in Satkania upazila of Chittagong, suc-cumbed to his injuries around 11:30am at the intensive care unit of Chittagong Holy Crescent Hospital.

Our correspondent reported that the activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its stu-dent organisation, Islami Chhatra Shibir, attacked Jabbar at his home in Madar-bari village soon after the news spread that the Jamaat leader Molla would be executed on December 10. The attackers stabbed Jabbar indiscriminately.

Yesterday in Sathkira sadar three people including two police o� cers were injured when the activists of Jam-mat-Shibir men attacked the joint forc-es in the morning.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Kazi Moniruzzaman was under-going treatment at Satkhira Police Line Hospital while Md Enamul Haque, the o� cer-in-charge of Satkhira Sadar po-lice station, received � rst aid from the hospital.

The ASP said a joint forces team that had been conducting raids in di� erent areas of the violence-riddled district for the last three days were removing barricades put by the Jamaat-Shibir men on Alipur-Roichpur road in Roich-pur area of the upazila when they were suddenly attacked.

They hurled petrol bombs, crude bombs and glass bottles towards the law enforcers. In self-defence, the law enforcers opened � re. Aminur Rah-man, 40, a Jamaat activist, sustained bullet wounds and has been receiv-ing treatment at the Satkhira SadarHospital.

The joint forces nabbed 40 Jamaat

leaders and activists from Meherpur, two in Kurigram, six in Satkhira,seven in Lalmonirhat and 15 in Feni yesterday.

In Lalmonirhat at least 30 Awami League men were stabbed during an election campaign meeting of former state minister Motahar Hossain, the Awami League candidate for Lalmonir-hat-1 constituency. The meeting, which was being held on Bawra High School premises in Patgram upazila, came un-der attack by Jamaat-BNP men around 5pm. The attackers also torched the stage and 40 motorcycles.

Bawra union AL president Rabiul Is-lam Miron said, at least 200 Jamaat-Shi-bir-BNP men with sharp weapons at-tacked the meeting. However, Bawra union BNP President Shamsul Alam and Jamaat President Mawlana Zakir Hossain denied the allegations.

Patgram police station OC Sohr-ab Hossain said additional police and Joint forces had been deployed at the spot immediately. They were trying to nab the attackers.Miscreants set � re to six vehicles in Si-takunda upazila of Chittagong.

Blockaders torched two trucks andvandalised � ve vehicles while pick-eting on the west side of Bangab-andhu Bridge in Sirajganj’s Konabariyesterday.

Rab recovered 25 handmade bombs including 10 Molotov cocktails in Chat-mohar upazila of Pabna. In Gaibandha they recovered nine bombs.

Shahjahan Ali, o� cer-in-charge of Kotchandpur police station in Jhe-naidah, said the blockaders set the Awami league o� ce in Kotchandpur town to � re around noon.

In Dhaka, two pedestrians Md Sohag, 26, and Azim Biswas, 30, received splin-ter injuries in their legs when a crude bomb exploded in Bangshal area of Old Dhaka. At least three vehicles were torched at Hatirjheel and in Old Dhaka.

Two women – Nargis Parvin and Shahnaz – received burn injuries as miscreants hurled crude bombs near TSC at Dhaka University and New Mar-ket areas around 8pm. Shahnaz was ad-mitted to the DMCH.

Jahangir Alam, driver of a CNG au-to-rickshaw, was injured when block-ade supporters torched his vehicle near Sadarghat around 8:30pm. He took pri-mary treatment at the DMCH burn unit.

Apart from these, no incident of vio-lence was reported in the city. The city dwellers faced disruption in their daily routine as businesses mostly remained closed. A large number of police and Rab teams were deployed at all the key points of the capital. l

Two women and a CNG auto-rickshaw driver received burn injuries as miscreants hurled bombs and torched his vehicle

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, December 20, 2013

Pro-blockade activists attack a tomato-laden truck yesterday near Rajshahi’s Baneshwar Bazar during the nationwide blockade enforced by the 18-party alliance. The activists attacked the truck when it came in front of a rally though it was guarded by a policeman DHAKA TRIBUNE

Businesses seek aid amid political crisisn Asif Showkat Kallol

The government is overwhelmed by � scal aid proposals from private banks and industries, including readymade garment, poultry, cement and ceramic industries that have been hit hard by the prolonged blockades and hartals as well as the prevailing political deadlock.

A large number of proposals have poured into the Finance Division and the Bank and Financial Institutions Division from di� erent quarters requesting im-mediate � nancial support from the cur-rent � scal year’s budget.

Applicants are saying they have in-curred huge losses because of the stag-nant economy and political deadlock, Bank and Financial institutions Division Secretary Dr Aslam Alam told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

He said the majority of them were readymade garment manufacturers and they were demanding big amounts along with loan rescheduling and change in the de� nition of defaulters, which could af-fect the banking sector.

“We are considering loan reschedul-ing and changes in the de� nition of de-fault loan,” he added.

“The chairman and members of the ceramic association met me at the bank-ing division on Tuesday, demanding rescheduling of bank loans and waiving interest,” Alam said.

The delegates told him many of their factories had to be shut down due to

blockades and the export of ceramic items had stopped completely.

“We do not know when this econom-ic destruction will end and whether it will continue into the next year,” the secretary added. He said the banking sector was the most vulnerable sector in this crisis. But the government does not have enough funds allocated in the cur-rent � scal year’s budget to support the a� ected sectors.

Revenue earnings have seen an alarming decline, with � ve-month short-fall now standing at Tk5,000cr, he said. While on the other hand � scal support needed for the garment export sector alone may cross Tk2,500cr, he added.

Last week, Finance Minister AMA Mu-hith assured that the demands of apparel makers a� ected by the current political crisis would be taken into consideration. The assurance came at a meeting with readymade garment, knitwear and tex-tile sector leaders at the ministry.

Their demands include payment of four months’ worth of workers’ wag-es, creating special PCs and Bai-Salams (advance payments for delayed deliver-ies) to be adjusted in the next two years, among others.

Banker and economic analyst Mamun Rashid told the Dhaka Tribune that sev-eral business chambers including the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry had estimated a total dam-age of Tk35,000cr caused by the pro-longed political deadlock. l

Resolution proves Molla war criminal, says attorney general n Nazmus Sakib

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam yes-terday said the resolution adopted by the Pakistan National Assembly proved once again that Abdul Quader Molla was really a war criminal and collabo-rator of the country.

He also urged the young generation of Pakistan to resist the fundamentalists in their country knowing the history of Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971.

He made the comments at a press conference held at the Attorney Gen-eral’s O� ce in the capital where addi-tional attorney generals MK Rahman, Murad Reza and Mumtaz Uddin Fakir were also present.

The country’s top law o� cer termed the resolution an audacity. “Whereas parliament of that country cannot dis-cuss its own judiciary, passing a resolu-tion on another country’s judicial mat-ter is nothing but an audacity,” he said.

“It is not fair [for the Pakistan par-liament] to comment on the trial pro-cedures without knowledge on the domestic laws under which the trial is taking place,” he said. “This is breach of international norms.”

Mahbubey said the judiciary was in-dependent. “The standard of verdicts pronounced by our Supreme Court is like other courts in the developed coun-tries. The Jamaat leader was granted all kinds of opportunities under the law. So, commenting on the trial of Quader Molla by some quarters is unfair, un-

warranted and unacceptable.” When asked, he said it relied on

the government whether Bangladesh would go to the international forum or not.

After the government executed the death penalty of Quader Molla on De-cember 12 for war crimes, Pakistan Ja-maat leaders and activists protested on the streets. In the latest move, the Pa-kistan parliament passed a resolution expressing concern over the execution.

Earlier, Pakistan Home Minister Nisar Ali Khan said Quader Molla had undoubtedly been executed for his loyalty to Pakistan, and that the move was bound to open old wounds with Bangladesh.

Pakistan Jamaat honoured Quader Molla as a “martyr.” Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman and former cricketer Imran Khan claimed that Quader Molla had been innocent and the charges false. l

Pakistanis continue to condemn resolution on Molla n Muktasree Chakma Sathi

More Pakistani politicians, former diplomats and journalists yesterday condemned through Twitter their National Assembly since it passed a resolution on Monday expressing concern over the execution of war criminal Abdur Quader Molla.

Pakistani people from di� erent strata have been criticising passage of the resolution and Imran Khan’s remark in their comments on online news items regarding the issue.

The former Pakistan ambassador to the US, Sherry Rehman, also chair of Jinnah Institute, tweeted yesterday: “We really do need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. And to apologise to Bangladesh…”

Politician Afrasiab Khattak, chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan since 1999, said in Twitter: “We don’t put those on trail who were accused of war crimes by HR Commission and if Bangladesh tries the accused persons we have objection?”

Re-tweeting a status that states “Bangladesh still awaits o� cial Pakistan apology for 1971,” renowned rights activist of Pakistan Marvi Sirmed satirically said: “Let them. We’re busy mourning Mullah.”

Nadeem F Paracha, a journalist and columnist of the Dawn, twitted: “Shameful resolution in the Parliament by PMLN [Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz], PTI [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] and JI [Jamaat-e-Islami] condemning the hanging of a murderous bigot is an insult to democracy.”

Another well-known politician of Pakistan People’s Party Na� sa Shah said in her twitter: “NA’s (National Assembly) irresponsible and uncalled for resolution courtesy JI, PTI, PMLN, JUI [Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam] has provoked � ag burning and demos against our country in Bangladesh.”

Progressive Youth Forum, a group of youths in Pakistan, o� cially condemned the resolution and PTI chief Imran Khan for terming Quader Molla “innocent.” The atrocities committed in Bangladesh during 1971 should have been a lesson in history that all political parties should learn from.

“If we have any hope of furthering democratic federalism in Pakistan, it is important that we own up to our history, including our past mistakes and aggression, and learn from it.”

The forum’s spokesperson, Khadija Ali, told the Dhaka Tribune: “I almost had a stroke when I read this news. People should always remember which side of history they were on.” l

Jatiya Party to join polls n Manik Miazee

The Jatiya Party faction – led by former autocrat HM Ershad – will contest the upcoming national polls under Raw-shan Ershad’s instructions, with the consent of the party chief.

JaPa Presidium member Kazi Firoz Rashid said this during election cam-paigning at Lal Kutir in Old Dhaka.

Earlier, Ershad was “detained” after announcing that his party would not contend in an election without the par-ticipation of all other parties.

Although the authorities denied the detention claims and suggested that they had escorted Ershad to a hospi-tal, the JaPa chief has not been seen in front of the media since.

In response to a question, Firoz said the move for polls would not have been made without the consent of Ershad.

“If our chairman did not endorse the move, GM Quader and Rawshan Er-shad would not have told us to prepare for participating in the polls,” he said.

JaPa Presidium members Quader and Rowshan are both currently minis-ters in the polls-time cabinet.

Rawshan is also the wife of the party chief and the party’s primary presidi-um member.

Earlier, Tajul Islam Chowdhury, the

party’s o� ce secretary and Presidium member, said the JaPa candidates, who had not withdrawn their nomination papers, were going to join the polls.

On December 3, in a sudden rever-sal of decisions after having joined the “all-party” interim cabinet led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Ershad decided to pull out of the cabinet.

Ershad said he and his party could not run in the polls unless the partici-pation of “all the political parties” was ensured.

In an unexpected move on December 12, the law enforcers “picked up” Ershad from his Baridhara residence and took him to Combined Military Hospital.

On December 14, the party’s “Re-search and Strategy Wing” chief and Ershad’s Special Advisor Bobby Hajjaj claimed that he had been appointed the acting spokesperson of the party by Ershad. He also said Quader and Sec-retary General Ruhul Amin Howlader would now be leading the party in ab-sence of Ershad.

Hinting at the Rawshan-led group of JaPa leaders, Bobby said Ershad had made it clear that JaPa would not join the polls under any circumstances.

However, on December 17, the party suspended activities of the wing due to unavoidable reasons. l

Witness against Azhar on December 26n Udisa Islam

Upon a defence plea, the war crimes tri-bunal yesterday deferred the deposition of � rst prosecution witness in the case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader ATM Azharul Islam.

The International Crimes Tribunal 1 set December 26 for the witness after the defence submitted that they needed time to start the case.

They said Shishir Monir and Saidur Rahman would not continue as con-ducting defence lawyers. The new coun-sels are Abdus Sobhan Tarafder, Abdus Salam Miah and Mujahidul Islam Shahin.

On the new date, the witness will tes-tify in camera.

On November 12, the tribunal in-dicted Azhar on six charges of crimes against humanity he had allegedly com-mitted in Rangpur during the 1971 Liber-ation War.

Meanwhile, the tribunal 2 set January 7 to deliver order on two lawyers from

Bagerhat Judge’s Court Sheikh Abdul Wadud and Shamima Akhter over an af-� davit they had endorsed for a prosecu-tion witness in a war crimes case.

Shamima appeared at the tribunal yesterday and sought unconditional apology like Wadud. Senior Supreme Court lawyer AY Mashiuzzaman pleaded for his clients.

The same tribunal yesterday deferred until December 26 the defence hearing on charge framing against war crimes suspect Syed M Qaisar. The order came following a defence plea seeking time.

Defence lawyer Abdus Sobhan Tarafder said they needed time to scru-tinise the prosecution documents and for preparation to submit a discharge petition.

The prosecution submitted 18 formal charges against Qaisar on November 10 that include killing, extermination, enslavement, deportation, abduction, con� nement, torture, looting, arson and assisting in rape. l

Political turmoil puts oil and gas exploration contracts on holdn Aminur Rahman Rasel

The signing of a production sharing contract (PSC) with the US-based ConocoPhillips and India’s ONGC Videsh Ltd, to explore oil and gas at three shallow sea sites in the Bay of Bengal, is uncertain because of the country’s ongoing political turmoil.

ONGC obtained the rights to sites four and nine while ConocoPhillips got site nine after participating in an international auction, organised earlier on April 2 by the state-owned Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla).

“We are ready to sign the contracts with the two international oil companies. But given the country’s current political situation, this is not

right time to sign it,” Petrobangla Chairman Hossain Monsur told the Dhaka Tribune.

“All procedures have been completed more than a month ago, and we have been waiting since to sign the contracts,” he said.

In September this year, Petrobangla had signed initial deals with the two companies.

Meanwhile, Petrobangla o� cials said the exploration would aim to meet the demand for gas in the Chittagong region, which is su� ering from an acute energy shortage.

Earlier, the cabinet committee on economic a� airs had allowed Petrobangla to sign the initial deals for sites four, seven, and nine with the ONGC Videsh Ltd and ConocoPhillips.

ConocoPhillips had previously gotten two deep sea sites in back in 2011, while India’s state-owned ONGC was going to operate in Bangladesh for the � rst time.

ONGC has reportedly o� ered to invest $38.4m to conduct a number or surveys and drill two wells in site 4.

The government’s pro� t-share would be 60%-85% for gas and 70%-90% for oil. It has also o� ered to invest $64.8m to conduct a number of surveys and drill three wells in site 9.

Meanwhile, ConocoPhilips has o� ered to invest $23.5m to conduct surveys and drill a single exploration well in block 7.

The pro� t-share of the government would be 55%-80% for gas and the same for oil. l

Members of Muktijoddha Sangsad bring out a procession in Bagerhat city yesterday, demanding quick execution of the convicted collaborators of Pakistan Army DHAKA TRIBUNE

Pakistan Home Minister Nisar Ali Khan said Quader Molla had undoubtedly been executed for his loyalty to Pakistan, and that the move was bound to open old wounds with Bangladesh

Progressive Youth Forum, a group of youths in Pakistan, o� cially condemned the resolution and PTI chief Imran Khan for terming Quader Molla ‘innocent’

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, December 20, 2013

City High LowDhaka 25.0 14.3Chittagong 24.8 13.5Rajshahi 24.5 11.7Rangpur 23.2 11.7Khulna 26.0 15.0Barisal 26.0 14.0Sylhet 22.0 14.1Cox’s Bazar 27.2 14.5

PRAYER TIMESFajar 5:16am

Sunrise 6:35amJumma 11:56am

Asr 3:40pmMagrib 5:16pm

Esha 6:37pmSource: IslamicFinder.org

WEATHER

Weather to remain dryn UNB

Chances of light rain is likely at one or two places over Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dhaka and Sylhet divisions and the re-gions of Jessore, Kushtia and Comilla until 6pm today.

Weather may remain dry with partly cloudy sky elsewhere over the country, Met O� ce said.

Light to moderate fog may occur over the country during midnight till morning.

Night temperature may rise slightly and day temperature may fall slightly over the country.

The sun sets in the capital at 5:16pm today and rises at 6:37am tomorrow.

Country’s highest temperature 27.2 degree Celsius was recorded yesterday at Cox’s Bazar and lowest 9.8 degrees at Srimangal.

Highest and lowest temperature re-corded in some major cities yesterday were:

AL to hold rallies to condemn against Pak resolution on Molla n Emran Hossain Shaikh

The Awami League-led 14-party ruling alliance will hold countrywide demon-strations next week against the Pakistan parliament’s censure motion over the execution of war criminal Abdul Quader Molla, and to protest the opposition’s “destructive activities” during its ongo-ing anti-government movement.

Protest rallies will be held at upazila headquarters on Sunday, at district headquarters on Monday and in the capital on Tuesday, Mohammad Na-sim, AL presidium member and alli-ance spokesperson, told a press brief-ing after a 14-party meeting yesterday.

Nasim also said teams would visit the districts worst a� ected by Jamaat-Shibir attacks in recent times.

Criticising the resolution adopted

by the Pakistan parliament in favour of “butcher” Quader Molla, Nasim said it was beyond diplomatic norms and a naked interference in the a� airs of a sovereign country.

In reply to a question on engaging the opposition to resolve the present political crisis, Nasim said a dialogue between the two parties was going on, as “no one had declared it was over”.

However, he added that as the 10th parliament elections were already un-derway, a dialogue may be held for the next elections after the tenure of the new parliament,

Sammobadi Dal general secretary of Dilip Barua, Workers Party general secretary Anisur Rahman Mallik, Com-munist Kendra joint convener Wazedul Islam, among others, were present at the press brie� ng. l

Bangladesh-India maritime boundary hearing ends disputen Tribune Report

An international arbitration tribunal has concluded its hearing on a mari-time boundary dispute between Ban-gladesh and India, and is expected to give its ruling within six months.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration held the hearing from December 9-18 at the Peace Palace in The Hague, a foreign ministry press release said yesterday.

Over the course of the hearing, both parties presented their positions on some key issues relating to the mari-time boundary between the two neighbouring countries, including the location of the land boundary ter-minus between them, the delimitation of the territorial sea, the continental shelf within and beyond 200 nautical miles (370km) and exclusive economic zones.

The tribunal will � nish its delibera-tions on the merits of the arbitration within six months of the close of the proceedings, the release said.

Judge Rüdiger Wolfrum presided over the tribunal, while judges Jean-Pierre Cot, Thomas A Mensah and Pemmaraju Sreenivasa were its members.

On the opening day, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali and Indian Attorney General Goolam E Va-hanvati made opening statements on behalf of their respective countries. Former foreign minister Dipu Moni

also made introductory remarks as the agent of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh concluded its � rst round of arguments on December 10. Law-rence Martin, Philippe Sands, Payam Akhavan, Paul Reichler, Alan Boyle and James Crawford argued on behalf of Bangladesh.

On December 12, the agent of India, Neeru Chadha, joint secretary and legal adviser of the external a� airs ministry, gave a general presentation of the case.

India concluded its � rst round of arguments on December 13. RKP Shan-kardass, Alain Pellet, Michael Reisman and Sir Michael Wood were the coun-sels for India.

Bangladesh concluded the sec-ond round of arguments on Monday, while India � nished its arguments on Wednesday. Both parties also answered questions from the tribunal. l

Mozena: Bangladesh will be an over� owing basketn Tribune Report

US Ambassador Dan Mozena expressed hope that Bangladesh would be a mid-dle income country in terms of quality of life in the very near future.

From the “bottomless basket,” he said, Bangladesh would very soon be-come an “over� owing basket.”

The ambassador was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the second International Conference on Advances in Electrical Engineering 2013 at Inde-pendent University, Bangladesh’s Bas-hundhara campus yesterday.

The infamous 1974 remark that Ban-gladesh was a bottomless basket is at-tributed to former US foreign secretary Henry Kissinger.

A total of 233 researchers from 13

countries have been registered and 90 papers have been accepted in the three-day long conference. Dr Ali Shihab Sabbir, dean of School of En-gineering and Computer Science at IUB, said: “Electrical Engineering is the driving force behind the recent technological developments and the conference aims to exchange ideas re-garding electrical engineering from all over the world.”

Apart from Mozena, Dr Samir El-Ghazaly, division director of the Na-tional Science Foundation, USA, also attended the inauguration of the con-ference by IUB founding trust Chair-man Saifur Rahman. Among others Dr Pran K Saha, Dr Shamimuzzaman Bosunia, and Dr Mohammad S Alam spoke on the occasion. l

No detrimental projects: Professor Anu Muhammad n Tribune Report

A project harming the Sundarbans, which would pave the way for an inva-sion of the Bay of Bengal and devastate the northern zone of the country, can-not be implemented, said the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports, in a press statement yesterday.

Committee’s Member Secretary Pro-fessor Anu Muhammad said: “Whoever comes to power cannot be allowed to serve the interests of some narrow lo-cal or international groups. A patriot cannot tolerate such disastrous proj-ects,” he added.

Upon visiting Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Delhi in India, he opined that open coal mines and coal based power plants were ‘unthinkable’ in Bangladesh.

The projects had already created devastating impacts on the people and environment in India, he added.

Professor Anu Muhammad told the Dhaka Tribune: “We visited the places in October this year. During our visit, we observed the scarcity of water and employment in these areas. Premature death and congenital abnormalities among the locals are evident, and rates are increasing day by day – leading to a decline in the health and education sectors over there.”

Engineer Sheikh Mohammad Sha-hidullah, convener of the committee, urged the government to implement the seven-charter demand of the com-mittee and ensure e� ective utilisation of national resources.

He said that people holding power in the country have always been against people’s interests, and that therefore the movement must be continued. l

Promotion for over 100 medical o� cers likely today Insiders say it is a violation of BSMMU actn Moniruzzaman Uzzal

Over 100 medical o� cers are likely to be promoted to the post of junior con-sultant at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mu-jib Medical University (BSMMU) today.

A proposal on the promotion will be placed at the syndicate meeting for � -nal approval.

There are three more agendas to be dis-cussed at the meeting but the issue of pro-motion will come up more prominently.

According to the BSMMU act, there is no option for promotion of medical o� cers.

A group of medical o� cers loyal to Awami League-backed doctors’ organ-isation Swadhinata Chikitshak Parisad (Shachip) allegedly forced the authori-ties to make the decision.

Professor Dr Ruhul Amin Mia, Pro-VC (education) of the BSMMU has de-nied the allegation.

He, however, acknowledged the fact of promoting 100 to 115 medical o� -cers.

“All these medical o� cers have been working here for the last 10-15 years. They are very much competent to serve as junior consultants. We want

to consider their cases on humanitar-ian ground, not on anything else. If the syndicate approves the proposal they will just get the promotion but their salaries and other bene� ts will remain unchanged.”

Around 600 doctors are serving as medical o� cers who are alleged to have been recruited on political con-siderations during the tenures of both Awami League and BNP governments.

Seeking anonymity, one of the high o� cials of the BSMMU said: “We al-ready have 1,100 resident physicians who are actively providing service to

the patients. The quality and knowl-edge of those doctors are much better than medical o� cers.”

At present most of the medical o� cers do not have much to do at the BSMMU. Few of them are working at the outdoor section with specialist doctors. A large number of medical o� cers are involved in doctors’ politics.

The issue concerning retirement age will also be � gured out at the meeting. At present the retirement age at the BSMMU is 57 whereas it is 59 in other universities. l

The capital’s Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue witnesses a pretty good number of vehicles yesterday afternoon despite the blockade sponsored by the 18-party alliance SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

India concluded its � rst round of arguments on December 13. RKP Shankardass, Alain Pellet, Michael Reisman and Sir Michael Wood were the counsels for India

UNOs asked to announce ban on tree felling n Mohosinul Karim and

Rabiul Islam

The upazila nirbahi o� cers across the country have been asked to announce a ban on the highways’ tree felling in-tended to put up a road blockade, o� -cials said yesterday.

The announcement was made yes-terday through loudspeaker, they said, adding that it would be further be done today and also tomorrow.

The violators of the regulation would be brought to book, added the o� cial.

The move was initiated following the frequent road, rail and waterway blockades.

Long-route passenger buses do not run on highways as protesters put up road blockades by tree felling.

The BNP-led 18-pary alliance en-forced four phases of blockades since the announcement of election sched-ule on November 25 in a bid to deter election scheduled for January 5.

Preferring not to be named, a upazi-la nirbahi o� cer from Kishoreganj told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday, “We have been instructed to announce a ban so that people do not fell trees to create road blockade,”

The o� cial said: “The divisional commissioner asked us to make the announcement which will take e� ect from every Saturday to Thursday.”

“It is the duty of � eld-level admin-istration to protect lives and properties of people, cabinet Secretary M Mush-arraf Hossain Bhuiyan told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

The top boss in the civil administra-tion said it did not require instruction from the high-ups for carrying out such duties. l

City BNP joint convener on remand n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday placed de-tained BNP leader Anwaruzzaman An-war on a � ve-day remand.

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) mem-bers arrested the BNP leader from Sat-masjid Road in capital’s Mohammad-pur area and recovered 10 crude bombs from his possession on Wednesday.

In a drive, Rab members arrested Anwar, a joint-convener of the Dhaka city unit of BNP and a former ward councillor from the area, around 3pm.

Rab o� cials claimed they arrested the 57-year-old BNP joint-convener for his alleged involvement in recent inci-dents of violence in the capital.

“Anwaruzzaman was one of the masterminds of the recent bomb at-tacks, arson and vandalism acts carried out in the capital. He was leading these subversive acts as the ring leader,” Col Ziaul Ahsan, the additional director general (operation) of Rab, told the Dhaka Tribune.

Acting on a tip-o� , a team of Rab-2 per-sonnel arrested Anwaruzzaman from the house of Md Yusuf in the area, he said.

Rejecting the a bail petition � led by the defense counsel, Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Aminul Haque passed the order after Aminul Islam, investigating o� cer into the case and sub-inspector at Mohammadpur police station, produced Anwar before the court seeking a 10-day remand for interrogation. l

A group of working women form a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday protesting the Pakistan parliament’s resolution on the execution of war criminal Quader Molla MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

News 5DHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, December 20, 2013

Admission seekers worried over frequent intake test deferrals n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Admission seekers of Barisal University are worried about their academic life as the university authority is repeatedly deferring admission tests schedule for the ongoing political unrest.

Many entrance seekers of the uni-versity have expressed their anxiety that if the turbulent political situation continued, they would not be able to get enrolled at the university in the current session.

Abdullah, an admission seeker of the university, expressing the helpless condition said if the admission proce-

dure needs months after months, then when would classes start and how cur-riculum would be completed?

Sanjida, another aspirant student, said: “It seems our age limit for govern-ment job will end when we will � nish our student life.”

The intake test of the universityrescheduled for December 21 have been postponed again for the fourth time.

Holding a meeting, admission com-mittee of the university yesterday af-ternoon announced that the university authority had decided to postpone the examination for unavoidable reasons.

The next date of the intake test will

be informed through the BU website www.barisaluniv.edu.bd and www.barisaluniv.ac.bd and mass-media, said Dr Md Muhsin Uddin, acting regis-trar of BU.

The � rst date of the admission test was � xed on November 28 and then it was

postponed because of a blockade by the 18-party alliance.

The university authority scheduled the examination for December 7 and then December 21, 2013.

A total of 29,690 admission seek-ers registered for taking part in the intake test against 1,160 seats of 16departments of six faculties ofthe university under 4 units for the ac-ademic session of 2013-14, said Faisal Mahmud Rumi, public relation o� cer of BU.

The one-hour long 120 marks MCQ test was scheduled to be held under three shifts at 11 centres, including

temporary and permanent campus of the university.

Students would be selected on basis of the marks obtained from MCQ test and SSC, HSC results, university sourc-es said.

Classes were scheduled to be start-ed on the temporary campus of BU in Barisal Zila School and permanent campus from January in condition of completion of the construction on 50 acres at Karnakathi on the eastern bank of the River Kirtonkhola in Sadarupazila of the district, the BU VC Dr Harunor Rashid informed the Dhaka Tribune. l

Nine to get life in Shahjalal University students’ killing casen Tribune Report

A tribunal yesterday convicted nine people and sentenced them to life-term imprisonment for killing two students of the Shahjalal University of Engineer-ing and Technology in 2011.

Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal Judge Dilip Kumar Debnath also � ned the convicts Tk20,000 each, in default, to su� er one year more of rigorous im-prisonment.

The convicts are Md Gulzar, Sail Miah, Shaheen Ahmed, Lal Miah, Saimuddin, Md Jamal Miah, Rakib Miah alias Abdur Rakib, Md Abdullah and Selim Miah.

All of them are from the sadar upazi-la of Sylhet. Of them, Gulzar and Rakib were tried in absentia.

According to the prosecution, Khair-ul Kabir and Dipankar Ghosh Anik, both second year students of Chemical Engineering Department, were killed in an attack by some miscreants while traveling in a boat on Chenger Khal (canal) at Putimara, some 4km o� the campus, on December 16, 2011.

A murder case was � led on the same day. On June 15, 2012, police submit-ted a charge sheet against the nine ac-cused. They were indicted on Septem-ber 30. l

Robi makes � rst digital � ag of Bangladeshn Tribune Report

Robi, one of the leading mobile oper-ator of the country, has made the � rst digital � ag of Bangladesh before they created the largest human � ag on De-cember 16, said a release.

The operator took the initiative for the people who would be unable to par-ticipate in the world record of human national � ag campaign physically and created a platform for them to virtually participate in making the � rst ever dig-ital � ag of the country.

Robi created a microsite – www.bd-worldrecord.com – on the December 11 and after receiving a good response from online viewers, the operator had started the digital � ag campaign on December 13. The � ag was completed within three days on December 15.

Participants were asked to go to the digital � ag section of the website and click on two stated colours – red and green – for as many times as they wanted in order to complete the digital � ag. It started with � lling the red blocks of the � ag.

The release claimed that a total of 16,371 people participated in the three days and it took 2,103,630 clicks to

complete the country’s � rst ever digital � ag.

The participants had also expressed their feelings by posting messages regarding Victory Day. Viewers, all around the world, were requested to share their opinion on the theme “Why they want to be a part of this record breaking attempt.”

In response, 660 people shared their feelings through the micro site.

Currently, anyone can visit the mi-crosite and witness the best wishes and the human � ag. One of the wish-es read “Thanks to Robi and all of the people who are making such a wonder-ful history for us… We are proud of our freedom � ghters and we all respect our martyrs... Love you. @Bangladesh.”

On December 16, Robi with the help of other associations made the largest human � ag with 27,117 people and con-

tested for a Guinness World Record. The previous record of 24,200 people participating in a human � ag was for Pakistan.

When asked if Guinness had rec-ognised the e� ort, an o� cial of Robi, seeking anonymity, said 18 representa-tives of Hoda Vasi, an audit company, visited recently and took the details. “It might take a month or more to � nalise the record,” he added. l

Road accidentskill 4, injure 3n Tribune Report

Four people were killed in two separate road accidents in the last two days in Chittagong and Rajbari. Three people were injured in one of the accidents, report our correspondents.

In Chittagong, two people were killed and three others were injured in a head-on collision between a CNG-run auto-rickshaw and a pick-up van on Dhaka-Chittagong highway, Mirsarai upazila yesterday.

  The deceased were Fazlul Karim, 52, and Md Shahjahan, 65.

Iftekhar Hasan, o� cer-in-charge of Jorarganj police station, said the acci-dent took place at the Mithasara Bypass area on Dhaka-Chittagong highway around 12:30pm when a CNG-run auto rickshaw, carrying � ve passengers, col-lided head-on with a pick-up van com-ing from the opposite direction. Local rushed the � ve to the upazila heath complex where doctors declared two of them dead, the OC added.

 Police seized the pick-up van but the driver and his assistant managed to � ee.

In Rajbari, two people were in a road ac-cident on Rajbari-Kushtia road at Pangsha upazila on Wednesday night. The dead were Arif Billah, 22, of village Keyapara and Kulsum Bibi, 65, of village Bhatshala.

Khoybar Mallik, husband of Kulsum said the accident took place around 9pm as Arif hit Kulsum when they were crossing the road. Locals came to the spot and rush them to Pangsha Upazila Health Complex but both of them died on the way, he added.

Police recovered the bodies and sent those to Rajbari Sadar Hospital morgue for post mortem examination.

Two separate UD cases were � led with Pangsha police station. l

Security beefed up at Dhaka, Chittagong airportsn Kailash Sarkar and

Tarek Mahmud

Security has beefed up at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dha-ka and the Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong after intelligence agencies warned of possible sabotage attempts.

At the Shahjalal Airport, restrictions were imposed on the entrance of visi-tors while additional security o� cials – both uniformed and plainclothes – were deployed. Passengers, their lug-gage and vehicles moving in were also brought under surveillance.

Wing Commander Zakir Hossain, director of the airport, said, “These measures have been taken on grounds of public security, considering the ex-isting situation in the country.”

“Although we have no speci� c securi-ty threats, we are taking precautions so

that any attempt to subvert in-place se-curity mechanisms could be thwarted.”

The restriction would remain in force for “a certain period of time” and would be lifted once the situation re-turned to normal, he added.

Sources at the airport said the restric-tion had been imposed after a multi-partite meeting on Wednesday attend-ed by high o� cials from Rab, police, BGB, Ansar and other security and in-telligence agencies.

In this regard, Assistant Superin-tendent Shoyeb Ahmed of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn), which ensures

security at airports, said they were in-structed to not allow any kind of visi-tors inside, including friends and fam-ily members of outbound passengers.

As part of precautionary measures, he added, the number of regular and plainclothes o� cials had been in-creased and security check-posts in-stalled at di� erent points of the airport.

In addition, special passes were is-sued for the airport o� cials and em-ployees.

These measures were taken appar-ently in response to the increasing security threats at the country’s com-munication sectors, including acts of sabotage damaging more than 20 rail-way engines, 100 bogies and several hundred buses, trucks and other types of vehicles.

These acts and the ensuing casual-ties called for heightened security at the airports, sources said.

Meanwhile, security has also been heightened at the Shah Amanat Inter-national Airport with the deployment of additional police, Rab and Ansar forces within the airport premises.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Mostak Ahmed of Chittagong Metropol-itan Police con� rmed the news and said no one except passengers and airport sta� was being allowed into the airport.

“Police have received information that miscreants might undertake sub-versive activities at the airport.”

Security o� cials are regularly searching various sections of the air-port while passengers, their luggage and the airport sta� were all under sur-veillance, he added.

On Saturday, Sahabuddin, 27, an employee of private airline United Airways, was arrested after he set o� a crude bomb at the airport’s VIP car parking area. l

Professionals for taking steps against Pakistan n Tribune Report

Leaders of di� erent professional bod-ies in Chittagong yesterday urged the government to take steps against Paki-stan for its reaction over the execution of war criminal Abdul Quader Molla.

They also expressed strong protest against the resolution and asked Ban-gladesh government to take exemplary measures against Pakistan.

They said it would not enough if Pa-kistan government only seeks apology and expresses sorrow but the be� t-ting reply from Bangladesh side must be sent for adopting a resolution in its National Assembly (NA) to express concern over the execution of Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla.

The demand came in a rally orga-nized by Peshajibi Somonnoy Parishad on Chittagong Press Club premises this afternoon, reports BSS.

Hundreds of people from di� erent professions took part in the rally.

Addressing the rally, the speakers said

country-wide violence and arson, par-ticularly on the houses of the minority communities and their places of worship before and after the execution of Abdul Quader Molla were nothing but reminded the brutal attack and torture during 1971.

Terming the adoption of resolution as an external interference into Bangla-desh’s domestic a� airs, the speakers in the rally said such resolution is a threat to the nation and the people of Bangla-desh will not tolerate it.

President of PSB Dr Sirazul Islam presided over the rally while Gener-al secretary Reaz Haidar Chowdhury, Chittagong Union of Journalists (CUJ) president Shahidul Alam, Chittagong University, Social Science Faculty dean Prof Hossain Kabir, former president of Engineers’ Institute, Chittagong Mo-hammad Harunur Rashid, Chittagong Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (CWASA) Managing Director Engineer AKM Fazlullah and Chittagong city unit Awami League (AL) GS AJM Nasir Ud-din , among others, addressed it. l

Police have received information that miscreants might undertake subversive activities at the airport

The Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad forms a human chain in front of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in the city yesterday, protesting the resolution passed in Pakistan parliament condemning execution of war criminal Quader Molla DHAKA TRIBUNE

Gold seized at Shahjalal Airport n Tribune Report

Customs o� cials last night arrested a person with 802-gram gold worth about Tk42 lakh from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday.

Airport Customs assistant director Umme Nahida Akthar said they arrest-ed Jamal Hossain Bhuiyan, a passenger of Tiger Airlines, coming from Singa-pore while passing the green channel and found existence of smuggled gold into his luggage.

The arrested Jamal Hossain Bhuyan handed over to the airport police station and a case was � led in this regard. l

The � rst date of the admission test was � xed on November 28 and then it was postponed because of a blockade by the 18-party alliance

Contrabands worth Tk23 lakh seized from Hili frontier n Tribune Desk

The members of Border Guard Bangla-desh seized huge smuggled sex stim-ulating tablets, phensidyl and sarees worth Tk23 lakh from Hili frontier under Hakimpur upazila in Dinajpur yesterday.

BGB members from Hili border out-post chased a group of smugglers in Boigram border area but they ran away leaving their contraband goods there in Hili frontier area.

The border guards seized the smug-gled goods including 4,150 pieces of sex stimulating Senogra tablets, 9,000 piec-es of sedative Citizin tablets, 880 bottles of phensidyl and 60 pieces of sharees in abandoned conditions from the spot.

Later, the BGB authority deposited the seized smuggled goods with the Hili Customs after completing necessary le-gal formalities, the sources said. l

Manikchhari cops passing days in makeshift campn Tribune Desk

Manikchhari police are now passing their days in a makeshift camp con-structed under the supervision of Army after Wednesday’s devastating � re gutted their barrack.

During a visit to the � re-ravaged po-lice station on Thursday, it was found that work was going on in full swing to arrange accommodation for the police members.

Manikchhari Upazila Parishad and local Relief and Rehabilitation Depart-ment were jointly constructing a 74 feet by 22 feet tin-roofed barrack to ac-commodate policemen.

Earlier, armoury, police barracks and lock-up of the police station were gut-ted in a � re originated from an electric short circuit on Wednesday night, re-ports UNB. Around 64 � rearms, 4,500 bullets and instruments in the radio room were badly damaged by the � re.

Sources at the police station said the losses caused by the � re could go up to Tk one crore. l

6 NationDHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, December 20, 2013

Students and guardians frustrated over PSC exam mismarking n Our Correspondent, Khagrachhari

The guardians of Primary School Cer-ti� cate examinees in Sadar upazila are frustrated following the mismarking of 184 answer scripts by the examiners of Dighinala upazila in of the district.

The examiners had to mark answer scripts from di� erent subjects.

Abul Kashem, Hashem Member, Monir Hossain and some other parents of Sadar upazila alleged that the exam-iners in Dighinala upazila did not fol-low the Education Ministry’s instruc-tions on how to evaluate the answer scripts.

They awarded unduly low marks and made mistakes in preparing mark sheets, said the guardians.

It was also alleged that the examin-ers had done it intentionally to make

their own upazila’s (Dighinala) PSC result comparatively higher, and bring the Sadar upazila result down.

Khagrachhari Sadar upazila primary education o� cer Md Abdul Latif said they came across errors during scru-tiny of those answer papers.

Dighinal upazila examiners Atikur Ullah Patowary, Sadon Chakma, Su-datta Chakma admitted that they re-examined 184 papers.

The upazila primary education of-

� cer Nasir Uddin Bhuiyan and the dis-trict primary education o� cer Romen-dranath Poddar admitted this fact.

Romendranath Poddar said 184 pa-pers were re-examined last Tuesday, the ones mismarked by examiners from Dighinala upazila.

“It is shameful that the teachers and o� cials concerned did not follow our instructions on how to evaluate the answer scripts. Punitive action will be meted out to those who made the mis-takes.”

The headmasters of 90 primary schools under Sadar upazila have al-ready submitted applications to the deputy commissioner of the district to re-examine around 1,900 answer copies, said Additional Deputy Com-missioner (Education) Molla Mizanur Rahman. l

Raj Punnah festival in jeopardy n Our Correspondent, Bandarban

The celebration of the 138th “Raj Pun-nah”, a traditional festival in the Boh-mong circle of Bandarban, has been thrown into doubt due to the ongoing political unrest.

Sources in the king’s family said al-though they had decided to celebrate the festival on January 3, they were not sure whether the festival would be held because of the political turmoil.

Bohmong Prince Cha Sing Prue (Boni) said: “I am not sure about the celebration of the festival.”

Following the death of KS Prue Chowdhury, the 16th king of Bohmong Circle, on February 6 this year, the roy-al family nominated U Cha Prue to be the next king.

Raj Punnah is an annual revenue collection programme where the Boh-mong circle king collects taxes from headmen and karbaris (village heads) in Rangamati.

The festival started 200 years back

when businessmen gave an annual jhum tax at a fair at the beginning of every year. It is mostly known as ‘Paingjara Poway’ among the local indigenous communities.

All the hotels and motels remain booked during the festival, as tourists and indigenous people from remote ar-eas, come to Bohmong circle to enjoy the royal festival.

At least 12 indigenous communities of 109 mouzas are living in the Boh-mong circle of the Bandarban hill dis-trict. 14 mouzas of the circle also exist in Rangamati.

Local people set up hundreds of makeshift shops and arranged puppet shows and circuses at the fair. l

Street play on HIV/AIDS staged n Our Correspondent, Magura

Muktokantho, a cultural organisation in Magura, staged � ve performances of its new street play Alo Adharer Galpo at di� erent villages in Magura on Decem-ber 17 and 18. The drama was written and directed by Biswajit Chakroborty to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS among rural people.

The show was staged at Shibram-pur Upazila Para and at Atharokhada School in Magura Sadar upazila on De-cember 17. It was also shown at Naliar-dangi School, Bagdanga School and in the Katakhali Asryon project � eld on December 18. A good number of people enjoyed event. Khan Rokibul Haque Dipu, a member of Muktokantho, mod-erated the programme. l

Coast Guard arrests 19 smugglers with huge timbers Bangladesh Coast Guard of Mongla West Zone on Wednesday seized 3,100-cft timbers along with four trawlers worth about Tk1.45 crore in Loudob area under Mongla Police Station in Bagerhat. They also arrested 19 smugglers from the spot, said a Mongla Coast Guard press release. The seized trawlers, timbers and arrested were handed over to Dhang-mari Forest Station. A case was � led with Mongla Police Station in this connection. – UNB

Youth’s body recovered in DinajpurPolice here on Wednesday recovered the body of a young man in Bazardighi area of Biral upazila. The deceased was identi� ed as Abul Hasan Sam, 25, son of Hashmat Ali of Munshipara area of Dinajpur town. Locals spotted the body in Bazardighi area and identi� ed it to be of Abul Hasan, a resident of the area, and informed police. Police recovered the body and sent it to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. Anisur Rahman, o� cer-in-charge of Biral Police Station, said Abul Hasan was a drug edict. He might have died after receiving injury in some theft attempt, the OC added. – UNB

17 shops gutted in Narayanganj � reAt least 17 shops were destroyed by a � re that broke out in Battala rail line area in Fatulla of the city on Wednesday night. Five people received burn injuries in the incident. Niaz Ahmed, senior sta-tion master of Narayanganj � re service station, said the � re originated from an electric short circuit in a restaurant of a market and soon engulfed 16 adjoin-ing shops in the area around 10pm. On information, � re� ghting units from Man-dalpara and Hajiganj � re stations rushed

to the spot and extinguished the blaze with the help of local people after half an hour of frantic e� orts. Five people received burn injuries in the blaze. The a� ected shop owners said the extent of losses from the � re could go up to Tk20 lakh. – UNB

542 bottles wine seized in SylhetAn anti-smuggling mobile team of Bor-der Guard Bangladesh seized 542 bottles Indian wine of ‘O� cers’ Choice’ brand wine from Companyganj frontier of Sylhet yesterday. Acting on a tip o� , the elite forces conducted a sudden raid in Siddiqpur area of Companyganj frontier and seized the wines. The seized wines, the market value of which would be around Tk 8.13 lakh, BGB sources said. Later, the seized wine was deposited to local Drug Control o� ce. – UNB

Man gets death penalty for killing wife A man has been sentenced to death by a Rajshahi court yesterday for killing his wife Nahida Akhter Rima in Luxmi-pur area in the city around seven years back. The convict was identified as SM Foizul Islam, 45, son of Abbbas Shah. According to the prosecution, Foyzul Islam killed his wife Nahida Akhter Rima in a residential hotel while they were boarding there on July 29, 2006. Dr Syed Abdur Rashid, father of the victim, had lodged a case with police station concerned. On completion of investigation, police pressed charges against Harun. After examining the witnesses and relevant evidence Judge of Speedy Trial Tribunal Sham-sul Alam Khan found the convict guilty and pronounced the verdict in crowd-ed courtroom around 11am. Special Public Prosecutor Entajul Haque Babu conducted the case on behalf of the state while Advocate Ekramul Haque and Abu Bakar defended the accused. – UNB

Daylong Girl Guides camp in Barisal n Our Correspondent, Barisal

Speakers at a programme in Barisal yes-terday stressed that women friendly environment have to be created to get a women empowered society.

Barisal Islamia College Girl Guides Ranger Unit organised the sixth day-long camp on the college campus.

The speakers and participants at the programme said a special care should be extended to girls for their proper physical, psychological and social de-velopment.

The participants emphasised that girls can contribute a lot for achieving the millennium development goal by elim-inating hunger, poverty and preventing stalking.

They also added that the girl guides can trained girls to achieve self-su� -ciency and self-defence.

Speakers hoped that if Girl Guides activities could spread massive-ly girl’s education, and women’s partic-ipation in leadership will be increased.

And thus, the speakers believe, women’s economic emancipation will be achieved.

Sumaiya Tabassum, regional trainer of of Bangladesh Girl Guides Associa-tion (BGGA), Tanima Rahman Khan, regional ranger of the BGGA conducted the camp while Mohsin Ul Islam Habul, acting principal of the college, was the chief guest at the camp programme.

Begum Faizun Nahar, BGGA region-al commissioner, Dinara Begum, ranger guider teacher and members of the col-lege ranger unit were also spoke to the crowed. l

Farmers expect bumper mustard yield in N-regionn Tribune Desk

Farmers are expecting a bumper mus-tard production as they are on the way to achieve the � xed farming target and the oilseed � elds are now in full bloom everywhere in the northern region.

According to Department of Agricul-tural Extension, farmers of the region have almost completed sowing of mus-tard seeds after harvesting early vari-ety Aman paddy and vegetables.

Currently, the blooming crop is growing excellent under favourable cli-matic conditions everywhere, includ-ing the char areas on the river basins.

Horticulture Specialist of the DAE Khandker Md Mesbahul

Islam said mustard growers were ex-pecting to start harvesting of mustard from the middle of January.

According to the DAE sources, the farmers have cultivated mustard on 247,394 hectares of land against the � xed target of bringing 252,353 hec-tares of land under its cultivation to produce 3,02,824 tonnes of the oil-seeds this year.

However, the farmers are expected to exceed the � xed farming target as sowing of the late variety mustard seeds will continue till this month-end at places, the DAE sources said.

The DAE, Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute and NGOs have distributed quality mustard seeds and banks agri-loans among the farmers to make mustard farming pro-gramme successful this season.

The blooming mustard � elds have worn eye-catching yellow looks in vast char and mainland areas of Rangpur, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Nilphamari, Bogra, Sirajganj and Pabna districts on the river basins.

The farmers have mostly sowed the popular high yielding BARI variety mustard seeds evolved by Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute this sea-son like in the previous years.

Agriculture and Environment Coor-dinator of Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Ser-vice Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid said the farmers had been showing more interests in farming mustard in more lands after getting repeated bumper productions and excellent prices in re-cent years.

Rangpur Regional Additional Di-rector of DAE Sikander Ali said neces-sary training, assistance, inputs, qual-ity seeds, technologies and agri-loans have been provided to the farmers for making mustard farming programme successful this season. l

Woes back for the poor in Lalmonirhat n Our Correspondent, Lalmonirhat

A double whammy of intense cold waves and scarcity of winter clothes has made life miserable for the poor residents of char areas and people with limited income in Lalmonirhat, a� ecting their livelihood and increasing susceptibility to winter diseases.

The district has been swept over by icy winds coupled with dense fog in the past two weeks and those living near Teesta and Dharla rivers took the full brunt of them.

The situation has been similar in all � ve upazilas of Lalmonirhat and many have complained of disruption in their daily life and livelihood as they could not go out for work – especially in the morning – because of the severe cold outside.

Seher Ali, 48, a day labourer living at the Char Sholmari village of Kaliganj upazila, said, “I could not go out to work in the last few days due to the bit-ing chill and heavy fog outside. I have

no warm clothe either, which could protect me against the cold.”

“There are many like me facing the same situation. Their life, as well as mine, depends on the income we earn daily and an inability to work means starvation for us all. Those of us who borrowed money from the moneylend-ers to support ourselves through this phase did so with high interest rates.”

Khadiza Bewa, 72, who lives at the Wapda village of Mogholhat union, said she was too poor to a� ord buying warm clothes but the government and non-government organisations were not any help either.

“If I had a blanket, I could do well during this winter. My sons earn by pulling rickshaws but their incomes are too meagre to a� ord anything oth-er than meeting our very basic needs, such as food and daily essentials,” she added.

There are allegations that items of winter clothing that are distributed by the government during winter often land in the wrong hands, with chairper-

sons of union parishads setting aside a signi� cant portion of them for their own relatives and party loyalists.

However, Idris Ali, chairman of Ku-laghat union parishad, refuted the al-legation saying allocations for such purposes often tended to be small. “Only 70 blankets have been given for my union so far, which are really insuf-� cient for such a large group of people needing them.”

“There are at least 5,000 people who can be categorised as ultra-poor in the union; they all need warm clothes but none a� ords buying that at the market.”

In this regard, Lalmonirhat District Relief and Rehabilitation O� cer Ma-hasinul Haque said his department had sent a request for 15,000 blankets to the ministry in the last week but re-ceived no reply yet.

The department had so far received about 3,400 blankets since the start of winter which were disbursed among cold-hit people of 45 unions of the � ve upazilas, he added. l

H unit and G unit intake test 26 Decembern CU Correspondent

The Chittagong University authorities � xed December 26 for the written tests of “H unit” under Biological Science Faculty and “G unit “ under Institute of Marine Science and Fisheries for the � rst year honors course of 2013-2014 academic session yesterday.

Earlier, the authorities had to post-pone the tests for four times due to re-peated hartals and blockades enforced by the BNP-led 18-party alliance.

SM Akbar Hossain, deputy registrar and also the secretary of admission test committee, told the Dhaka Tribune that the examination tests would be held on December 26, adding that venues and timetable would remain unchanged.

A total number of 18733 admission seekers have submitted their applica-tions to vie for 662 seats at the units, said sources at admission committee.

Meanwhile, the viva voce of “I unit” under Engineering Faculty would be held on December 27, said a press release. l

Activists of the BNP-led 18-party alliance hold a rally in Kurigram town yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

NEWS IN BRIEF

A street play with a view to creating awareness on HIV/AIDS was staged in Mgura town yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

The participants said girls could play vital role in achieving the millennium development goal by eliminating hunger, poverty and also preventing stalking

Sources in the king’s family said although they had decided to celebrate the festival on January 3, they were not sure whether the festival would be held because of the political turmoil

‘It is shameful that the teachers and o� cials concerned did not follow our instructions on how to evaluate the answer scripts. Punitive action will be meted out to those who made the mistakes’

7DHAKA TRIBUNE Long Form Friday, December 20, 2013

n Zeeshan Khan

It’s most unfortunate that repre-sentatives of the governments of Pakistan and Turkey did not refrain from commenting about the execution of Quader Mollah

for crimes against humanity. It was unstatesmanlike and insensitive, but more poignantly, it revealed the extend to which these governments, or at least those individuals, still ad-here to the skewed narratives of 1971, in which an “Islamic” resistance to growing unbelief was being mounted by the Pakistan army and their cohorts in East Bengal.

Like the Pakistan chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami, which held a huge janaaza for him, and the numerous re-ligious organisations around the world that are calling him a martyr, they seem unable to look beyond Quader Mollah’s religious orientation.

In fact many Muslims around the world, especially in Bangladesh, are unable to see beyond that either. He was, to many, a pious man and an honest politician for Islam, who has been persecuted by the sinister Awami League out of a) political convenience and b) a deep-seated hatred for Islam. The latter is reinforced by acts seen as immoral and corrupt, of which, unfor-tunately, there are plenty.

Closeness to “Hindu” India, and Sanskrit in� uence is also viewed with suspicion. Those with an austere Wa-habbi outlook, think Bangladesh has lost its way and is becoming a breeding ground of “Yahud” and “Nassara” western values and “Nastik, Mushrik” thinking. Islam is under assault, as the “Jamaat” tries to “Hefazat” it, and resistance is both political survival as well as religious duty.

Or so various Imams at di� erent mosques I’ve visited, and the numer-ous Waazs that you can hear from time to time, seem to warn about. These are always vague, oblique references inserted in Khutbahs, but references nonetheless.

I wonder why the mosques have never commented on the issue of justice for the victims of 1971? The Friday morning after Quader Mollah lost his life, the mosque I go to had a Khutbah about how Islam is being persecuted around the world and how being Muslim had become a crime, but licentiousness a virtue. A few refer-ences to the violence all around us was also made.

While I listened to him I thought: couldn’t the more di� cult conversa-tion about what the Islamic punish-ment for war crimes are, also have been encouraged? There are Khutbahs about the consequences of all sorts of things, why not these? Perhaps it’s di� cult to veil such a direct reference or maybe the mosques are genuinely careful not to stoke � res, but the most obvious answer is, of course, because they don’t believe Quader Mollah or the others are guilty.

We now enter the murky place where every sort of di� cult conversa-tion is being ferociously had.

Concerns about the soundness of the trials, capital punishment and authoritarianism by the government in� uences the way Western govern-ments approach the issue of the 1971 war crimes. They are wary of the gov-ernment’s motives. Western liberals and rights groups are pushing their own cart up their own hill, and insist that capital punishment is a violation of human rights.

They seem more concerned about the rights of the accused than about justice for the crimes of 1971, which as human rights organisations, you’d imagine they’d be pleased to see done. But they make the fair point that there are serious questions about the soundness of the trials, and that there may be a witch-hunt on in Bangladesh. The same groups have also remarked on the government’s use of excessive force and its democracy de� cit; again, fair points.

Most Bangladeshi liberals don’t share their western counterparts’ sentiments about capital punishment, and accept that certain crimes are punishable by death. But they believe for justice to be done, and for the re-sult to be above reproach, even clearly guilty people have to be tried in the right way.

Then there are those who believe that these particular individuals might not even be the guilty ones, and point to the lack of credible evidence or corroboration as proof that the government is not concerned about real justice, just political expediency. Still others believe in forgiveness and reconciliation, Mandela-style, perhaps even Mujib-style.

Jamaat-e-Islami don’t believe these are the right people at all, naturally, since they make up a lot of the party’s leadership, but, to their credit, have expressed a desire to see the real cul-prits brought to book.

The conspicuous silence on the issue of justice for 1971 by other religious groups however, like Hefa-zat-e-Islam, is noteworthy. Their 13 points demand death for blasphemy but have nothing to say about rape, murder or arson. Like their contempo-raries in places like Pakistan, Afghan-istan and Somalia, they become ex-traordinarily verbose and even violent when it comes to things like cartoons, but say precious little about the killing of innocents.

Governments of other Muslim countries have been the murkiest of all, if not downright sketchy. The Pakistan’s Interior (Home) Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said:

“There was no doubt that Molla was hanged because of his loyalty and sol-idarity with Pakistan in 1971 … Every Pakistani is saddened and grieved over his death … It would have been better if the Bangladeshi government had shown farsightedness‚ large heart-edness and magnanimity instead of opening old wounds.”

The minister went on to say Molla remained a supporter of a united Pakistan till the very end, before the creation of Bangladesh. There are too many things wrong with this state-ment. First, the fact that it was made by the Interior Minister and not the Foreign Minister is problematic, as it remains unclear as to how this is an interior matter for Pakistan, at least anymore.

Secondly, for the government of an o� ending nation to presume to tell the government of the o� ended one what would have been “better” in terms of magnanimity, is ridiculous, especially since the same government hasn’t yet been able to muster up the magnanim-ity to o� er an apology for the events of 1971, even after having been asked for one.

Thirdly, Molla was not executed for his loyalty or solidarity but for crimes against humanity. If, however, the two are synonymous then the minister is right. By stating that Molla was loyal to a united Pakistan till the very end, Khan is inadvertently admitting that “Koshai Quader” of Mirpur, a known war criminal, and Abdul Quader Molla are one and the same person, a claim that Quader’s and Jamaat-e-Islami’s defence have been trying quite hard to disprove.

To make it worse for them, Paki-stan’s National Assembly observed a moment of silence for Quader Mollah, on 16th December no less, and then passed a resolution tabled by Jamaat-e-Islami (Pakistan), with a majority, demanding the Bangladeshi government ends cases against the Ja-maat’s leaders. Interior Minister Khan announced the government’s support of the resolution and once again took the pulpit to preach to the government of Bangladesh by saying there should be “a policy of forgive and forget.”

Despite the redundancy of a Paki-stani resolution on Bangladeshi a� airs, the fact that the interior minister of Pakistan attempts to decide what Bangladesh’s policy should or should not be, from the � oor of his House, is telling of the sort of attention he thinks his government is entitled to in my country. What’s more telling though, is the fact that Jamaat-e-Isla-mi (Pakistan) made no attempt to cor-rect Khan’s assumption that Quader Molla was in fact Koshai Quader.

There was of course, no acknowl-edgement of the atrocities of 71, until, ironically, a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MP brought it up, when he asked if Molla was not a convicted killer. The PPP opposed the resolution.

A Pakistani blogger commenting on the reactions to Molla’s execution observed that “no Tak� ri-Deobandi (Sala� groups that support Jamaat) has said a word about the hundreds of thousands of innocent Bengalis killed…”

Meanwhile, the Turkish Prime Min-ister is in it up to his elbows broker-ing, and has tried to convince Sheikh Hasina a number of times not to stay her course regarding the war crimes tribunal. His foreign minister was par-ticularly busy, shuttling between the Saudi Foreign Minister, US Secretary of State John Kerry and British Foreign Secretary William Hague, in an e� ort to prevent the execution of Quader Molla. One wonders how lovely it might have been had Turkey been this active in trying to � nd a solution to the war of 1971.

Erdogan pleaded with Hasina say-ing: “We are concerned that this exe-cution will cause increased tension in Bangladesh. Turkey believes that the sorrows of the past will not be healed by these kinds of acts, and neither will reconciliation be ensured in this way.” Last year, Turkish president Abdullah Gul sent a letter to the Bangladeshi president asking for “clemency” for the people charged with war crimes, including Molla, for the “sake of peace in society.” Note, that there was no suggestion that they might be innocent, nor an acknowledgement of our right to justice. Hours before Molla was executed, Ankara tried again to save his life, and when they were unsuccessful, issued the following statement:

“The execution of the death penal-ty sentence given to one of the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, Abdul Quader Mollah, despite all concerns and suggestions voiced by the internation-al community, including our prime minister, has led to a grave sadness and indignation. We harshly condemn this execution; may God have mercy upon him.”

Once again one wonders why such sadness or indignation didn’t fall upon the government of Turkey when the

Pakistan army was killing ordinary people in Bangladesh, or why they didn’t feel the need to act so urgently.

But it’s not really that di� cult to understand their response when you consider Turkey’s own position in the moral order of things. Its in their inter-est to hush up attempts at obtaining justice for genocide, considering they have a history of genocide against the Armenians and are, even at this very moment, persecuting the Kurds, ban-ning their language and killing their people. Of course Turkey wants “clem-ency,” they’ll want it for themselves soon enough, and the precedence of an oppressed people taking their op-pressor to task is too di� cult a reality for them to countenance.

Saudi Arabia’s reactions to the trials have also been absurd, although, thankfully, they refrained from put-ting their foot in it after the execution. But a letter sent to Sheikh Hasina last

year by an ex-Saudi ambassador was so completely patronising that one can’t help but wonder if this tone was taken because our prime minister is a woman.

Not only was it completely out of place for an ex-diplomat to address a national leader so condescendingly, but it also smacked of the sort of au-thority that is usually reserved for sen-ior family members, like uncles. In the letter the ambassador feels the need to qualify Sheikh Hasina by saying:

“This [mentioned earlier] inci-dent depicted the fact that you are a God-fearing Muslim woman. Besides, you were always keen to perform Um-rah whenever you had a chance.”

As though “approval” of her piety was somehow his to give. He then goes on to use emotional blackmail by saying, “some consider the revocation of these decisions as disrespect to your father, which is an unacceptable matter.”

After much Arab-style smooth talking, he � nally gets to the point and says, “nothing can justify the unjust decision to arrest Muslim leaders … As someone who loves Bangladesh and its people, I would like to say that many Muslim leaders all over the Mus-lim world are upset about the arrest of Muslim groups and leaders such as Professor Ghulam Azam who was accused of charges that no one would believe.”

So there it is. “Muslim leaders,” according to Saudi Arabia, and not war criminals are being persecuted in Bangladesh.

It’s of extreme signi� cance that the “Muslims leaders all over the Muslim world” were not upset when Muslims, and others, were being mowed down with genocidal intent in Bangladesh in 1971. In fact, most Muslim coun-tries sided with Pakistan and did nothing to stop the carnage, with some, like Iran, actively supporting it, and refused to recognise Bangladesh after the war was over. Saudi Arabia didn’t recognise Bangladesh even after Mujib requested it to, to allow Bengali Muslims to perform their Hajj. In the book “Mujibeyr Rokto Lal” by MR Akhtar Mukul, a meeting between Sheikh Mujib and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia at a non-alignment summit in Algiers, is described, which contains the following conversation:  

“Faisal: Your Excellency, I have heard that Bangladesh is expecting some assistance from us. But the question is, what kind of assistance are you looking for? Of course we have some pre-conditions for providing any form of assistance.

“Mujib: Your Excellency, please forgive me for my brashness. I am the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. But I don’t think Bangladesh is begging for alms from you.

“Faisal: Then what is it that you are expecting to receive from the King-dom of Saudi Arabia?

“Mujib: The pious Muslims of Bangladesh wish to claim their right to worship at the site of the Holy Kaaba.

Your Excellency, you tell me if there can be any preconditions to that?”

But in fact King Faisal did put conditions on it. For Bangladesh to be recognised by Saudi Arabia, and for Bangladeshis to be able to travel to Mecca and Madina, it would have to rename itself the “Islamic Republic of Bangladesh” and free the Pakistani prisoners of war. When Mujib asked the king what business it was of his what happens to Pakistani soldiers, he was told that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are practically the same.

So when the ex-ambassador wrote to Sheikh Hasina full of praise for Sheikh Mujib, he should have remem-bered that the government he served only recognised Bangladesh after Mu-jib was assassinated and we distanced ourselves from our traditional allies India and the Soviet Union, estab-lished Islam as the state religion and lifted bans on many Saudi-sponsored religious organisations that propagate Wahabbism.

It’s clear as day, why Saudi Arabia is concerned about the war crimes tri-bunal, but then it’s hardly surprising, considering Saudi Arabia often lets political agenda supersede principles, and had no qualms sending troops to Bahrain to quell a popular uprising for instance, or asking the US to attack Iran.

Frankly, a country that routinely beheads people for the smallest of crimes yet gives a religious cleric only 8 years in jail for raping and then savagely beating to death his own 5-year-old daughter has nothing at all to teach us about justice.

The government of Bangladesh is not answerable to any of these countries, and needs not pay attention to their requests or requirements, but it is answerable to itself, to us, the people of Bangladesh, and to posterity. This is why it is essential that the trials be conducted in the fairest and most transparent way possible.

They are establishing a legal prece-dence that will become part of history, and tampering with it will have dire long-term consequences for the way justice is dispensed in Bangladesh. If Quader Mollah was indeed innocent, then it bodes very badly for the moral integrity of this entire nation.

When Sheikh Hasina addressed the 68th UN General Assembly she told global leaders that the trial of suspect-ed war criminals was indispensable to establishing justice, human rights and the rule of law in our country, things that are the hallmarks of a self-re-specting, civilised nation.

These values are universal and surely even Islamists can see the wisdom of setting such a necessary precedence. However, everyone can also see the dangers of doing the oppo-site, and if the government, and these trials are targeting the wrong people, for the wrong reasons, then justice demands we be � ooded by a river of retribution, without the slightest bit of higher ground to stand on. l

Zeeshan Khan is a journalist.

Justice for all, lobbying for some

Civilians burst out in protest after the comments from Pakistan government representatives SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

For the government of an o� ending nation to presume to tell the government of the o� ended one what would have been ‘better’ in terms of magnanimity, is ridiculous

It’s of extreme signi� cance that the ‘Muslims leaders all over the Muslim world’ were not upset when Muslims, and others, were being mowed down with genocidal intent in Bangladeshin 1971

The religious groups become extraordinarily verbose and even violent when it comes tothings like cartoons, but say precious littleabout the killing of innocents

200 cars stolen in Germany ‘now owned by Tajik elite’About 200 cars stolen in Germany have been tracked down in Tajikistan, where most are now driven by family and friends of President Emomali Rakhmon, media and o� cials in Berlin said Thurs-day. The case of the German-registered cars, including 93 BMWs located via GPS, has caused friction between Germany and the Central Asian country, mass-cir-culation daily Bild reported. A German foreign ministry spokeswoman did not con� rm the Bild report that former foreign minister Guido Westerwelle had called in the Tajik ambassador over the case this year. However, she told AFP that “there have been talks with the Tajik side on cooperation in � ghting organised crime.” The cars were located by the “Westwind” task force of German and Lithuanian investigators, mostly using the vehicles’ GPS systems, said Berlin city justice department spokeswoman Lisa Jani. When Tajik authorities failed to respond to requests to help in the investigation, Berlin’s justice minister Thomas Heilmann wrote to Germany’s then-foreign minister Westerwelle, she told AFP.“Most of the vehicles are in the possession of people who have business or family ties with the family of the Tajik president,” Heilmann wrote to the foreign minister, said Jani. Tajikistan

has to date not replied to the request for legal assistance or taken steps to return the cars, she added.An o� cial contacted at the Tajik embassy in Berlin said he could not immediately provide an o� cial statement.

Feminist goes topless in Vatican abortion protestA leader of the Ukrainian feminist group Femen bared herself near St Peter’s Square on Thursday shouting “Christmas is cancelled!” in a protest against the Catholic Church’s stance on abortion. Inna Shevchenko, 23, went topless and ran towards the square but was stopped by some 20 police o� cers. She had “Jesus is aborted” written across her chest. The police quickly formed a barrier around the activist to prevent media from document-ing the event. Covered in a blanket, she was taken away in a police car as tourists and pilgrims looked on with bemusement. Femen activists have targeted St Peter’s Square before, including on the eve of the conclave that elected Pope Francis in March, and have begun a series of protests in Christian centres in support of abortion laws. Femen is a Ukrainian group whose members have drawn attention world-wide with nude stunts targeting a range of political and religious � gures, including Italy’s ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Friday, December 20, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE InternationalDHAKA TRIBUNE8

WORLD WATCH

Egypt court acquits ex-PM, Mubarak sons of corruptionn AFP, Cairo

An Egyptian court has acquitted Ahmed Sha� q, a former prime minister and presidential candidate, and two sons of ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak, of corruption charges.

Sha� q � ed to the United Arab Emir-ates shortly after he narrowly lost to the Islamist Mohamed Morsi in a 2012 presidential election, a year before Morsi’s overthrow by the military.

He faces another corruption trial, as do Mubarak’s sons Alaa and Gamal, and has not publicly said whether he would return and run in elections this year if acquitted of all charges.

The verdict in Sha� q’s last remain-ing case is expected later on Thursday, his lawyer Farid al-Deeb told AFP.

An acquittal should allow him to re-turn to Egypt.

Sha� q had been charged with a cor-rupt land sale to Mubarak’s sons under-taken when he was a senior aviation of-� cial in Mubarak’s government.

Sha� q later became the aviation minister and then prime minister in Mubarak’s last days in o� ce.

The military-installed government plans parliamentary and presidential elections by autumn 2014, amid wide-spread speculation that military chief Ab-del Fattah al-Sisi will compete and win.

Sisi has not con� rmed his candida-cy, but if he runs former military o� -cers such as Sha� q are expected to step aside.

Mubarak’s sons still face separate corruption trials, including one with their father, who is also accused of in-volvement in the killings of protesters during the uprising that forced him out. l

Bulgarians not ‘beggars’ in Britainn AFP, Sofi a

So� a slammed on Thursday British moves to stop EU migrants claiming unemployment bene� ts as being driv-en by unfounded “hysteria,” saying Bulgarians were not “beggars.”

“Bulgarians are not beggars in Britain,” Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin, who on Tuesday postponed a visit to London, said. “They do not exploit the social wel-fare system but contribute with the in-stalments they pay much more than they receive,” he told bTV television.

“The majority are highly educated

professionals on well-paid jobs. The rest are taking up niches on the market – lower paid, hard physical labour jobs – that the British cannot or do not want to undertake.” Prime Minister David Cameron announced on Wednesday that he would rush through legislation banning migrants from other EU coun-tries from claiming unemployment and housing bene� ts until they have been in Britain for three months.

The move was part of a package of measures to restrict “bene� t tourism” announced last month, but has been accelerated amid concerns about an in-

� ux of Romanians and Bulgarians when they gain full rights to live and work in Britain from the start of next year.

Vigenin was however categorical on Thursday that there will not be a rush to cross the English Channel, saying “in January they will see that nothing new will happen in Britain ... We will show that there is no in� ux.”

He said it was a “pity” that Camer-on had responded to anti-immigration feeling whipped up by eurosceptic UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage ahead of the European elections in 2014 and by tabloid newspapers. l

Putin says will not allow Ukrainian ‘Maidan’ in Moscown AFP, Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday indicated that authorities would break up any protest encamp-ment similar to a weeks-long opposi-tion tent city set up in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

“I will act in accordance with the law of the Russian Federation,” Putin said in response to a question wheth-er he would allow Russian opposition protesters to set up a Russian version of the Ukrainian “Maidan” tent city on Red Square or other landmarks.

“Any such actions should remain within the framework of the law,” Pu-tin told reporters during an annual news conference.

“If someone goes outside this framework then the state is obliged – I would like to stress that this is not po-litical will but an obligation of the au-thorities – to bring about order.”

“Otherwise such a development of events can lead to chaos,” the Russian strongman said.

Ukrainian opposition has over the past month led protests against Presi-dent Viktor Yanukovych over his deci-

sion to scrap an integration pact with the EU, setting up a tent city on Inde-pendence Square in Kiev and blockad-ing key public buildings.

Ukrainian riot police have made several failed attempts to push the pro-testers from the square.

The Ukrainian word for the square – the Maidan – came to symbolise the country’s protest movement.

Putin’s decision to return to the Kremlin for a third term last year re-en-ergised Russia’s fragmented opposi-tion which mustered huge protests in 2011-2012. l

US envoy in CAR in bid to end violencen AFP, Bangui

The US envoy to the United Nations � ew into Central African Republic Thursday on a surprise visit to urge its leaders to help end brutal violence, warning the people were “in profound danger.”

Samantha Power is the highest-level US o� cial to visit the CAR, which has plunged into anarchy with inter-reli-gious violence that has killed hundreds of people.

Power, who before joining the US administration was a journalist and vocal human rights activist, said Amer-ican leaders were “deeply disturbed” by the brutality which has forced some 400,000 people to � ee their homes.

“The people in Central African Re-public are in profound danger, and we all have a responsibility which we must meet to help them move away from the abyss,” she told reporters on Wednesday.

The country spiralled into chaos af-ter a March coup in which the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel group overthrew president Francois Bozize.

Rebel leader Michel Djotodia was in-stalled as the � rst Muslim leader of the majority Christian nation and disband-ed the Seleka, but many rebels went rogue, spreading terror which govern-ment forces could not stop.

Months of brutal massacres, rapes and looting have followed, with locals forming Christian vigilante groups in response to the atrocities. Top US o� -cials have already warned the CAR is in a “pre-genocidal” phase.

Amnesty International reported Thursday that 1,000 people were killed in Bangui two weeks ago by ex-Seleka rebels in a two-day spasm of violence after Christian militias went door-to-door and killed about 60 Muslims.

During her eight-hour stay accom-panied by Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Linda Thomas-Green� eld, Power was to meet Djotodia as well as Muslim and Christian religious leaders.

“All of those actors in CAR who have in� uence must use it, and use their voices to try to help ease the fears... and restore calm,” she said.

She was to urge the leaders to back a UN-mandated African stabilisation force known as MISCA as it disarms militias and to “explore every avenue to ensure proper and full implementa-tion” of a roadmap towards elections in 2015. l

Erdogan battles political � restorm ahead of key pollsn AFP, Ankara

A sweeping corruption investigation implicating some of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s clos-est allies is threatening to weaken his grip on power ahead of key elections next year.

At least 51 people including the sons of three ministers and several top business leaders were detained in a series of dawn raids on Tuesday, in the biggest investigation into o� cial corruption since Erdogan took o� ce in 2002.

The detentions have set o� a polit-ical � restorm in Turkey and exposed bitter fault lines in Erdogan’s tradition-al power base, particularly a festering row with a powerful Muslim cleric.

Erdogan has described the investi-gation as a “dirty operation” to smear his Islamic-leaning government ahead of the polls and undermine Turkey’s ambitions to become a major political and economic power.

He also accused those behind the raids of acting like a “state within a state,” a possible reference to the or-

ganisation headed by in� uential Mus-lim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who has supporters in the police and the judi-ciary.

Emre Uslu, a columnist for the Zaman daily, said the a� air had “tar-nished the government’s image in the eyes of the voters.”

“From now on, no conservative will be able to defend this party by claiming that it has put an end to corruption,” he wrote in Zaman, which is owned by Gulen.

Several dozen senior police o� cers have been sacked in the wake of the raids, including Istanbul police chief Huseyin Capkin, for “abusing their power.”

Erdogan has warned that more sack-ings could follow.

Those detained in the raids in Istan-bul and Ankara are suspected of nu-merous o� ences including accepting and facilitating bribes for development projects and securing construction per-mits for protected areas in exchange for money, as well as gold smuggling and money laundering, according to press reports.

Nine people were released Wednes-day, according to Turkish media, but the rest remain in custody.

The operation has exposed deep fractures in Erdogan’s traditional sup-port base, particularly a dispute be-tween the government and Gulen.

The Gulen movement was a key supporter of Erdogan’s Justice and De-velopment Party (AKP), helping it to win three elections in a row since 2002.

‘Erdogan’s credibility on the line’But government plans unveiled last

month to close down a network of pri-vate schools run by Gulen’s Hizmet (Service) movement appear to have shattered the alliance.

The timing of the scandal could not be worse for Erdogan, coming just days after he launched the AKP’s campaign for municipal elections in March.

Those elections will be a key test for the Turkish strongman, who has set his sights on becoming president if a new constitution gives the post sweeping US-style executive powers.

A presidential election is due to be held in August, followed by legislative elections in 2015. l

Yanukovych tells West to stay out of Ukraine crisisn AFP, Kiev

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanu-kovych Thursday told the West to stay out of his country’s political crisis, af-ter top European and US diplomats vis-ited the protests that have raged for a month in central Kiev.

In the � rst live interview with Ukraine’s main television channels since the crisis broke last month, Yanu-kovych said a bailout deal with Moscow did not contravene Kiev’s EU hopes but said Ukraine could still join clauses of a rival Kremlin-led trade bloc.

Both the United States and the Eu-ropean bloc has sided with opposition protesters, with senior Western diplo-matic � gures pointedly meeting with their leaders and attending protests.

“I am categorically against others coming to our country and teaching us how to live,” Yanukovych told reporters.

“What is very important is that this is our internal matter, and that other countries do not intervene in our inter-nal a� airs.”

Russia’s stunning bailout package has infuriated the Ukrainian opposi-tion leading mass protests against Ya-nukovych, whom they have accused of selling out to the Kremlin after reject-ing an integration deal with the Euro-pean Union.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday agreed to buy $15 billion (11 billion euros) of Ukraine’s debt in

eurobonds and slash Ukraine’s gas bill by a third.

“Here (in the signed documents) there is no contradiction between Ukraine’s course and whatever kind of integration,” Yanukovych said.

“We are not talking about integra-tion, we are talking about economic re-lations,” he said, referring to ties with Russia which has pressed Kiev to join a Moscow-led Customs Union.

The Ukrainian government last month unexpectedly halted work on key political and free trade agreements with the European Union, sparking the largest demonstrations since the pro-democracy Orange Revolution in 2004.

Yanukovych added that Ukraine “took a pause” to decide on “what con-ditions we are signing the free trade zone agreement (with the EU).”

“When we will see that this is advan-tageous to us then no doubt a positive decision will be taken,” the Ukrainian president said.

Yanukovych also acknowledged that Kiev could adhere to certain clauses of the Customs Union which includes ex-Soviet Belarus and Kazakhstan.

“The government of Ukraine has received these (Customs Union) docu-ments and is examining their clauses. And after drawing conclusions, we will decide which clauses (of the Customs Union) to join,” Yanukovych said in the interview. lSupporters of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich watch a broadcast of his news conference as they attend a rally in Kiev REUTERS

Protesters demonstrate against Turkey’s ruling Ak Party (AKP) government and demand that Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s resign because of the corruption investigation, in Ankara REUTERS

9Friday, December 20, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE International‘Conspiracy’ behind US arrest of Indian envoyn Agencies

India has alleged that the recent ar-rest of one of its top diplomats in the US was part of a conspiracy, a charge that has gained momentum with the emergence of new facts surrounding the incident threatening bilateral ties between the two global powers.

Media reports on Wednesday sug-gested that Washington acted con-spiratorially against Indian advice and legal injunctions, and has even given visas to the family of the nanny - at the heart of the dispute - who is being sought by the Indian police.

Devyani Khobragade, India’s deputy consul-general in the US, was arrested, handcu� ed and then strip-searched, on a complaint that she had been pay-ing the nanny Sangeetha Richards less than $3 per hour, far less than the mini-mum wage stipulated in the US.

The diplomat also faces allegations of � ling wrong information in the visa approval form of Richards.

Richards, who was in the employ of Khobragade, deserted her employer and went missing in June this year. This trig-gered the series of events leading to the diplomat’s arrest. Richards contacted Khobragade and demanded compensa-tion failing which she threatened to go to US law enforcement agencies.

What gives a conspiratorial twist to “Nannygate” is that despite the fact that the Indian government informed its counterparts in Washington about Richards’ actions, the US authori-ties disregarded the information and seemed to have acted in conjunction with the domestic help.

Indian foreign minister Salman Khurshid openly echoed the suspi-cions in parliament on Wednesday stating that Khobragade was trapped

in a “conspiracy.” He said, “She is in-nocent. It is not the illegality that she is accused of, but the illegality she re-fused to oblige.”

A Delhi court had a couple of months ago also issued arrest warrant against Richards following a complaint that she attempted to extort money from Khobragade. The US authorities completely ignored the court ruling, reports said.

Also, just two days before the dip-lomat’s arrest, Richards’s husband and two children � ew out of New Delhi to the US on a special visa. Questions are

being asked over the issuance of the T-visa which allows the family to work and stay in the US on the condition they help US enforcement authorities.

Technically, Richards is missing but reports suggest that she is in the friendly custody of US authorities. Her husband and the two children too have reportedly joined her in the US.

Incidentally, the husband and the two children in India received their passports only in the last couple of months. O� cials in New Delhi have started an inquiry into how they man-aged to get passports despite being un-

der the scanner of the police.According to reports, more inter-

esting is the fact that Richards’s father is an employee of the US embassy in New Delhi. Her mother used to be the housekeeper of a former top US dip-lomat in the Indian capital. Richards’s husband Philip is reportedly a driver in Delhi’s Mozambique embassy.

O� cials in New Delhi are quoted as saying that the proximity of Richards’s parents to the US consulate must have helped Richards in her e� orts to nail Khobragade, with the help of US en-forcement agencies.

Meanwhile, reacting to Indian anger and measures in retaliation following the “common criminal” type treatment of senior diplomat Khobragade, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the issue must not be allowed to hurt ties between the two friendly countries.

He also said it was important that all courtesies be extended to foreign diplo-mats similar to the way the US expects its diplomats to be treated elsewhere.

Meanwhile, US federal prosecutor Preet Bharara, who made the highly unusual move of issuing a lengthy state-ment addressing the arrest and issues not in a criminal complaint, said on Wednesday that Khobragade was a� ord-ed courtesies most Americans wouldn’t get - such as being allowed to make phone calls for two hours to arrange child care and sort out personal matters - after she was discretely arrested by US Department of State agents outside her children’s Manhattan school.

Bharara said Khobragade wasn’t handcu� ed, restrained or arrested in front of her children. And he said that while she was “fully searched” in pri-vate by a female deputy marshal, the move was a standard safety practice all defendants undergo.

Bharara, who was born in India but moved with his family to New Jersey, defended the case.

“One wonders whether any govern-ment would not take action regarding false documents being submitted to it in order to bring immigrants into the country,” he said in the statement.

“And one wonders why there is so much outrage about the alleged treat-ment of the Indian national accused of perpetrating these acts, but pre-cious little outrage about the alleged treatment of the Indian victim and her spouse?” l

North, South Korea hold � rst talks since Pyongyang purgen AFP, Seoul

North and South Korea Thursday held their � rst talks since Pyongyang’s shock purge raised tensions, meeting at a joint industrial park in the North as a delegation of G20 o� cials toured the facility.

Last week’s execution of Jang Song-Thaek, a high-level o� cial who was the uncle and former political mentor of leader Kim Jong-Un, sparked interna-tional fears of instability in the nucle-ar-armed North.

The last round of North-South talks about the operations of the Kaesong in-dustrial zone was in September, when the complex – just over the border in North Korea – reopened after a � ve-month closure caused by military ten-sions.

The meeting in Kaesong coincid-ed with a trip by a 25-member foreign delegation to Kaesong as South Korea seeks outside investors in the estate, hoping their involvement would pre-vent the North shutting it down in the future. l

Raids, shells kill 26 after Pakistan suicide attackn AFP, Miranshah

At least 23 suspected militants plus three civilians have been killed in raids and shelling by Pakistani forces in the country’s troubled northwest, o� cials said Thursday.

The violence in North Waziristan tribal district came a day after a sui-cide bombing at a military checkpoint killed � ve soldiers and wounded 34 others.

Ansarul Mujahideen, a lit-tle-known militant group linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the suicide attack.

A senior military o� cial said 23 mil-itants were killed overnight in � ght-ing with security forces in North Wa-ziristan, a known hotbed of the TTP and Al-Qaeda linked militants.

Clashes erupted after the insurgents attacked a convoy of security forces which was returning after rescuing sol-diers wounded in Wednesday’s bomb-

ing, the o� cial said on condition of anonymity.

The death toll could not be veri� ed independently because of an ongoing search operation and curfew in the area.

Earlier, local security o� cials said six of the suspected militants had been killed during raids on two hotels.

“Pakistani security forces raided two hotels in the area close to the site of the suicide bombing and intense gunbattles left six suspected militants dead and 12 others wounded,” a local security o� cial told AFP.

Separately, shells � red by Pakistani security forces hit a house in Moski vil-lage and killed a woman and her two daughters, the local o� cial said.

Military o� cials did not con� rm the civilian deaths.

The TTP has led a bloody campaign against the Pakistani state in recent years, carrying out hundreds of attacks on security forces and government tar-gets, mainly in the northwest. l

Suicide Bomber Kills 3 Soldiers In Attack On Pakistan Checkpointn Reuters, Pakistan

A suicide bomb attack on a Pakistani checkpoint in the lawless region of North Waziristan killed at least three soldiers and wounded 32 people on Wednesday, intelligence and militant sources said. Pakistan is � ghting an increasingly active insurgency mounted by Taliban � ght-ers, adding to a list of concerns for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at a time when the government is trying to engage mil-itants in peace talks. Intelligence sourc-es told Reuters that a truck laden with explosives rammed into a checkpoint in North Waziristan, a stronghold for al Qaeda-linked Taliban militants, killing at least three military personnel.

A Taliban source told Reuters the attack was in revenge for continued US drone strikes in the region against mil-itants holed up the mountainous areas on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.

The Pakistani army imposed a cur-few in the area after the attack, said in-telligence sources. Another source said at least six government troops were killed. l

Thailand political crisis set for crunch weekend, opposition mulls boycottn AFP, Bangkok

Thailand’s political crisis is poised to enter a crucial new phase this weekend as the main opposition mulls a possible boycott of snap polls and protesters ramp up rallies aimed at toppling the government.

Bangkok has been rocked by weeks of street marches, with demonstrators invading government buildings and gathering in their thousands in the lat-est eruption of political unrest in the turbulent nation.

The protests are calling for democ-racy to be suspended and want to rid the country of premier Yingluck Shinawatra and the in� uence of her brother Thaksin – an ousted billionaire ex-premier who is despised by a coali-tion of the southern Thai poor, Bang-kok middle classes and elite.

They have been joined by the oppo-sition Democrat Party, which resigned en masse from parliament to join ral-lies.

But analysts say Yingluck’s an-nouncement of February 2 elections has thrust the Democrats onto the horns of a dilemma.

If they choose to boycott the poll, Thailand’s oldest party risks being excluded from the political process, while a decision to join will dismay protesters who have vowed to disrupt the vote.

“They are damned if they do, damned if they don’t,” said Paul Cham-bers director of research at the Insti-tute of South East Asian A� airs at Chi-ang Mai University.

A Democrat boycott in 2006 helped

create the political uncertainty which heralded the military coup that ousted Thaksin.

But Chambers said new election rules have upped the stakes for the op-position, meaning they risk losing their electoral bases.

The party “would be doomed to the wilderness if they boycott and Peau Thai (ruling party) picks up the pro-Democrat constituencies,” he said.

Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, a British-born Oxford educated former premier, has said his party will meet to decide its stance on Saturday a day ahead of a planned major rally by the protesters, who are led by his � rebrand former deputy Suthep Thaugsuban.

Experts say the protests are sup-ported by powerful behind-the-scenes forces, in a country where the royalist army and establishment have acted as power brokers in the country, which has seen nearly 20 successful or at-tempted coups in the last 80 years.

Suthep, who has given caustic nightly speeches against the Shinawa-tras, has dismissed the election, saying it will install another Thaksin-aligned government.

Earlier rallies have drawn at least 150,000 supporters at their peak to the streets, in some of the largest demon-strations for years in the politically-di-vided kingdom.

“If the Democrats decide to partic-ipate, then Suthep and his movement may have to focus on pushing for a post-ponement of the polls publicly and per-haps for a coup privately,” said Michael Montesano at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. l

Tibetan monk sets self on � re in Chinan AFP, Beijing

A Tibetan monk set himself on � re in northwest China on Thursday, state media said, in what Tibetan media de-scribed as a suicide in protest against Chinese policies.

The monk, 43, “committed self-im-molation,” in Gansu province, which has a heavy ethnic Tibetan population, state-run news service Xinhua said on a social media account.

There have been more than 120 sim-ilar acts by Tibetans in China and else-where since 2009, most of them fatal.

India-based Tibetan news website Phayul.com reported that the monk, named Tsuiltrim Gyatso, had died after setting himself on � re “to protest the Chinese government.”

The website published a photo appar-ently showing Gyatso’s body engulfed in � ames, with his skin charred black.

Self-immolations peaked in the run-up to the ruling Communist Party’s � ve-yearly congress last November,

but have become less common in re-cent months

A Tibetan father-of-two set himself on � re in protest earlier this month, US-backed broadcaster Radio Free Asia and a Tibetan rights group reported.

A monk set himself on � re in a Tibet-an area of Qinghai province in north-west China last month, reports said.

Two Tibetan monks reportedly died in April after setting themselves on � re at Aba in the southern province of Si-chuan.

Beijing condemns the acts and blames them on exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama, saying he uses them to further a separatist agenda.

But Tibetans and human rights groups say the protests are a response to Beijing’s tight controls on their exer-cise of religion.

The Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace lau-reate who has lived in India since 1959 after a failed uprising in Tibet, has de-scribed the burnings as acts of despera-tion that he is powerless to stop. l

We’re still friends, says India minister after row with USn AFP, New Delhi

India wants to ensure the furore over the arrest and strip-search of a female diplomat in New York does not do last-ing harm to its “valuable relationship” with the US, its foreign minister said Thursday.

“I can’t believe that either side wants to put at risk a very valuable re-lationship in which we have made an enormous investment,” Salman Khur-shid told India’s CNN-IBN network.

“Things happen between friends, even things that are terrible.

“The whole thing about friendship is that it survives, survives the test of this nature.” Khurshid was speaking the day after US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with India’s National Secu-rity Adviser Shivshankar Menon to try to ease tensions sparked by last Thurs-day’s arrest of New York-based diplo-mat Devyani Khobragade.

The 39-year-old, who is now free on bail, was detained over allegations that she paid a domestic worker a fraction of the minimum wage and lied about the employee’s salary in a visa appli-cation.

Her arrest and subsequent revela-tions that she was strip-searched have caused outrage in India. It prompted the government to take a series of re-prisals, including the removal of pro-tective barricades outside the Ameri-can embassy in New Delhi. In an email to colleagues Khobragade wrote that she was repeatedly strip-searched and then subjected to a cavity search.

However Preet Bharara, the US fed-eral prosecutor handling her case, has insisted Khobragade was arrested in the “most discreet” way possible, was never handcu� ed and was searched by a female deputy marshal in private. l

Anti-government protesters march during a rally at a major business district in Bangkok December 19, 2013. Anti-government protesters marched in Bangkok REUTERS

Right-wing Indian Hindu activists dressed as US President Barack Obama take part in a protest near the US Embassy in New Delhi AFP

Closer than you may think, Mandela and MujibDecember 12

bulbulA lot of speculation here. No two politicians are alike. One can be compared with the other but in the end it is history who decides their worth and stature.

RuhelGood article. Lots of ifs and buts; however, it raises some interesting scenarios. Too much polarity when speaking of Bangabandhu. Awami League overdoes it and BNP is at the other end. It’s now up to the educated younger generation to make their own minds.

Robert ImamThe “you” in the title is me! As different as their careers and situations have been, they are not even close.

Farzana Nawaz Robert Imam: I wish I could “like” this comment multiple times!

kabdullah Robert Imam: True.

A AlamMujib could have been a Mandela if he had trusted in democracy. Mandela walked away from power after a single term in office. If only Mujib had done the same.

Abu Mahboob“Qui tacet consentire videtur.” He who is silent appears to consent.

In the spirit of not remaining silent, I’m com-pelled by my sanity to share my anschauung regard-ing the current state of my nation. I do not belong to any political organisation nor do I support any of the current political views, parties or leaders (I do not � nd anyone worthy of calling a leader at present). My thoughts are intended only to serve the interest of humanity.

It seems to me we only liberated ourselves from a foreign entity so that we can continue to oppress ourselves by ourselves.

Let’s start from the very beginning. One sunny afternoon my father carried me on his shoulder for hours just to meet a human that he considered and respected as a leader, and to whom he o� ered his loyalty and trust, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – as Father of the Nation, undoubtedly a deserving title. As time passed, however, I found him a failure. Upon accepting the responsibilities to lead a nation, he failed miserably. Farakkha Barrage – I � nd it pernicious that a father of the nation can turn a blind eye to such an atrocity. I’m not suggesting that we forget his contributions, but let’s not get carried away.

Four decades after independence it is beyond my comprehension to � nd my nation at a point where all our sacri� ces, intellect, civil rights, and above all justice are held hostage by the very enti-ties that are supposed to uphold them.

Lack of justice pushes us further and further from humanity. My nation is at the brink of self-de-struction due to greed for power, regardless of the cost. The price we are paying far exceeds the rewards we will reap and the spirit of democracy is non-existent.

We must inspire ourselves from our independ-ence and refrain from breeding hatred and violence. Hanging a human is not the paragon of justice rather far from it.

I’m pleading for the future, for a time when vio-lence and hatred will not control my nation; rather we can coexist and live by reason and understand-ing. I’m pleading for a time when we can have faith that every life is precious, and worth saving. I dream of a day when mercy, compassion and justice will be the most e� ulgent attributes for us.

It is with a heavy heart I assert that help will not come from outside to save us from ourselves. We ourselves must take up this task.

Tandua ketraNiaz Alam writes very well. He has a great imagi-nation too, that is admirable. However, comparing Sheikh Mujib with Mandela is futile. One is great. The other could have been.

Editorial: End the crisis to save economyDecember 16

Cyclone Shahed We want relief! We want relief! I see a famine is knocking at our door.

Syed Hashemi The politicians don’t care or understand any of this. They only care about power, not the destruction of the economy.

AL turns back the clock ‘to compromise’December 17

Sayad KalakuttaBNP should have time to fulfil or break some of its promises. Hence, “compromise.”

Parveen AhmedIs this not manipulating the polls? Khaleda is right, no fair polls can be held under AL leadership.

Protect BishwajitDas’s family

Relatives of Bishwajit Das have expressed fears for their safety after the conviction and sentencing of Mr Das’s murderers on Wednesday.

While it is welcome that the courts have duly tried the 21 people involved in the murder, the family are naturally concerned that two of the people given the most severe sentence are currently absconding and 11 of the 13 persons given life sentences are still on the run.

It is imperative that the police provide all necessary protection to assuage the family’s fears.

As well as su� ering from a horri� c crime, Mr Das’s father and brother had to testify at the murder trial and justly deserve public protection as well as sympathy.

In order to fully provide justice, every e� ort must be made to apprehend the remaining absconders.

The courts have acted decisively to show that politically connected persons should not expect leniency for crimes they commit. The government should leave no room for doubt that it too supports this message, by publicly supporting the police in catching the 13 convicted perpetrators who remain at large.

Boro farmers need a hand

Disruptions in distribution of fertiliser and diesel have raised fears that the harvest of Boro paddy in April-May next year may get seriously hampered. The

government has been unable to ensure transportation safety, and Boro farmers have been running short of diesel for irrigation equipment.

The government must improve conditions for farmers by taking sensible steps to overcome the detrimental e� ects on the production of Boro rice being caused by hartals and blockades.

To make matters worse, some sellers have taken advantage of this situation by hoarding fertiliser and seeking to sell it to farmers at an unnaturally high price.

Boro rice accounts for 60% of the country’s demand for rice and is clearly our most important staple crop. December is a crucial time in Boro production, as this is when farmers apply fertiliser to accelerate growth ahead of the spring harvest. Stocks of fertiliser are reported to be high, so it is the hold up to distribution which is causing the most concern.

If the present situation does not improve, there will be a threat of shortages and more rice may need to be imported. Everyone will be hurt in the pocket, especially the Boro farmers and the mass of people who depend on a� ordable rice as their main food.

The government needs to be pro-active in addressing the risks which are apparent and in helping farmers. All political parties need to step back from the types of confrontation and unrest which are directly threatening the country’s main food producers in this way.

Editorial10

www.dhakatribune.com

DHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, December 20, 2013

LETTER OF THE DAY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

Letters to the Editor

The government must improve conditions for farmers and overcome the harm to Boro rice production caused by hartals and blockades

In order to fully provide justice, every e� ort must be made to apprehend the remaining absconders

Nation observes Victory DayDecember 16

December 16 is Victory Day, and what about after the 16th? Nothing but hartals and blockades!Najeeb Ahmed

72-hr blockade from Tuesday 6amDecember 16

Independence, my foot. We should have been mourning the country’s birth today and all the people who died for no good reason.

Elizabeth Bass

How to solve Sudoku:Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no num-ber repeating.

CROSSWORD YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

ACROSS1 Handle (6)4 Uncooked (3)7 Oily fruit (5)8 Great number (6)11 Nourished (3)12 Minute particle (4)13 Prophet (4)15 Radiolocation (5)16 Presents (5)20 Hurried (4)23 Tidy (4)24 Sheep’s cry (3)25 Exact satisfaction for (6)26 Beneath (5)27 Word of acceptance (3)28 Sti� ed laugh (6)

DOWN1 Grinding tooth (5)2 Give life to (7)3 Vast ages (4)4 Prevalent (4)5 A� rm with con� dence (4)6 Marry (3)9 Greek letter (3)10 Deity (3)14 Distinguished (7)17 Marsh (3)18 Tie-on label (3)19 Bullock (5)20 Of sound mind (4)21 Cushions (4)22 Hand-thrown missile (4)24 Purchase (3)

Crossword

Code-Cracker

SUDOKU

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11Op-Ed Friday, December 20, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Zafar Sobhan

My initial reaction to the political machinations and maneuvers in the run-up to the upcom-ing elections is: you

cannot be serious. It sometimes seems as though we reside not in an inde-pendent country at all, but inside the world of some kind of elaborate farce or comedy sketch.

What can you say about elections in which fully 154 seats out of 300 are going to be uncontested, with the sole candidates in those constituen-cies elected unopposed? Doesn’t that seem, a tad … what is the word I’m looking for here … oh, that’s right … undemocratic?

Think about it for a moment. More than half of the seats have already

been decided without a single ballot being cast. If you happen to live in one of those 154 constituencies, you are out of luck – no vote for you! In short, over 48 million out of the roughly 92 million voters will not get to vote in the upcoming elections on January 5.

This is unprecedented, even for Bangladesh. Even in the elections held by BNP in February 1996 and boycott-ed by all the other major parties, there were only 49 uncontested seats, and in the aborted January 2006 elections boycotted by the AL and its allies, there were only 18 seats uncontested.

We have had our fair share of dodgy elections in Bangladesh, but the up-coming January 5 polls look like they will comfortably set a new standard for travesty. Even by Bangladeshi stand-ards this is pretty breath-taking stu� . Forget about the fact that 44 million

voters won’t have much of an e� ective choice. The other 48 million have no choice at all.

We all agree that the February 1996 elections were a sham and that the aborted January 2006 elections would have been, had they gone ahead.

So how can we take these elections seriously, when they are already so non-participatory and so self-evident-ly unrepresentative?

How can the ruling party be serious

about holding elections like this? It is no longer a question of whether an election without BNP can be consid-ered acceptable. It is no longer a ques-tion of whether the elections should be held under a caretaker government or not.

The question is how can elections, where more than half the voters are not even given the chance to vote, be considered in any way acceptable.

Please understand this isn’t a brief

in favour of the BNP. The bottom line is that the people of Bangladesh have been denied the chance to cast a vote. Not just in favour of the BNP, mind you, but for 48 percent of them, any vote at all.

Now under the law of the land, if there is only one candidate, he or she is elected unopposed. But if the law supposes that, then, to paraphrase Charles Dickens, the law is an ass. It is transparently unjust to give people no choice in who their representative is. It is certainly undemocratic.

But that’s not all, folks. There’s more.

Not content with holding an election in which the main opposition is not only not participating, but in which most of its leaders are actually behind bars, we hit a new low with the recent comedy surrounding our

octogenarian ex-dictator, HM Ershad. The spectacle was riveting.

The AL had been setting great store by the participation in the election of his Jatiyo Party, so when he indicat-ed that he was planning to drop out, clearly something had to be done. I am not sure which genius came up with the plan of arresting him and con� ning him until after the deadline to withdraw nominations had passed, but astonishingly, that is precisely what happened. And now he is being shipped o� to Malaysia until after the elections so he can’t make more trouble.

I have heard of people being forci-bly withdrawn from elections against their wishes, but never before have I heard of someone forced to run for o� ce. This is surely a � rst.

The AL has succeeded in keeping the JP in the elections, technically. But I’m afraid that it hasn’t done anything much for the credibility of the process or for its own reputation.

Then again, by now it is perfect-ly clear that the AL game-plan is to simply forge ahead with elections on January 5 without concern for whether the elections would be credible and representative or for how it makes them look to the electorate.

The sheer e� rontery is impressive, in its own way. The AL simply doesn’t care about what the people want or how it looks and they are no longer even pretending to care. I guess you have to admire the honesty, if nothing else.

It makes you want to shake your head and smile. They can’t be serious, right? This is some kind of a joke, sure-ly. But that’s the problem. This isn’t a joke. This is deadly serious. This is our life. And the joke is on us. l

Zafar Sobhan is the Editor, Dhaka Tribune.

Referendum as a solutionn Shibli Kaiser Aziz

As our country faces one of its most dire political crises, leav-ing the citizens and the nation

crippled, we should ask ourselves this: “What do the citizens of Bangladesh see as a real solution to the political gridlock that is ensuing?” Our consti-tution was made on the principles of protecting the rights, privileges, and security of every citizen of our coun-try. Our political leaders have betrayed us and we, the people, need to step in to help decide the fate of our country.

Right now, it seems to boil down to one critical issue – that of an accept-able polls time government. It is high time the voices of the people are

heard. A referendum should be called on the issue of a “non-party govern-ment,” and we, the people, can voice our opinions.

There are examples all over the world where referenda are used as a tool for governance. Our prime exam-ples are the French revolutionaries who used direct democracy as a meth-od to realise their goals. Switzerland, in the mid-nineteenth century, used referenda as tools to aid representative government, and continues to do so today.

The United States of America also uses referenda to help the government understand the people’s views and also popularise them. Direct democra-cy can be a part of normal governance if there is political will coupled with the desire to rise above personal or party grati� cation and serve the coun-try with the highest principles.

There are many points in favour of referenda. Some that come to mind are: direct democracy shows the will of the people; important constitutional issues can be legitimised by referenda; if there are any � aws in the theory of a mandate, voters can help with their views, and the government can gain major support and approval by listening to the citizens; political par-ticipation increases; it provides a clear answer for controversial questions.

Now, the question put up in the referendum is a major determining element for the outcome. It has been observed in many countries that the question may be made needlessly complex in order to deter people from voting. Hence, great care must be tak-en on the wording of the question.

Democracy – we all aspire to its ideals, in its inclusiveness, and the equity it adheres to. Well, if we are to be a true democracy, we need to fol-low due process. I would like to urge the people of our beloved country to seriously think about this matter and discuss the idea of a referendum in all the relevant platforms. l

Shibli Kaiser Aziz is a founding member at CARES, an organisation dedicated to the advancement of Bangladesh through science and technology.

You cannot be seriousS T R A I G H T T A L K

AFP

I have heard of people being forcibly withdrawn from elections against their wishes, but never before have I heard of someone forced to run for o� ce. This is surely a � rst

We have had our fair share of dodgy elections in Bangladesh, but the upcoming January 5 polls look like they will comfortably set a new standard for travesty

Will Pakistan ever realise?n Ekram Kabir

The response to war criminal Quader Molla’s execution in Bangladesh by one minister,

Imran Khan’s PTI, and the parliament in Pakistan, evoked only one question in my mind: “Will Pakistan ever realise how brutal it was in 1971?” The reac-tion of Pakistan Jamaat didn’t come as a surprise, since Jamaat, as we saw over the years, has always been on the wrong side of history in every country.

But it was interesting to see how the hearts of some Pakistani MPs and politicians burnt after Molla, one of their killing machines, was hanged in Bangladesh. Makhdoom Javed Hash-mi, the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba-turned-PML-turned-PTI leader, declared Molla Shaheed-e-Pakistan.

The response displayed the true psychological state of this section of Pakistani politicians: they agree, in open daylight, that they used their killing apparatus in the erstwhile East Pakistan in ’71. It also showed that these politicians would do so again, if given another chance.

It’s strange to see how they are claiming the executed Molla; how some of these Pakistani politicians, it seems, are still considering Bangla-desh as theirs. It’s also strange to see how the hearts of these people burn when they cannot keep their house in order.

Their response to Molla’s execution also reminds me of how the overall Pakistani population feels about Bang-ladesh being independent, about their government’s killing-spree, about how they engaged their local cohorts for butchering the innocent Bengalis. Pa-kistanis are still taught, in school text-books, that the Pakistani state hadn’t

run any sort of atrocities in the eastern part; they are taught that it was an at-tempt to save the Pakistani nation, but they didn’t succeed because of India. A section of Pakistanis still believe that Muktibahinis were Indian agents as well as terrorists.

That’s how they continue to trans-mit the political part of Bangladesh’s liberation war, but they still don’t own up to their own cruelty and vicious-ness in the name of saving Pakistan.

They still consider that it was quite normal to kill all those Bengalis by vitiating the local assailants and letting them loose on the innocent Bengalis. The local attackers, like Molla, were helping the Pakistani army to kill peo-ple in the name of saving Islam as well as the Islamic Republic.

Perhaps they had forgotten, as they still do, how the Bengali population, being the majority, had helped in forming the state of Pakistan in 1947. The upholders of Pakistan did realise it as they remained oblivious about their injustices during the years.

Well, if they thought they were right in saying that there wasn’t any massacre campaign in Bangladesh, why didn’t they publish the full text of the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report? Pakistan has a track record of shrugging o� responsibilities. It didn’t even try its own assassins who mur-dered its own leaders – from Liaquat Ali Khan to Benazir Bhutto. And it is asking us to do the same. Who are the Pakistanis to ask us to open or not to open the 1971 cases? Pakistan has proven to be one of the worst nations in the world when it comes to setting any record straight.

This is how the world knows that the Pakistani ruling elite never realises anything; they perhaps don’t even have the ability to come to their senses about their brutal psyche since the inception of the Pakistani state. If they had the ability, they would have apologised to Bangladesh by now for the massacre committed here.

Yes, of course the humane and awakened section of Pakistan has been apologising to Bangladeshi people on

behalf of their government for those heinous acts; they have also appealed to their government in seeking an apol-ogy for the Bangladeshi people. But the state’s lack of ability to realise its own brutality always prevented Pakistan from doing so. It never communicated with Bangladesh at the state level.

Perhaps, the ruling elite don’t feel the need for a fair closure after what they did to Bangladesh during the war; perhaps they still want to be consoled in thinking that India had broken up Pakistan; perhaps, they don’t want to be reminded about their own failures; perhaps, deep inside their minds, they did recognise Bangladesh as an inde-pendent country. Poor, Pakistan!

If it wasn’t poor, then its parlia-ment as well as the politicians who claimed Molla as their martyr would have considered what the people of Pakistan thought about Bangladesh’s liberation war and the brutality of their state in 1971. I’m sure the Paki-stani parliament and the politicians were not issuing statements on behalf of all Pakistanis. l

Ekram Kabir is Executive Editor of Natunbarta.com.

L A R G E R T H A N L I F E

Pakistan has a track record of shrugging o� responsibilities. It didn’t even try its own assassins who murdered its own leaders – from Liaquat Ali Khan to Benazir Bhutto. And it is asking us to do the same

It’s strange to see how they are claiming the executed Molla; how some of these Pakistani politicians, it seems, are still considering Bangladesh as theirs

A referendum should be called on the issue of a ‘non-party government,’ and we, the people, can voice our opinions

DHAKA TRIBUNE

ON TVMOVIE

2:33pmHBODistrict 98:00pm Star MoviesMr Beans Holiday

DRAMA10:00pm Star PlusYeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hain10:30pm SonyCID

NEWS5:30pm Independent TvPurba Pashchim7:00pm Desh TvNews

MIXED10:30am TLCThe Little Paris Kitchen10:30pm Travel XPXplore India

COMEDY10:00am Comedy CentralWorld Palooza5:00pm ColorsComedy Nights With Kapil

Blues music concert todayn Entertainment Desk

A blues music concert performed by six pop-ular bands will be held today afternoon at the Russian Cultural Centre. Dhaka Blues Society presents the concert titled Winter Blues Melt-down to celebrate its one-year anniversary.

Dhaka Blues Society was formed by pas-sionate blues a� cionados to preserve and promote this � eld of music. For the last few years, the organisation has been actively or-ganising regular gigs.

An added attraction of the event would be the launching of band Aronno’s latest album that includes groovy, bluesy and jazzy num-bers. They will also present a few numbers from the new album at the concert.  They released their last album Taar Chhire Gechhe in 2007.

Monoshoroni will come to the show with their original blues and rock tracks.

Saad Chowdhury Jazz Quartet promises to embezzle the ears of the audience with their technical mastery of jazz and other genres of music. 

Bogey And Friends will bring afunky � avour with their energetic perfor-mance.

The other featured bands are Circus Po-lice, 42 and 12am. No registration or ticket is required to attend the programme. l

EntertainmentDHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, December 20, 201312

ExhibitionCity of RhythmSecond phase of Kazi Salahuddin Ahmed Time: 6pm (inauguration) House 7, Road 13 (News) Dhanmondi

Woman in Gossamer By Nurun Naher SuptiTime: 3pm – 9pmAlliance Francaise de Dhaka

Return to Eden By Nasima Khanam QueenieTime: 10am to 8pm

Alliance Francaise, Dhanmondi

Quest for RealityBy Ra� qun Nabi Time: 12pm-8pm Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts House No 42, Road No 16, Dhanmondi

To live is to be slowly bornBy Kashef Chowdhury Time: 12 – 8pmBengal Art Lounge60 Gulshan Avenue,Circle 1

TheatreShopnopothikBy Aranyak Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pmNational Theatre,Shilpakala Academy,Shegun Bagicha

MusicClassical Music Festival by ChhayanautTime: 9am – 1pm, 7:30 - 3amChhayanaut, House 72, Road 15A, Dhanmondi R/A

TODAY IN DHAKA

Purnima-Shuvo starrer Chhaya-Chhobi coming soonn Afrose Jahan Chaity

M M Kamal Raz is almost ready to hit the theatres with his second � lm Chhaya-Chhobi. Shoot-ing of the � lm is completed and now it is on its post-production phase, after which, the � lm will be submitted to the censor board for approval.

The 135 minutes � lm features the bold beauty of Dhallywood, Purnima, and handsome heart-throb Ari� n Shuvo as leading actors. This is the � rst time the dynamic duo has paired up for the silver-screen and the audience are in for a treat as their on-screen chemistry seems to be promising.

Chhaya-Chhobi is a love story that is bound to

hold the interest of the audience with its striking star-cast and unique script. Another attractive as-pect of the � lm is its music, with direction from Arf-in Rumey, the � lm features seven songs. Singers like Shann, Abhijeet, Ar� n Rumey, Akriti Kakkar, Awen-sha, June Banarjee, Ragab Chattarji, Porshi and Nishita Barua lent their voice as playback singers.

The � lm will release in � fty cinemas at the same time. About the � lm, M M Kamal Raz told the Dhaka Tribune: “Right now, I am working on the colour correction of the � lm. Our political sit-uation is not stable at present, that is why I want to release Chhaya-Chhobi after this crises is over and done with.” l

Band Aronno will launch its latest album at the event

Eminent recitation artiste Shimul Mustapha will perform today in a solo programme titled ‘Aposh Korini Kokhonoi Ami Ei Holo Itihash’ at Rabindra Sarobar at 4:30pm. He is among the artistes who played a lead role in popularising recitation of poems in the entertainment scene of the 80’s and 90’s

The Blind Date airs tonight n Entertainment Desk

Piyal is a university student. One day he sees a girl in his campus and he falls for her. That night, he could barely manage to sleep. He kept on drinking water and was restlessly going back and forth on his balcony. Piyal doesn’t even know which department the girl studies in, all he knows is that, she travels in a black private car. He does not dare to � nd out more in fear that if he digs any deeper, he might � nd that she is already involved with someone. One day, Piyal stumbles upon the girl in an animated conversation with a guy. He is seized with such turbulent jealousy that

he starts to shake violently and later is taken ill by a fever. After he recovers, he manages to get that girl’s number from her driver. They get friendly over the phone and decide to meet up. When they do meet, Piyal realises that the driver gave him a wrong number in-tentionally.

The Blind Date is a bittersweet love sto-ry written by Humayun Kabir Bidduth and directed by Nahid Zaman. Popular actors of the small screen Mehazabien, Nisho, Shomu Chowdhury, Farzana Chobi, Jinia and many more acted in the entertaining drama. Maas-ranga Television will air the drama today at 7:40pm. l

Tele� lm Ordhek Surjo Grohon will air on SATV at 3pm today. Directed and written by Anjan Aich, the tele� lm features Tariq Anam Khan, Jayanta Chattopadhyay, Shaymol Mawla, Bindu, Maz-nun Mizan, Abdullah Rana and many more.

Story of the tele� lm revolves around a free-lance photographer Aronnyo who comes upon some photographs of the Liberation War. Those photos are famous but the name of the photog-rapher is not the one that Aronnyo discovers in his sudden � nd. These photographs are taken by someone else. He shares this confusing infor-mation with his friend Megh. Megh is a writer and is trying to write a novel. She � nally � nds a topic worthy of writing and wants to help Aron-nyo to � nd the real photographer. Their search ends when they � nd that the photographer in question died during the war. They then meet his son, who is a van driver in a small village. l

Sussanne clears blame from Arjun Rampal n Entertainment Desk

Sussanne Roshan, who split with her actor husband Hrithik Roshan a week ago, was bombarded with questions on December 18 about who was to be blamed for their shocking split.

But Sussanne, mother of two boys Hridhaan and Hrehaan, told reporters at the launch of her boutique Bandra 190 said: “To blame anybody else in this sit-uation is very bad. It is only about me and Hrithik, nobody else.”

There were reports that Sussanne’s close friend-ship with Arjun Rampal was a reason for her split with husband Hrithik. But Sussanne clari� ed saying: “They are all very good friends of mine and Hrithik’s. We have always been a very close knit friends circle so to blame anybody else in this situation is very bad.”

Hrithik Roshan had last week announced his sep-aration from wife Sussanne. He had issued a state-ment stating, “My wife has decided to separate from me and end our 17 years relationship.”

Hrithik Roshan, 39, and Sussanne, 35, who were childhood sweethearts, tied the knot in 2000 after a four-year courtship.

Arjun Rampal, who was also at the boutique launch with wife Mehr, said: “The most important thing is for the people to be happy and I think that’s what matters the most.”

Sussanne had earlier said it was their responsibil-ity to protect and take care of their two children. l

Brad Pitt turns 50 n Entertainment Desk

As an accomplished Hollywood actor, one half of the most successful partnerships in showbiz and a dad of six Brad Pitt has crammed a lot into his 50 years.

He might have turned 50 but Brad Pitt remains one of Hollywood’s hottest and most in-demand actors.

From the minute he strutted his way into chick � ick Thelma and Louise in 1991, sporting a stetson and bed-ding an older woman, Pitt has been � rmly established as a heart-throb as well as an accomplished performer.

After a di� cult year on the personal front, with partner Angelina Jolie having a double mastectomy as a preventative measure against hereditary breast can-cer, the couple marked the actor’s landmark birthday apart due to work commitments.

He has been nominated for an Oscar three times but has yet to be a winner.

Together with Jolie, Pitt also � nds time to � ght for causes close to his heart, including same-sex marriage and AIDS charities. Accomplished actor, dedicated family man and charity champion, who hardly looks a day over 30. l

13DHAKA TRIBUNEFriday, December 20, 2013

SportDid you know?Man United defender

Patrice Evra scored with his right foot

against Stoke City on Wednesday, something

he’s never done in the English Premier League

14 Red Devils reach semis, Spurs out

15 SA collapse against India pace

DAYS TO GO

0 8 6

Brad Ross struck by football passionn Raihan Mahmood

Being South African, cricket is not unfa-miliar to Bradford Ross, the global foot-ball manager and Fifa World Cup Trophy Tour, and he is well aware of Bangla-desh’s competency in the gentlemen’s game, but it was the overwhelming pas-sion of Bangladesh’s football lovers that he found astonishing.

The Atlanta based South African was expressing his reaction as he stood on the balcony of Radisson Blu Hotel with thousands of spectators standing in the terrace of the hotel. The man who had � own to 28 countries with the trophy since its take-o� in September, was en-joying the spirit. “Bringing the trophy to Bangladesh was an awesome experi-ence. The passionate fans reminds me of the global language of football and how it brings people in a common platform,” said Ross.

“You see from the president, prime minister to mass people, Bangladesh has witnessed the euphoria of the arrival of World Cup trophy, it’s amazing to see Bangladesh’s response to it,” he added.

He was quick to point out that Ban-gladesh has never played in the � nals of the World Cup but still thousands of football lovers turned out to have a glimpse of the trophy. “I enjoyed it, it’s the same passion whether you are

a world cup winning country or yet to reach the � nals. The crowd showed the same passion towards the trophy in Bangladesh,” he said.

Talking about the most exciting mo-ment of the tour Ross said he enjoyed it when a man dressed in red and green came to have a glimpse. “It was a true re� ection of loving the country and football. I hope Bangladesh will work hard towards raising the standards” said the Fifa o� cial.

“We are taking the trophy on its lon-gest journey to date, visiting 90 coun-tries over 9 months. To quantify the tour, we will be traveling 92,000 miles which is over 3.5 times around the world. Bangladesh will have a special place in the tour history,” concluded the Fifa global manager. l

Tamim to miss New Zealand stint n Minhaz Uddin Khan

National opening batsman Tamim Iqbal will be unable to play for the Wellington Firebirds, one of the six New Zealand � rst-class cricket teams, in the HRV Cup Twenty20 which begins on December 27.

The time taken to process a visa for New Zealand visa is the reason.

“I was asked to be in New Zealand by December 23. But it will take more than two weeks to get the visa thus we (Ta-mim and Wellington) decided to drop the deal,” Tamim told the Dhaka Tri-bune yesterday.

The dashing south-paw added he had wanted to gain some experience by playing for Wellington.

“I maintain very good terms with Jammie (Siddons, the Wellington coach). I worked on my techniques and issues the last time I went there,” he added.

A year after � rst mooting the idea, Siddons lured his former star pupil Ta-mim to Wellington last season, describ-ing him as an untapped Twenty20 bat-ting force. The 24-year-old played for the Firebirds’ in the team’s Twenty20 campaign from their fourth-round match against Otago last season. l

Victory Day Twenty20 teams announcedn Minhaz Uddin Khan

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB)announced the four teams for the Victory Day Twenty20 competition yesterday. The board had initially thought of holding a corporate based Twenty20 tournament but due to a lack of interest from the corporate houses, decided instead to give the four teams to four Dhaka Premier League (DPL) clubs.

The BCB announced that the tour-nament is expected to start from De-cember 22. The matches will be held at Sylhet Divisional Stadium and Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. 

The cricket board planned the tournament to function as practice for

the national team, who have a busy schedule from January onward which includes mega events like Asia Cup and ICC World Twenty20. 

The four teams – Red, Green, Yellow and Blue - were sketched by the national selection panel and will be sold to the four interested clubs. Prime Bank Cricket Club, Mohammedan Sporting Club and Abahani Limited have already con� rmed their participation and it was learnt that if the board will look after the fourth team themselves, if they are unable to � nd a fourth DPL club.

  National skipper Mush� qur Rahim will lead the Red team, former national skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza will lead the Yellow, all-rounder Shakib al Hasan

will lead the Blue team and opener Tamim Iqbal will lead the Green team. It will mark the return of Shakib to the � eld after being out ill with dengue fever as well as Tamim, who recently recovered from a lower-abdomen strain. 

Middle-order batsman Nasir Hossain will be the only current national cricketer to miss the tournament. 

“I won’t be able to participate in the tournament as I have to attend my elder brother’s wedding. The wedding was planned as we had no cricket during this time in the calendar,” Nasir told the media yesterday. 

It was learnt that most of the matches are likely to be held in Sylhet on December 22, 23, 25 and 26, while the last two rounds will likely take place in Dhaka on December 28 and 29 followed by the � nal of the tournament on December 31.

BCB president NazmulHasan will hold a press meet today at Mirpur and reveal the details of the tournament. He is expected to announce the price of the teams and the players’ remuneration. It was learnt from sources that the Grade A players is likely to be entitled to a fee of Taka 200,000 and Grade B players Taka 150,000.

The board also plans to televise at least those matches held in SBNS Live. It was learnt that BCB were in discussion with interested parties over the media rights of the tournament. l

Chaos on last day of trophy displayn Raihan Mahmood

Disorganization and disorder marred the proceedings on the last day of Fifa World Cup Trophy tour in Bangladesh as many ticket holders failed to get a glimpse of the coveted trophy when many non-ticket holders � ocked inside the Radisson Blu Hotel yesterday.

It was learnt that the broadcast-ers at BTV announced that no ticket would be needed to view the trophy on the last day and it would be an open event. Though the event was reserved for people who won the tickets from the promotion program, thousands of spectators crowded at the hotel gate and later entered the premises.

Families of the people who are in-volved with the organising committee, the hotel sta� and security personnel were also seen entering in the hotel

without any authorization. The over-crowded situation forced the organis-ers to stop the trophy viewing program for nearly half an hour.

Disorder reached a peak when na-tional football team members were left standing for nearly 30 minutes as secu-rity denied them entrance. Moreover, there were no entrances for the media, who were also not allowed to enter the hotel. Media facilities for both days was particularly poor, with no media desk or media room. It was also evident that security personnel were uninformed about the media’s role and appeared to assume that pressmen were just spec-tators.

The show was stopped at 2:15pm though the ticket stated it would re-main open till 3:00pm, leaving hun-dreds of ticket holders frustrated and disappointed. l

National booters draw inspirationn Raihan Mahmood

Bangladesh’s national football team drew inspiration from the seeing the Fifa World Cup trophy and looked for-

ward to working hard to achieving the goal of one day playing at the mega event.

With national head coach Lodewijk de Kruif already in Holland enjoying his Christmas vacation, assistant coach Rene Koster accompanied the team. It was an unfortunate incident for the national booters as they did not receive their instant snapshots with the trophy due to some technical glitches.

National skipper Mamunul Islam felt the national booters can draw motivation from the trophy.

“We have the vision of Qatar 2022, the national team are the � rst frontier of achieving the target. I think the national players can draw inspiration to make it for the nation in the future,” said Mamunul.

Long serving national goalkeeper Biplob Bhattacharjee, who played his � rst World Cup quali� ers back in 1997,

thought the dream of playing in the � nals of the World Cup will be realized in the future.

“We could not think of getting so close to the World Cup trophy, maybe we are short of the standards but we have the dream of being there. I hope

Bangladesh will proceed on the right track to be in the � nals one day,” he said.

Experienced forward Zahid Hasan Emily was amazed. “It’s one of the greatest moment in my career. I feel the pulse of the thousands who have gathered here. They all came here for the love of the game, not the trophy. We should work hard to propel football

to the next stage to create the ladder for moving up,” said Emily.

While Biplob and Emily are of the older generation, the young generation national booters like Wahed and Rai-han were also seeking inspiration from the most coveted sports trophy on the planet.

“I have never thought of getting a snapshot with the World Cup trophy. It was a great pleasure for me, it made me feel like winning it for the country,” said young forward Wahed.

“I have seen the trophy in the hands of the great players like Ronaldo, Zi-dane and others, getting so close to it left me overwhelmed,” said defender Raihan.

The Fifa World Cup trophy is sched-uled to � y to Bhutan today where it will stay for one day before arriving in Ne-pal for another one day stay. It is des-tined to � y to India from Nepal. l

I have seen the trophy in the hands of the great players like Ronaldo, Zidane and others, getting so close to it left me overwhelmed

SQUADSYELLOW TEAMMasrafe bin Mortaza – Captain, Zunaed Siddique, Jahurul Islam, Mizanur Rahman, Muminul Hoque, Shahriar Nafees, Rokibul Hassan, Taibur Rahman, Elias Sunny, Saklain Sojib, Dewan Sabbir, Sajedul Islam, Alauddin Babu, Nurul Hasan

BLUE TEAMShakib al Hasan – Captain, Anamul Haque, Saikat Ali, Liton Kumar Das, Sabbir Rah-man, Mehrab Hossain, Alok Kopali, Sohag Gazi, Taizul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Shahadat Hossain, Tapash Bayshia, Rabiul Islam, Mohammad Sharif

GREEN TEAMTamim Iqbal – Captain, Imrul Kayes, Abdul Majid, Naeem Islam, Marshal Ayub, Rony Talukder, Jubaer Ahmed, Arafat Sunny, Enamul Haque Jr, Al-Amin Hossain, Md Shahid, Delwar Hossain, Muktar Ali, Md Mithun

RED TEAMMush� qur Rahim – Captain, Shamsur Rah-man, Soumya Sarkar, Na� s Iqbal, Mahmud Ullah, Aftab Ahmed, Abdur Razzak, Nazmul Hossain Milon, Farhad Reza, Shuvashis Roy, Nabil Shamad, Ziaur Rahman, Md Shohrawardi, Mehedi Maruf

A large crowd wait to gain entrance to Radisson and catch a glimpse of the World Cup trophy COURTESY

Abahani beat Army in V-day hockey n Raihan Mahmood

Abahani Ltd topped group A to reach the semi-� nals of the Walton Smartphone Victory Day Hockey after beating Bangla-desh Army 4-1 at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium yesterday.

Abahani went up in the 15th minute from a penalty corner struck by Ashra-ful Islam and national forward Pushkor Khisha Mimo scored twice in the 34th and 40th minute respectively. Abdul Malek pulled one back for the Army in the 45th minute, before Niloy’s 58th minute goal completed the rout for the title contend-ers. In the � rst semi-� nal tomorrow, Abahnai will take on Azad SC at 1:00pm. l

The Bangladesh national team posein front of the Fifa World Cup trophy at the Radisson Blu Hotel yesterday COURTESY

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, December 20, 201314

RESULTRaja Casablanca 3-1 Atletico MineiroIajour 51, Ronaldinho 63Moutouali 84-P, Vianney Mabide 94

Raja Casablanca to play Bayern Munich in Saturday’s � nal

RESULTSReal Betis 2-2 LleidaPaulao 6, Monforte 38, Amaya 10 Mata 55

Real Betis win 4-3 on aggregate

Almeria 0-0 Las PalmasAlmeria win 3-1 on aggregate

Atletico Madrid 2-1 Sant AndreuHector 78, Carroza 14Alderweireld 90+3

Atletico Madrid win 6-1 on aggregate

Real Sociedad 4-0 AlgecirasRos 40, Seferovic 65, Griezmann 70, Vela 75

Real Sociedad win 5-1 on aggregate

Real Madrid 2-0 Olimpic XativaIllarramendi 16, Di Maria 28-pen

Real Madrid win 2-0 on aggregate

Sevilla 0-2 Racing Santander Miguelez 63-P, Kone 90

Racing Santander win 2-1 on aggregate

Red Devils reach semis, Spurs outn AFP, London

Manchester Unit-ed beat Stoke City 2-0 to reach the

League Cup semi-� nals on Wednesday, while the post-Andre Villas-Boas era at Tottenham Hotspur began with defeat by West Ham United.

After a � rst-half hailstorm brie� y forced the teams o� the pitch at the Britannia Stadium, United prevailed through � ne strikes from Ashley Young and Patrice Evra.

Their reward was a semi-� nal tie against Sunderland, 2-1 victors over Chelsea on Tuesday, while West Ham will play Manchester City, with the � rst legs of both ties due to be played in the week beginning January 6.

“The � rst goal tonight, whoever got it was going to make a big di� erence,” Unit-ed manager David Moyes told Sky Sports.

“It was a tight game. We had some good play at times. We hadn’t created too many chances, but I didn’t think Stoke created too many chances either.”

With Wayne Rooney absent due to an unspeci� ed injury, Moyes deployed Danny Welbeck as a lone striker, while Chris Smalling, Anderson and Young were all brought into the team.

Young was given an early sight of goal when a square pass from Welbeck found him in space on the edge of the box, but he could only � nd the side-netting with his rising shot.

The hail arrived in the 28th minute, sending players and match o� cials scurrying for the cover of the changing

rooms, before play resumed following a 10-minute delay.

Jonny Evans might have put United

ahead shortly before half-time but he could not get a shot away after latching onto Smalling’s near-post � ick-on.

Moyes introduced Javier Hernandez with just over half an hour remaining

and moments later Young made the breakthrough in stunning fashion.

The former Aston Villa winger played a pass forward to Hernandez and when the ball came back to him on the edge of the box, he met it with a � rst-time drive of searing power that Thomas Sorensen got his gloves to but could not stop.

Stoke rallied, brie� y, but United put the game to bed in the 78th min-ute when Evra exchanged passes with Young before curling a � ne shot inside the right-hand post with his seldom-used right foot.

Meanwhile, playing for the � rst time since Villas-Boas was sacked on Mon-day, Spurs let a 1-0 lead slip in a 2-1 loss at home to London rivals West Ham.

Interim coach Tim Sherwood picked

an adventurous team, giving Emmanu-el Adebayor his � rst start of the season alongside Jermain Defoe up front, and the pair combined to give Spurs the lead in the 67th minute.

Defoe crossed from the left and Ade-bayor slid in to slam home an emphatic volley via the underside of the crossbar.

However, there was a blow for Spurs when Andros Townsend was forced o� with an apparent hamstring injury and in the 80th minute West Ham levelled when Matt Taylor teed up Matt Jarvis to beat Hugo Lloris at his near post.

Modibo Maiga completed West Ham’s comeback � ve minutes later, heading in a Mohamed Diame cross to give Sam Allardyce’s side a second con-secutive win at White Hart Lane follow-ing a 3-0 league success in October. l

Manchester United defender Patrice Evra (C) celebrates after scoring the second goal during their English League Cup Quarter-Final match against Stoke City at Britannia Stadium on Wednesday AFP

Real, Atletico cruise into last 16 n AFP, Madrid

Real Madrid reached the last 16 of the Copa del Rey with a comfort-able 2-0 win over Olim-

pic Xativa at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

Without stars Gareth Bale and Cris-tiano Ronaldo, Real boss Carlo Ancelotti gave a number of his younger players another chance. The Italian was reward-ed as Asier Illaramendi slotted home his � rst goal for the club before Angel di Ma-ria’s penalty made it 2-0 at the break.

Madrid failed to add to their tally in the second-half, but were never threat-ened by their third-tier opponents as they eased into the next round where they will face Osasuna.

Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, were forced to come from behind to beat min-nows Sant Andreu 2-1 on the night at the Vicente Calderon to progress into the

last 16, 6-1 on aggregate.Alberto Carroza had � red the visitors

into a shock lead, but Atletico passed up a host of chances to level before the break as Jose Gimenez had a goal harsh-ly ruled out for o� side, while Adrian Lo-pez blasted a penalty over the bar.

Atletico boss Diego Simeone handed 18-year-old Hector Hernandez a start in his search for an equaliser who duly de-livered turning home Adrian’s cross 12 minutes from time.

Atletico will now face Valencia or Gimnastic in the next round.

Racing Santander produced the sur-prise of the evening as they overcame a 1-0 � rst-leg de� cit with a 2-0 win away to 10-man Sevilla. Meanwhile. Real So-ciedad set up a meeting with Villarreal in the last 16 with a 4-0 win over Algeciras

La Liga sides Almeria and Real Betis also progressed despite being held at home on the night by lower league Las Palmas and Lleida respectively. l

Real Madrid mid� elder Angel di Maria celebrates after scoring their Spanish Copa del Rey (King's Cup) tie against Olimpic de Xativa at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday AFP

Casablanca through despite Ronaldinho heroicsn AFP, Marrakech

Moroccan champions Raja Casablanca were the toast of the nation on Wednes-

day after they became only the sec-ond African club to reach the � nal

of the Club World Cup.The unfancied side, coached

by Tunisian Faouzi Benzarti, struck two late goals in Marrakech on Tuesday to knock out favoured South American champions Atletico Mineiro 3-1 and reach Saturday’s � nal against Bundes-

liga giants Bayern Munich. The win meant that Raja equalled Congolese

club TP Mazembe who lost the 2010 � nal against Inter Milan

However, unlike Mazembe, Raja did not even qualify for the

tournament, taking part only because they are the cham-

pions of the host country – making their achievement all the more unlikely.

C a s a b l a n c a - b o r n mid� elder Mouhss-ine Moutouali struck

a pressure penalty in the 84th minute to give Benzarti’s men a crucial 2-1 lead before Central African Republic inter-national Vianney Madibe capped a glo-rious night in Raja’s history with their third goal deep into stoppage time.

It was another feather in the cap for their 63-year-old coach, who has en-joyed three spells at the helm of his national team and also won the African Champions League in 1994 with Esper-ance and only took over on the eve of the tournament.

“I have believed in my team since the start of the tournament because they’re extremely talented. It was an excellent performance today (Wednesday) in all areas against a strong Brazilian team

with fantastic players,” Benzarti told Fifa.com.

“It’s no accident that we’re in the � nal - it’s the product of hard work. My thanks go to our unbelievable fans, their support is immensely valuable to us and we aim to make them happy in return,” added the technician who only took over as Raja coach, two weeks ahead of the tour-nament when M’hamed Fakhir was � red.

“Now we have to recover as quickly as possible before our � nal preparations for the � nal against Bayern Munich.

“They’re a fantastic team who won three titles last season, and in Pep Guar-diola they have a great coach who has al-ready embedded his football philosophy in the team. “But we’ll go into the � nal with con� dence too, believe in ourselves and give our all once more.” he added.

For his Brazilian counterpart Cuca, it was a blow for the Copa Libertadores champions, who are playing at the tour-nament for the � rst time but must now settle for a third place playo� against Asian champions Guangzhou Ever-grande on Saturday. l

Bilbao, Madrid candidates to host Euro 2020n AFP, Madrid

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) con� rmed on Wednesday that the new San Mames stadium in Bilbao and Atletico Madrid’s future home La Peineta will be their candidates to host matches at Euro 2020.

Espanyol’s Cornella El Prat and Va-lencia’s new Mestalla stadium, which had previously been earmarked as po-tential hosts have now been discarded.

Both the stadiums selected have yet to be completed.

The new San Mames opened in September, but one stand is still to be constructed before it will reach its full capacity of 53,000.

Meanwhile, La Peineta, which would have been the Olympic stadium in 2020 had Madrid’s bid for the Games been successful, will not be ready to host matches until at least 2016, but does have the advantage of a signi� -cantly bigger capacity of 70,000.l

Cavani on the double as PSG nick holders St Etiennen AFP, Paris

Paris Saint Germain striker Edinson Ca-vani scored twice to eliminate French League Cup holders St Etienne 2-1 from this season’s competition in their Last 16 clash on Wednesday.

Cavani – who has scored 18 times in 23 games for PSG since he joined from Napoli in the close season – had given the hosts the lead in the � rst-half only for former PSG striker Turkish interna-tional Mevlut Erding to level in the sec-ond period to force extra-time.

However, Cavani grabbed the win-ner two minutes from the end of extra-time, though, he looked to be in an o� -side position when he knocked home Jeremy Menez’s low cross.

PSG’s bitter historical rivals Mar-seille also progressed by the same scoreline against Toulouse which re-sulted in their interim coach Jose Anigo announcing he would still be in the role after the winter break as he celebrated his � rst win in charge.

Former Toulouse star Andre-Pierre Gignac grabbed Marseille’s winner from the penalty spot.

Earlier seven-time French cham-pions Lyon reached the quarter-� nals with a 3-2 win over fellow Ligue 1 side Reims.

Lyon, who have won the League Cup just once in 2001, twice took a two goal lead only to see Reims come back

to trail by just a goal.Goals by France international for-

ward Bafetimbi Gomis and Alexandre Lacazette – both scorers in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Marseille – seemingly put Lyon in a comfortable position at 2-0 up by the hour mark.

However, Lyon’s habit of letting slip leads throughout the season – they led Marseille 2-0 last Sunday before being held to a draw – looked as if it was go-ing to happen again as Reims scored four minutes from the end of normal time through Floyd Ayite’s penalty. l

RESULTSMarseille 2-1 ToulouseMendy 13, Spajic 42Gignac 27-P

Evian-Thonon 2-1 BastiaWass 62, 67 Ilan 32

Troyes 3-2 ToursCourt 6, 23, Bergougnoux 5, Nivet 90 Adnane 44

Lyon 3-2 ReimsGomis 58, O’Niangue 64, Lacazette 60, Ayite 86-PGourcu� 82

Nice 3-0 SochauxPejcinovic 14, Genevois 31, Pied 34

Rennes 1-2 BordeauxDoucoure 52 Henrique 50, Jussie 90

PSG 2-1 St-EtienneCavani 24, 118 Erding 78

Barca doctor con� rms Messi on the mendn AFP, Madrid

Argentina’s four-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi’s recovery from a torn hamstring is on schedule, his club Barcelona con� rmed on Wednesday.

Messi was ruled out for the rest of the year when he su� ered the latest in a number of recent muscle injuries in Barca’s 4-1 win over Real Betis at the beginning of November.

The 26-year-old is currently in Ar-gentina as he undergoes treatment, but has been joined in Buenos Aires by Barca sporting director Andoni Zubi-zarreta and club doctor Ricard Pruna.

“The � tness test and scan carried out this morning by doctor Ricard Pruna at the training facilities of the Argentine Football Federation in Buenos Aires showed good progress in Lionel Messi’s injury,” the club said in a statement.

“More tests will be carried out on Friday to set the timescale for the third part of the player’s recovery process and training schedule.”l

Ramos wins appeal against 18th red cardn AFP, Madrid

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos will be free to play against Valencia on Sunday after the club’s appeal against his 18th career red card in the game with Osasuna last Saturday was suc-cessful.

The � rst of Ramos’ two yellow cards in the � rst-half of the 2-2 draw in Pamplona was rescinded by the competition committee of the Spanish Football Federation on Wednesday.

Real boss Carlo Ancelotti had described the Spanish international’s dismissal as “hard to understand” and the Italian will be relieved that Ramos is available for the trip to the Mestalla as he has a shortage of options at centre-back.l

Moyes reveals Rooney injuryn AFP, Stoke-On-Trent

Wayne Rooney was unavailable to play in Manchester United’s League Cup quarter-� nal at Stoke City on Wednes-day due to an unspeci� ed injury, man-ager David Moyes revealed.

Rooney played for 84 minutes in Unit-ed’s 3-0 win at Aston Villa on Sunday, but he was left out of the squad for the trip to the Britannia Stadium, with Danny Wel-beck leading the line as a lone striker.

“Wayne Rooney is injured,” Moyes told Sky Sports prior to kick-o� . Asked if the England striker would be � t in time for United’s busy schedule of matches over Christmas, he replied: “We hope so.”

Moyes is also currently without last season’s top scorer Robin van Persie, who has been ruled out for a month with a thigh injury. l

SEMI-FINAL DRAW Sunderland v Man United Man City v West Ham

RESULTSStoke City 0-2 Man United Young 62, Evra 78

Tottenham 1-2 West HamAdebayor 67 Jarvis 80, Maiga 85

15SportDHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, December 20, 2013

INDIA, FIRST INNINGS(overnight 255-5)M. Vijay c De Villiers b Morkel 6S. Dhawan c Imran Tahir b Steyn 13C. Pujara run out (Imran Tahir) 25V. Kohli c Duminy b Kallis 119R. Sharma c De Villiers b Philander 14A. Rahane c De Villiers b Philander 47M. Dhoni c De Villiers b Morkel 19R. Ashwin not out 11Zaheer Khan lbw b Philander 0I. Sharma b Philander 0Mohammed Shami b Morkel 0Extras (b4, lb6, nb2, w14) 26Total (103 overs) 280

BowlingSteyn 26-7-61-1 (2w), Philander 27-6-61-4, Morkel 23-12-34-3 (2nb, 2w), Kallis 14-4-37-1 (2w), Imran Tahir 8-0-47-0, Duminy 5-0-30-0SOUTH AFRICA, FIRST INNINGSG. Smith lbw b Zaheer Khan 68A. Petersen lbw b I. Sharma 21H. Amla b I. Sharma 36J. Kallis lbw b I. Sharma 0A. de Villiers lbw b Shami 13J. Duminy c Vijay b Shami 2F. du Plessis not out 17V. Philander not out 48Extras (lb4, nb3, w1) 8Total (6 wkts, 66 overs) 213

BowlingZaheer Khan 22-4-72-1 (1w), Moham-med Shami 18-3-48-2, I. Sharma 20-4-64-3 (3nb), Ashwin 6-0-25-0

SCORE CARD, DAY 2

WEST INDIES 1ST INNINGSBrathwaite c Williamson b Southee 45Powell c Watling b Wagner 26Edwards c Watling b Southee 6Samuels c Williamson b Anderson 0Chanderpaul not out 94Deonarine lbw Anderson 2Ramdin c Watling b Anderson 107Sammy not out 0Extras (lb6, b2, w1) 9Total: (6 wickets; 90 overs) 289

Fall of wickets1-41 (Powell), 2-77 (Brathwaite), 3-78 (Edwards), 4-82 (Samuels), 5-86 (Deonarine), 6-286 (Ramdin)BowlingBoult 19-1-67-0 (w1), Southee 20-1-56-2, Wagner 20-4-66-1, Anderson 14-3-25-3, Williamson 4-0-14-0, Sodhi 13-0-53-0Toss: New Zealand

SCORE CARD

Condolence Golam Rasul Molla (1945 - 2013)The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) expressed profound sadness at the passing of former vice-president of the board Prof. Golam Rasul Molla at the age of 68.  Prof. Molla breathed his last in Dhaka yesterday morning. He had been su� ering from cancer.  The board extended heartfelt sympathies to the family of the departed and prayed for the salvation of his soul.

Spain end top of Fifa rankings for sixth year runningVicente del Bosque’s world and Euro-pean champions have now topped the rankings at the end of each of the last six calendar years following an unbeaten Fifa World Cup 2014 qualifying cam-paign that saw Spain collect 20 points from a possible 24. Germany, Argentina, Colombia and Portugal complete the top � ve followed by Uruguay, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands and Brazil. Bosnia-Herzegovina were the only team on the up inside the top 30 in the latest Fifa world ranking published yesterday. Fresh from reaching a � rst World Cup � nals, Bosnia-Herzegovina are now 19th, up two places, meaning France and Mexico drop one place each to 20th and 21st respectively. Ukraine hold the distinction of being the highest climbers this year after surging 29 places to 18th, although that is unlikely to temper the frustration at missing out on a World Cup place following play-o� heartache at the hands of France last month.

– Agencies

Iniesta extends Barca contract to 2018Spanish international Andres Iniesta has agreed to extend his Barcelona contract until at least 2018, the club said Thursday. “Iniesta’s extension is con� rmed, we have shaken on it and that is enough for us,” Barcelona president Sandro Rosell told a news conference. The deal will probably be formalised on Monday, he said, putting an end to weeks of rumours about the emblematic player’s future. The 29-year-old mid� elder’s contract keeps him with Barcelona until 2018, after which it can be extended annually depending on his sporting performance, Rosell said. The Barcelona boss gave no � nancial details but said in September Iniesta should be the second best paid player in the team, which also features four-time FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi and Brazil-ian international Neymar.

–AFP

Judge demands Barca hand over Neymar contractsA Spanish judge has ruled that Barcelona must submit the contracts that brought Brazilian star Neymar to the club in May to ascertain if president Sandro Rosell has a case to answer for misappropria-tion of funds. Barcelona have publicly stated that the money from Neymar’s signing was distributed among four companies at a total cost of 57.1 million euros ($78.6 million, £48.2 million). However, the club have claimed a con� -dentiality clause in the contract prevents them from saying how much each of the parties received of the overall fee. That led to a Barca member Jordi Cases launching a case against Rosell for mis-appropriating funds. According to Cases’ complaint, only 17.1 million euros was paid for Neymar’s registration rights.

–AFP

Referees to use vanishing spray at Brazil World CupReferees will use the recently developed vanishing spray at the World Cup next year to stop defensive walls creeping forward at free-kicks, Fifa’s president Sepp Blatter has said. When a free-kick is awarded near the penalty area, the refer-ee paces the regulatory 10 yards between the ball and the nearest defender and then sprays a line on the pitch to mark the correct position of the wall. The line then disappears from the pitch within a minute. Blatter said the spray, developed in Brazil and Argentina, had received a positive reception after being used at the Club World Cup in Morocco. “I think it’s a very good solution. Some say it takes too much time and I was also quite sceptical at the beginning but all the referees who have used the system were pleased with it,” Blatter said. –Agencies

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DAY’S WATCH

‘Bad boy’ Ryder back for New Zealandn AFP, Hamilton

Big-hitting New Zealand cricketer Jesse Ryder is poised for a return to the inter-national stage, completing a remark-able comeback after a turbulent period on the sidelines.

The 29-year-old was named Thurs-day in the New Zealand team to play the West Indies in a series of � ve one-day internationals (ODIs) starting in Auckland on December 26.

Ryder, a self-confessed “bad boy” who is regarded by many in New Zea-land as a cult hero, went into a self-imposed exile 22 months ago to sort out personal issues following several alcohol-related incidents.

“I set the goal to make it back earlier this year and it is a great end to a tough year for me. I’m more motivated than ever,” Ryder said when the 13-man ODI squad was named.

In March, Ryder su� ered a fractured skull and was placed in an induced coma in hospital after being beaten up outside a bar. He also received a six-month ban this year after testing posi-tive to a performance-enhancing drug found in weight-loss pills he was taking.

The left-hander is a prodigiously tal-ented batsman, averaging 40.93 from 33 Test innings and 34.27 in ODIs, also from 33 innings. New Zealand selection manager Bruce Edgar said Ryder would give the side “added � repower at the top of the order”. l

Hafeez stars in Pakistan’s hard-fought winn AFP, Sharjah

Pakistan survived a late order scare from Sri Lanka to pull o� an exciting 11-run win in the � rst one-day interna-tional in Sharjah on Wednesday, to go 1-0 up in the � ve-matchs series.

Pakistan’s innings was built around a brilliant 122 from Mohammad Hafeez which saw them post an impressive to-tal of 322-5 in their 50 overs but were made to work hard for their win, � nally bowling Sri Lanka out in 49.4 overs.

Besides Hafeez’s 122, Sohaib Maq-sood (73) and debutant opener Sharjeel Khan (61) were the main contributors on a � at pitch.

Sri Lanka had all but lost the match at

221-7 but Sachithra Senanayake (42) and Seekkuge Prasanna (42) gave Pakistan a scare during their 87-run partnership for the eighth wicket -- a record for Pak-istan-Sri Lanka one-day internationals.

Sri Lanka needed 27 o� the last two overs but both the batsmen were out in quick succession to hand Pakistan a deserved win. Pakistan captain MIs-bah-ul Haq said his bowlers needed to improve on this performance.

Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews was full of praise of his team’s battling display. Sri Lanka got o� to a solid start with Tillakaratne Dilshan (30) and Kusal Perera (64) batting quite comfort-ably against the spin-cum pace Paki-stan attack. l

Ramdin, Chanderpaul rescue West Indiesn AFP, Hamilton

A gutsy 200-run partnership between Denesh Ramdin and Shivnarine Chan-derpaul rescued the West Indies from a perilous position on Thursday as the tourists battled to 289 for six on the � rst day of the third Test against New Zealand.

Ramdin was dismissed just before the close for 107 to end a sixth-wicket stand that lifted the score to respect-ability after another Calypso collapse had seen the team slump to 86-5 soon after lunch.

Chanderpaul was not out 94 at the close, with Darren Sammy yet to score as the West Indies � ght to win the Test in a bid to level the three-match series.

The tourists’ cause was helped by a wicket that o� ered the bowlers little in the morning before becoming totally unresponsive midway through the day, allowing the batsmen more time to place the ball, and the run rate lifted noticeably.

After just 142 runs were scored in the � rst two sessions, the post-tea ses-sion of play yielded a further 147 runs.

New Zealand captain Brendon Mc-Cullum won the toss and with hind-sight he may regret his decision to bowl � rst as rewards were hard to come by except for a brief period after lunch.

After the West Indies had progressed cautiously to 77-1, they collapsed to 86-5 in the space of 34 deliveries be-

fore Ramdin joined Chanderpaul to put them back on track.

Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Pow-ell put on 41 for the � rst wicket before Powell, on 26, edged Neil Wagner to wicketkeeper BJ Watling.

Brathwaite, promoted to play his � rst Test in since 2011 when Darren Bravo was injured during practice, reached 45 before his dismissal soon after lunch started the top order collapse. l

Denesh Ramdin of the West Indies celebrates his century during the day one of the third Test against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton yesterday AFP

World Test Championship ‘in doubt’n Agencies

The future of the World Test Cham-pionship has been thrown into doubt after it emerged that broadcasters and sponsors still hold grave reservations over the value of the event and the var-ious parties organising it have failed to reach any agreement over the format.

The inaugural Test Championship, which the ICC hopes will become the showpiece event in the Test schedule, is due to be staged in the UK in 2017. But, with only four teams due to com-pete - the top four in the Test rankings as of December 31, 2016 - doubts re-main over its global appeal.

The key concern of the sponsors and broadcasters is the identities of the competing teams. If any of the major draws cards - especially India or Eng-

land - should fail to qualify, the attrac-tion and value of the event would fall markedly. England’s rapid descent in the world rankings has rendered this a real danger and could also result in some of the games being played in less-than-full stadiums.

The ICC’s current broadcast deal ends in 2015. The last deal, agreed with ESPN Star Sports* in 2006, was worth around $1.1 billion and helped fund a huge increase in funding for Associate and A� liate nations. Any decrease in the value of the next deal, a genuine possibility bearing in mind broadcast-ers’ lukewarm response to the World Test Championship, will have serious consequences for the game at every level in most parts of the world.

Little progress has been made with the practicalities of the event, either.

While a simple option would see the event consist of nothing more than two semi-� nals and a � nal, there are doubts over what happens in the event of poor weather - hardly an unlikely event in the UK - and whether such a format provides enough cricket to capture the imagination of spectators and the in-terest of sponsors.

Any other format - such as round-robin - threatens to become too long, with at least three days rest required between games to ensure any sort of veracity in the event. The fact that day-night Test cricket remains an unre-alised dream - and, in England at least, may always do so - also compromises the ability to reach a global audience.

As a result, the ICC is under increas-ing pressure to rethink its commitment to the Championship.l

Indian bowler Ishant Sharma (C) celebrates the wicket of South African batsman Jacques Kallis (L) on the second day of the � rst Test at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg yesterday AFP

South Africa collapse against India pace n AFP, Johannesburg

South Africa’s top order batsmen col-lapsed against India’s fast bowlers on a dramatic second day of the � rst Test at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannes-burg on Thursday.

South Africa were 213 for six at the close, 67 runs behind India’s 280 all out on a day when 11 wickets fell for 228 runs.

Ishant Sharma led an impressive three-pronged Indian pace attack, tak-ing three for 64.

It was Sharma who sparked a South African collapse in which � ve wickets

fell for 16 runs after tea. The hosts had progressed to 130 for one when Hashim Amla padded up to a ball which swung back in and clipped the top of his o� stump.

South African stalwart Jacques Kal-lis was next in - and fell � rst ball, leg before wicket to a full delivery from the tall Sharma.

Kallis, who turned 38 in October, has endured a lean run since making 50 against Pakistan at the same venue in February. His Test scores since then have been 7, 2, 21, 5, 0, 7 and 0.

Without addition to the score, South African captain Graeme Smith was leg

before to Zaheer Khan for a battling 68. Smith had seldom looked comfort-able during his 111-ball innings and was dropped at � rst slip o� Khan when he had 19. When he was eventually dis-missed it was the seventh time he had fallen to Khan in Tests.

JP Duminy made only two before edging Mohammed Shami to � rst slip and AB de Villiers was leg before to Shami two balls later after making 13.

Five wickets had fallen in the space of 38 balls as India’s bowlers, main-taining a full length and bowling with discipline, did to South Africa’s top batsmen what the highly-rated South

African fast bowlers had failed to do against the Indian top order.

Faf du Plessis and Philander stead-ied the South African innings with an unbroken seventh wicket partnership of 67. Du Plessis defended doggedly to � nish the day on 17 not out o� 55 balls, while Philander had more of the strike and played with more freedom to make 48 not out o� 76 deliveries.

Sharma was twice warned by um-pire Rod Tucker for running on to the “danger area” of the pitch between wicket and wicket. A further warning would mean he would be taken out of the attack.

South Africa’s was the second sig-ni� cant collapse of the day. Philan-der and Morne Morkel earlier ripped through India’s lower order batsmen as the tourists lost their last � ve wickets for 16 runs.

Resuming at 255 for � ve in heav-ily overcast conditions after overnight and early morning rain, Ajinkya Rah-ane and Mahendra Singh Dhoni made cautious progress against tight bowling from Dale Steyn, Philander and Morkel.

Philander � nished with four for 61 after taking three for six in six overs on Thursday and Morkel took three for 34 in 23 overs. l

16 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Friday, December 20, 2013

Bangladesh likely to get ‘polio- free’ status next FebruaryNational Immunisation Day to be observed tomorrow n Moniruzzaman Uzzal

Bangladesh is set to observe the 21st National Immunization Day (NID) pro-grammes across the country on Satur-day, with health workers and volun-teers from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) aiming to pro-vide polio vaccines to 22 million chil-dren aged up to 59 months.

Dr Tajul Islam Bari, programme man-ager of the Expanded Program of Immu-nization (EPI) told the Dhaka Tribune that Bangladesh had remained a polio-free country since November 22, 2006.

However, the World Health Organi-sation (WHO) required all the member nations of the South East Asia Regional Organisation (Searo) –to which Bangla-desh was a member – to be free of polio patients for at least three years before the countries could be eligible for po-

lio-free status. As a polio patient was found in India’s

West Bengal in January 2011, the certi� -cate got delayed; but Dr Bari expressed hopes that Bangladesh would achieve polio-free status in February next year.

According to a WHO report, cases of polio have decreased by over 99% since 1988.

Compared to 350,000 polio patients detected worldwide in 1988, the num-ber came down to only 650 in 2011 as results of combined global e� orts to eradicate the disease.

In 2012, only three countries were polio-endemic: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria.

Meanwhile, sources said the cost for National Immunization Day was around Tk850m, with a total 26,600 health workers active in the � eld level. Among them, 21,000 were health assistants

(HA), 4,200 assistant health inspectors (AHI) and 1,400 health inspectors (HI).

The health workers in the � eld level of the DGHS had been contributing a lot behind the success of health sector in the last four decades including the EPI, and the reduction of child and mater-nal and tuberculosis-related deaths.

An investigation by the Dhaka Tri-bune revealed that the HA, the AHI and the HIs respectively received only Tk50, Tk100 and Tk160 as travel allow-ance every month.

Seeking anonymity, several � eld workers expressed their discontent, saying despite millions spent in the health sector, the � eld workers – who were the heart of the sector – continue to be ignored.

The � eld workers’ responsibilities in-cluded regular immunization, Directly Observed Treatment Service (DOTS) of

tuberculosis patients, and management of diarrheal, arsenic, malarial and other patients almost every day, they said.

Sources said the DGHS recruited volunteers for NID, who each received Tk30, but none of the � eld worker would receive any incentive allowance on the NID although their mobile teams had to carry out a four-day post-NID immunization programme in order to ensure that no child was left out.

Harun-or-Rashid, president of Ban-gladesh Health Department Employees Association, said thousands of � eld workers were frustrated at the situation.

He informed that after more than 15 years, the health ministry had given primary approval to increase travel al-lowance to Tk150, Tk300 and Tk360 for the HA, AHI and HI respectively. He also informed that the present pay scale was also under the process of change. l

A rare sight of two bee eaters on a bamboo branch at Suchnipara in Godagari of Rajshahi on the lookout for insects DHAKA TRIBUNE

Ministers issue con� icting statements on dialoguen Mohosinul Karim

Two senior ministers of the polls-time government have issued contradictory statements on the UN-backed dialogue between two major political parties to end the ongoing political crisis.

Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu on Thursday said the dialogue had come to a halt.

While Industries Minister Tofail Ahmed said: “There is a probability of dialogue. It was adjourned so that two top leaders can discuss the proposals placed at the meetings at their respec-tive party level before the two parties sits again.”

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was informed of the demands placed by the main the opposition BNP, Minister Tofail Ahmed told reporters on Thursday after a meeting with the Canadian High Com-missioner in Dhaka Ms Heather Cruden.

“More meetings on this issue might be held later with the BNP as per the party’s decision,” he said, “we have in-formed our party chief about the prog-ress of the meetings and proposals of the main opposition.”

However, there are little chances of holdings talks with the main opposi-tion on elections, he added.

The BNP at the meeting demand-ed their leaders be released but it was not possible as it did not withdraw its

blockade programmes, he said.“There is no scope for a dialogue

over BNP’s participation in the upcom-ing general elections,” said Inu,

“But there can be a political consen-sus. We can discuss the next steps af-ter the election. The scope for political consensus is still on only if the opposi-tion abstains from violence.”

Awami League and BNP began talks under the mediation of United Nations Assistant Secretary General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco what was being thought as ice melting.

In response to queries whether there will be any mid-term elections if a consensus is reached with the BNP the minister said: “Nobody participates in the election for a short term. The election will be held for � ve years un-til 2019. The election is being held not have a monopoly on power rather to protect and uphold the constitution”.

Meanwhile, Communications Min-ister Obaidul Quader also echoed Hasa-nul Haqie Inu at a programme at Dhaka University on Thursday.

“The BNP has lost its opportunity to participate in the upcoming nation-al elections,” Quader said. “The polls schedule cannot be postponed now.”

Over 150 people have died since Oc-tober when BNP began their agitation demanding polls in line with their de-mand for non-partisan government. l

4th International Holcim Awards open for entriesn Tribune Report

The Holcim Awards, one of the most signi� cant competitions in the � eld of sustainable development, is open for entries for the fourth cycle of the sus-tainable construction competition.

With a prize money of $2m, the 4th International Holcim Awards seeks leading projects from industry profes-sionals and bold ideas from the “next generation” that will contribute to sustainability within the � elds of ar-chitecture, building, civil engineering, landscape and urban design, including construction materials and technolo-gies, said a media release.

The competition organised by Swiss-based Holcim Foundation for Sustain-able Construction will be conducted in � ve regions of the world this year simul-taneously. The regions selected were Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa-Middle East, and Asia Paci� c.

The competition has been catego-rised in two sections. The award’s main category is open to architects, engi-neers and construction � rms, among others, and the participants have to showcase sustainable responses to technological, environmental, socio-economic and cultural issues with con-temporary building and construction.

The second category, the “Next Gen-eration” – young professionals and stu-dents category – seeks visionary proj-ects and bold ideas from participants that contribute to a more sustainable built environment.

The details on the entrance proce-dure is available at www.holcimawards.org . The last date for submitting proj-ects is March 24, 2014. l

No inquiry into candidates’ a� davits prior to pollsn Tribune Report

Despite marked di� erence found in the a� davits of the 10th parliamenta-ry election candidates compared to the previous election season, the Anti-Cor-ruption Commission (ACC) has decided not to go for investigation to avoid cha-os prior election.

“The country is in the election mood. If we start inquiring now, an overall chaotic situation might cripple the country. So we have dropped any such plan as for now,” ACC Commissioner M Shahabuddin Chupppu said yesterday.

He made the remark in reply to re-porters’ query regarding the di� erence found between poll candidates’ a� da-

vits in � ve years.According to the o� cial a� davits

uploaded in the Election Commission’s website, a signi� cant soar has been found in many of the candidates’ in-come and amount of properties.

However, the commissioner said: “We are yet to receive any allegation of such regarding the a� davits of the candidates. If we receive any, we would conduct an investigation after the elec-tion is over. Otherwise it will worsen the situation of the country.”

Asked if the case against BNP Standing Committee Member Moudud Ahmed was a politically motivated one, he said: “The case is not a politi-cally motivated one. We received the allegation against him in 2010 and since had been conducting investiga-tion. The case has been � led following the evidences found against him.”

The ACC on Tuesday � led a case against BNP leader Moudud Ahmed and his brother, on charge of grabbing government land worth about Tk-300crore. l

Poor people take the brunt of political violencen Mohammad Jamil Khan

Daily labourers hit a bad patch nowa-days as they are prone to pickets’ attack almost every day during the ongoing political violence.

At least nine such people were ad-mitted to Dhaka Medical College Hos-pital with splinter injuries in the capital from Wednesday night to till � ling this report at 11:30pm yesterday.

Yesterday around 10am, three people were admitted to DMCH around 10:30am after they fell victim to pickets’ crude bomb blast at Bangshal in old Dhaka.

The three are Mohammad Sohagh, 22, a tailor, Azim, 25, another tailor and

Mohammad Abdur Rahman, 60.The current political stalemate

made them pay a heavy price.Some have already succumbed to

their injuries from petrol bomb attack while many of them are � ghting for life in hospitals.

The breadwinners’ hospitalisation are nothing but adding to the miseries of their families as the latter struggle to foot the medical bill.

“My brother is the only earning member of our three-member family as my father is ill and mother died a couple of years ago,” Sheuli Akter, sister of Mo-hammad Rubel, a blockade victim who is now at National Institute of Trauma-

tology and Orthopedic Rehabilitation. Rubel, 28, a carpenter by profession, fell victim to crude bomb attack in Pantha-path area Wednesday night. He was on his way home in South Jatrabari.

Soon after he reached Panthapath intersection, � ve crude bombs blasted and splinters hit him in the head and other parts of his body.

Sheuli added that they were taking her brother home as doctors suggested that Rubel should rest after the remov-al of splinters from his body.

My father was tensed up as there were no other breadwinners for the family, said she.

During the crude bomb attack, � ve

others also received splinter injuries in Panthapath Wednesday night.

Of the injured were Abidur Rah-man, 48, and his colleague Mohammad Khokon, 35. The splinters hit the duo in the heads and left sides of their body.

Besides, Rickshaw driver Moham-mad Rabiul, 30, Daud Khan, 40 and a salesman Gopal Chandra, 30, also got hurt in the bomb attack.

Talking with the Dhaka Tribune, Khokon, muttered that doctors re-moved splinters following an operation in the early hours of Thursday.

“Still I feel so much pain, he said, adding that God had been kind to me that I got back my life,” he said. l

The country is in the election mood. If we start inquiring now, an overall chaotic situation might cripple the country. So we have dropped any such plan as for now

SAU teachers threaten to boycott classes, examsn Tribune Report

The teachers of Sylhet Agricultural Uni-versity have threatened to boycott all academic activities including classes and examinations, from tomorrow un-less the university authorities take pu-nitive measures against some students who allegedly beat up a teacher.

The decision came at a meeting of SAU Teachers’ Association yesterday noon, reports UNB.

Sources said three activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League – Pratik Chakrabarty, Mamun Hasan Jony and Gautam Paul – allegedly tried to extort money from Aminur Rashid, a teacher of the Aqua Culture Department.

The trio also beat the teacher in Bal-uchar Natun Bazar area near the cam-pus on Tuesday as he refused to pay

them money. On information, the uni-versity proctor rushed to the spot and rescued Aminur.

In protest, teachers belonging to the Fisheries Faculty boycotted classes on Wednesday and yesterday.

Expressing solidarity with them, members of the teachers’ association brought out a silent procession on the campus yesterday. They also met Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr M Shahidullah Talukder and demanded appropriate action against the attackers.

They also demanded expulsion of the culprit students.

They threatened to boycott all aca-demic activities unless punitive action was not taken against the attackers.

The VC has assured the teachers of taking action against those responsible for assaulting the teacher. l

India to work with Bangladesh constitutional govt: Indian FMn BSS, New Delhi

Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khur-shid yesterday said his government is ready to work with the constitutional government of Bangladesh.

“Indian government supports con-stitutional government in Bangladesh and will work with the government to be elected as per the constitution,” he told journalists during a launch break at the Hyderabad House in the Indian capital. l

People sit in numbers and wait for trains to arrive in the capital’s Kamalapur Railway Station yesterday during the nationwide blockade enforced by the 18-party alliance DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial O� ce: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

Continue to the Business section...

Business

Businesswww.dhakatribune.com/business FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2013

Forex reserve crosses $18bn-mark

Poor performing Beach Hatchery up 62% in two weeks

B3

B2

n Tribune Report

The government has decided in principle to provide businessmen with some incentives so they could recover to some extent the business losses due to the prolonged politi-cal unrest.

The incentives would not, however, be given to all as it would be decided case to case basis.

“The rate of cash subsidy would be in-creased, but it would not be on a wholesale basis. The � nance ministry would take a de-cision,” an o� cial told Dhaka Tribune, after a meeting at the � nance ministry yesterday.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith chaired the meeting aimed at considering the de-mands for the incentives by trade bodies of the country.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rah-man, Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed and managing directors of four state-owned commercial banks were present.

“We will sit with the RMG leaders next week to discuss the issue as they would be defaulters if it is not done before December 31,” Muhith told reporters after the meeting.

He said the central bank would consider the eligibility for availing of the privilege on cases to case basis.

There will be no change in existing struc-ture and guideline regarding reschedule of loan and classi� cation.

A noti� cation on the issue would be declared in next week, but the initiatives would be e� ective during regime of next government, said the minister.

He said Bangladesh Bank will send list of companies to the respective banks on loan classi� cation.

Earlier, Bangladesh Garment manufac-turers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) demanded fund support through special PC (packing credit) and “Baisalam” for four months from November 13 to February 14

to pay wages as they are facing fund short-age due to the ongoing political unrest that caused disruption in shipment.

The apparel makers also demanded waiv-er of charges being imposed by the Chit-tagong Port Authority due to congestion in the container terminal.

They urged the government not to classi-fy any textile, garments and backward link-age industry for next two years from the Q4 of 2013.

It also appealed blocking the term loan, project loan, loan against trustee receipt, Murabah Post Import (MPI) and installment without any interest for next two years. l

POLITICAL UNREST

Courier service business drops 80%n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Due to continuous blockades, the courier service business in the country dropped by 80% in rece nt days, said the sector people.

“Earnings from the service fell by 80% as blockades continue,” said Ha� zur Rahman Pulok, president of Courier Service Associa-tion of Bangladesh.

Ha� zur Rahman runs Sundarban Courier Service. He said his own earning from the service came down to Tk6-7 lakh a month from Tk30 lakh during normal time.

According to him, the political parties should keep courier transports out of har-tals and blockades considering the service as emergency.

He said the courier service transports some emergency products like pharmaceuti-cals and also important papers of individuals and o� ces.

Although some customers were asking for delivery, the courier service providers could not do that because of fears of arson attacks on their vehicles by the picketers.

“I have over 250 vehicles to carry prod-ucts to our customers, but I cannot risk tak-ing them to street during blockades,” said the owner of Sundarban Courier.

While continuous blockades are being enforced by the opposition, police is giving escorts to the transports carrying goods on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.

“Yes, such initiative is especially for the readymade garment sector. We are also thinking to seek such police security. But we still cannot completely rely on it as there were some reports of arsons despite police escorts,” said Ha� zur Rahman.

According to the Bangladesh Courier Ser-vice Association, there are about 700 courier service companies in the country involving around 4 lakh employees.

The Association which has 70 members said the sector’s monthly turnover is over Tk50 crore when normalcy prevails.

Currently in this time political unrest some courier operators are using airlines as alternative to transport goods. But this way is much costlier.

“We are using airfreight for some emer-gency documents. However it costs us nine times higher,” said Ha� zur Rahman.

He said while road transport cost is Tk5-10 for carrying one kilogram goods, the air-ways charge it Tk100.

As business has been almost halted and earnings drop to shocking rate, payment of salaries to the employees has become di� cult.

Some has to take loans to pay salaries of their sta� s. “We are now unable to pay sala-ries of our employees, which is taking us to lenders to continue payment to the sta� . But how long we can do that?” said Sundarban Courier owner.

Mozamme lHaq, managing director of Ko-rtoa Courier Service, said his company was su� ering huge losses in this political crisis.

“I cannot say how much my company is

incurring losses. It is unlimited as days go, the situation is getting worse,” he said.

“Even if there is no hartal or blockade, I do not allow my � rm’s vehicles go out as ar-sons happen now on even a no-political pro-gramme day.”

Md Abdur Razzak, general Secretary of Courier Service Association of Bangladesh, said as the courier service business com-pletely depends on transportation, it has al-most collapsed due to blockades.

“Where we are living an insecure life now, how I will ensure safety to our customers’ materials,” said Md Abdur Razzak. He add-ed the situation forced them to suspend all transportation and delivery of goods.

Tanvirul Haque, chairman of Rainbow Courier Services, said supply chain of export-ed and imported goods being carried by cou-rier services has completely broken down.

“The situation is in� icting huge losses on us. My company’s earnings from sales have seen a drastic fall in last few days. It will create fund shortage to pay employees’ sal-aries.”

Kaiser Ahmed, a customer, came to com-plain at the SA Paribahan o� ce in Dhaka yes-terday as his parcel had not reached yet to his brother living in Chittagong.

He posted the parcel Saturday last week.“My brother has not received the parcel

yet although I posted it last week. Howev-er, the management has assured me that it would be delivered soon. They said the de-livery was disrupted due to blockades,” said the customer.

Another customer Hamim, student of Ja-gannat University, said he was trying to send a parcel for last three days to Khulna, but could not.

“It is very emergency. If I cannot send it within deadline, I will not get a job in a pri-vate � rm,” he said. l

A huge pile of parcels lying undelivered at a courier in Dhaka yesterday due to continuous blockades called by the opposition NASHIRUL ISLAM

Govt may increase cash subsidy to help business recover losses due to unrest

DHAKA TRIBUNE Business2 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2013

Airtel ensures rapid 3G rollout in SylhetAirtel Bangladesh Limited recently announced that its 3G network has been further stretched over considerable parts of one of the largest metropolitan cities of the country, Sylhet - as a part of their 3G roll out plan.

Right after its network outreach in capi-tal city Dhaka and port city Chittagong, Airtel Bangladesh Limited has announced the availa-bility of 3G network in new areas of Sylhet.

“We are very excited to expand the 3G servic-

es to our valued customers in Sylhet in line with our commitment,” said Chris Tobit, CEO and Managing Director of Airtel Bangladesh Limited.

“We have been working hard to cover signif-icant areas of Sylhet and will always take the necessary steps to develop the industry.”

“Our belief is that Airtel will be able to play a signi� cant role in bridging the existinggaps in the � elds of communication and knowledge” l

GP introduces account recharge app n Tribune Report

Grameenphone has launched a new utility ap-plication, which is expected to take customer service to the palms of its star subscribers using smartphones and connected to the Internet.

The app could be used on Android, Ip-hone and Windows-enabled phones, and would be available free of cost in major app markets like Google Play, App Store and Win-dows Store. This service, initially, will be available to GP star customers only.

Launched at a ceremony held in Dhaka yesterday, the app will enable account re-charges on the go for customers who avail credit or debit cards; the users can also set appointments for customer services and reg-ister for Star events periodically arranged by Grameenphone.

Additionally, the users will also be noti� ed of Star Partner o� ers, locations of partner stores, restaurants, ATM booths, and the address and contact numbers of the nearest police stations.

ICT Secretary NI Khan was present as the chief guest of the launching ceremony along with Rajeeb Bhattacharjee and Kashif Baig, the head of marketing and head of customer experience at Grameenphone respectively.

Ashraf Abir, the CEO of MCC Ltd, the technical support provider for the app, was also present. Grameenphone said they are the � rst operator in Bangladesh to provide account recharge through app and are com-mitted to provide internet for all. l

AB Bank opens new branchAB Bank Limited opened its 87th branch at Chittagong recently. Senior Executive Vice President and Regional Relationship Manager Chittagong Mohammed Ishaque Chowdhury inaugurated the branch as the chief guest.

Among other senior o� cials Senior Execu-tive Vice President and Regional Relationship Manager Syed Aminul Islam and Branch Re-lationship Manager Md Salahuddin were also present at the opening ceremony. l

The 26th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Kohinoor Chemical Co (BD) Limited was held recently at O� cers Club in Dhaka. Director of the company Md Ebadul Karim presided over the meeting. Managing Director Md Rezaul Karim, Lt Col Kamal Ahmed PSC (Retd), Md Abul Khair and Md Ferdous Jaman were also present in the meeting. A declaration of 25% stock dividend for the year ended June 30, 2013 was also approved

Myanmar, Bangladesh JTC meeting next monthn Asif Showkat Kallol

Bangladesh and Myanmar will hold Joint Trade Commission meeting on January 9-10, which will discuss on introducing trade through letter of credit between these two neighbouring countries.

The bills of trade between the two nations are being currently paid through telegraphic transfer.

After a democratic transition, former mil-itary janta-ruled Myanmar is now gradually opening up its market to the outside world.

Myanmar’s deputy commerce minister Dr Pwint San will lead the country’s team to the meeting in its capital Naypyidaw, said o� cial sources.

Bangladesh’s o� cials from shipping, � sh-ery and energy ministries will attend the meeting.

To � nalise agenda from Bangladesh part for the meeting, an inter-ministerial meeting is scheduled to be held on 29th this month.

“We want to see Myanmar as a good trading partner of us,” said Mahbub Ahmed, com-merce secretary, told the Dhaka Tribune yes-terday.

“Hope, Bangladesh will become a major source of essential commodities for Myan-mar.”

He said making trade process easier is im-portant for both of the countries.

“Unless trade process is made easier be-tween the two nations, Bangladesh import-ers also will not be encouraged to source goods from Myanmar,” said commerce sec-retary.

He said the JTC meeting will discuss on subjects like border trade, narrowing trade gap between two countries and facilitation and promotion of trade, particularly of ag-ricultural products, food grains and other products.

As part of strengthening bilateral trade, Bangladesh and Myanmar will launch in Feb-ruary plying of coastal vessels between them to carry goods.

Besides, the two countries recently re-sumed � ights in Dhaka-Yangon route after a seven-year halt.

Commerce ministry o� cials said the government is working to increase trade be-tween these two neighbours to $500m from $160m now.

According to Export Promotion Bureau data, trade between Bangladesh and Myan-mar stood at $79m in � scal year 2011-12.

Of the amount, Bangladesh exports to Myanmar totalled $13.45m and imports from the country were $65.55m.

Data showed trade between the two neighbours has been largely in favour of My-anmar over the years. l

Letter of credit is likely to be introduced for trade between the two neighbours

Forex reserve crosses $18bn-mark‘BB can use the reserve as a bailout package for a� ected businessmen during political unrest as there is no need to hold this high reserve’n Tribune Report

The country’s foreign exchange reserve crossed US$18bn yesterday thanks to in-creased in� ow of foreign loans in the private sector and remittance in� ow which is little slow due to political unrest.

It took only two-month period to cross the mark from the previous record of $17bn in Oc-tober, according to Bangladesh Bank statistics.

The deposit would enable Bangladesh to meet import expenditures for around six months, said a senior executive of Bangla-desh Bank.

However, the remittance in� ow remained slow during the political unrest. But lower import payment pushed the reserve higher, he said. Besides, the central bank took steps to stimulate exporters to increase exports.

Bangladesh is the 7th largest remittance receiving country in the world, which has been growing at double digits since 1980s,

and now it accounts for about 11% of GDP, according to the central bank.

“Bangladesh Bank can use the reserve as a bailout package for a� ected businessmen during political unrest as there is no need to hold this high reserve,” said Prime Bank Managing Director Ehsan Khasru.

The country saw 14% fall in remittance in-� ow in November as compared to the previ-ous month. In November, the wage earners sent home a total of $1.05bn. In October, the � gure was $1.23bn.

Central bank o� cials said the drop in re-mittance was due to aggravating political unrest, which is currently sweeping through the country.

Around 30% to 40% of remittance is com-ing through informal channels, according to a recent study by Bangladesh Human Re-source Development Centre (HRDC).

According to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), Bangla-deshi expatriates remitted $14.16bn in 2012 and $8.28bn up until July 2013. Researchers at the HRDC claimed that more than 30-40% of the remittances were sent through infor-mal channels.

According to the 2006 World Bank Glob-al Economic Prospect Report, a total of 54% of remittances in Bangladesh were coming through informal channels.

According to Bangladesh Bank data, in 2008-09, the remittance in� ow was $9.7bn against the 650,059 migrant labour and it rose to $14.5bn in 2012-13 despite the num-ber of migrant workers dropped to 441,301. Global Diaspora remittance � ows projected to reach $550bn in 2013. l

The deposit would enable Bangladesh to meet import expenditures for aroundsix months

Stocks end � at amid roller-coaster trading n Tribune Report

Stocks � nished � at amid roller-coaster trad-ing yesterday as the political chaos contin-ued to weigh on investors.

The market moved between positive and negative heavily as intraday volatility was nearly 40 points.

The benchmark index, DSEX, ended at 4,244 with slight rise of over 4 points or 0.1%, breaking four-day losing streak. The blue-chip comprising DS30 index fell 1 points or 0.09% to 1,467.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, gained 14 points to close at 8,340.

Poor turnover continued to hit the Dhaka Stock Exchange as turnover stood at Tk475 crore, a fall of more than 5% over the previ-ous session.

The lower turnover indicated that inves-tors preferred staying on the sidelines amid apprehension over an economic slowdown caused by the long spell of blockades, ac-cording stock dealers.

“Four out of � ve trading days of this week were red. Gradually, market seems to change its mood from enthusiasm to cautiousness,” said Lanka Bangla Securities in its daily mar-ket analysis.

It said after a huge rally in November, investors seem to have gone to sidelines to assess the scenario.

“They feel if economic scenario gets into trouble due to prolonged political clashes, mar-

ket valuations may start looking expensive.”The country is going through long spell

of blockades enforced by BNP-led 18-party alliance demanding national election under caretaker government.

“After encountering zigzags throughout the day, DSEX barely made it to the green zone in the day’s session,” said IDLC Investments.

It said the gloominess was quite nat-ural, given that the perception regarding

political and economic arena remained mis-erable.

Activities were rather slow too, as it be-came di� cult to balance or rebalance port-folio amid this messy outlook, it said.

Nevertheless, a handful of stocks re-mained at the center of the attention, with ten scrips capturing 38% of the total turno-ver.

“The market outlook is likely to remain skewed, owing to the political crisis; howev-er, since the market faced continuous correc-tion coupling with pro� t taking, a few days of breathing space would act as a blessing for the investors,” said Zenith Investments.

Banks – the market bellwether – out-shined all the sectors with a marginal gain of 0.6%. Pharmaceuticals and NBFIs advanced 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. Whereas, ener-gy and telecommunications edged lower.

Six textile issues featured in the top ten turnovers chart with Generation Next top-ping the list. l

BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE 3FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2013

DSE TOP GAINER

Poor performing Beach Hatchery up 62% in two weeksn Tahmidur Rahman

Stocks of Beach Hatchery Limited emerged as the top gainer with a rise of price by 9.96% to close at Tk34.2 each on Dhaka Stock Ex-change yesterday.

In the past two weeks, the price of the stocks increased more than 62% at the close of yesterday’s trading from Tk21 each on De-cember 5.

In response to a CSE quarry, the company informed that there is no undisclosed price sensitive information for the recent unusual price hike.

The third quarter earnings as per un-au-dited report published on October 31 stood at Tk23.7 lakh as compared to Tk1.33 crore of the same period last year.

Based on unaudited � nancial reports of the company, the turnover during the � rst nine months gradually sunk from Tk14.1 crore in 2010 to Tk13.5 crore in 2011, Tk11.1 crore in 2012 and � nally to Tk9.1 crore in 2013.

The fall during the same periods result-ed in an unaudited pro� t from Tk5.5 crore in 2010 to Tk5.5 crore in 2011, Tk3.9 crore in 2012 and Tk2 crore in 2013.

The net asset value per share having face

value of Tk10 each stood at Tk12.48 at the end of 2012, which is about one-third of the current market price.

There was hardly any information avail-able on the public domain that might in� u-ence the recent price hike of the stock.

The stocks worth of Tk11.1 crore were traded in the last trading session, which was 2.3% of the total traded value at DSE.

The stock closed at the Chittagong Stock

Exchange as the third highest gainer yesterday.Beach Hatchery falls in the food and al-

lied segment of the stock market. It has an unaudited EPS of Tk0.59 and a price to earn-ings ratio of 43.47 based on the third quar-terly report of the current calendar year.

With having 45.49% of stake by thepublic and 35.01% by directors, the compa-ny has given stock dividends in the last � ve years. l

GENERATION NEXT

Market leader for third sessionn Tribune Business Desk

Generation Next Fashions Limited emerged as the market leader for the third consecu-tive session of Dhaka Stock Exchange yester-day.

The stocks changed hands worth more than Tk38.8 crore, contributing to around 8% of the total DSE turnover.

The price of each share ranged between Tk36.8 and Tk39.4, and closed at Tk38.9 at closing registering a rise of 6.79%.

The end-of-trading closing price of the past three sessions consistently beat the highest closing price registered by the com-pany in the last six months.

Investors say the market con� dence in the stock is pulling up the price of the stock.

Previously, the management disclosed a quarterly pro� t of Tk11.6 crore against Tk5 crore in the same period last year.

The company has also reported a pro� t of Tk28.5 crore in the � rst nine months of the current year, which is an increase of 75% of the pro� t (Tk16.4 crore) during the same pe-riod last year.

Based on unaudited � nancial reports, the company listed in the engineering segment of the stock market has an EPS of Tk1.69 and a price to earnings ratio of 16.02, according to DSE. l

RAHIMA FOOD

Worst loser at DSE for second session n Tribune Business Desk

The stock price of Rahima Food has eroded further by 9.9% to Tk74.6 each at the Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday, with trading vol-ume stood at Tk1 crore.

Brokers said the price of the stock is being adjusted as the company has been down-graded to “Z” category.

On Tuesday, DSE displaced the company from “A” category, e� ective since yesterday, as the company failed to continue operations for more than last six months.

The decision was made in accordance with securities laws.

The company reported a quarterly loss in the � rst quarter as it had to bear the expens-es without any production.

The stock price ranged between Tk14.4and Tk92in last six months.

On the basis of unaudited � nancial re-ports, the company listed in the food and allied segment has a negative EPS of Tk0.16 and a negative price to earning ratio of -129.38. l

‘The market outlook is likely to remain skewed, owing to the political crisis; however, since the market faced continuous correction coupling with pro� t taking, a few days of breathing space would act as a blessing for the investors’

The company reported a quarterly loss in the � rst quarter as it had to bear the expenses without any production

DHAKA TRIBUNE Business4 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2013

Chidambaram, markets takeFed tapering in striden Reuters

India is better prepared than it was months ago to deal with the Federal Reserve’s reduc-tion of its monetary stimulus, Finance Min-ister P Chidambaram said on Thursday, as the rupee fell only slightly in the wake of the once much-feared decision.

Surging currency reserves and the fall in the current account de� cit have reassured investors about India’s vulnerability to a Fed “taper”, analysts said, after fears about it sent the rupee to a record low in late August.

The rupee weakened about 0.1% yester-day, and was trading around 62.19 to the dollar, around 10.7% stronger than its August nadir.

In contrast, the Indonesian rupiah on Thursday touched a � ve-year low against the dollar after slipping about 0.5%. The sizable current account de� cits in both countries had made them the epicentre of the sell-o� in emerging Asian currencies that escalated in August.

In 2013, the rupee has weakened about 11.5% against the dollar, while the Indone-sian currency has shed about 21%.

The increased con� dence in India has allowed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to remove most of its emergency measures imposed earlier this year. It is now more fo-cused on dealing with a domestic economy su� ering from what some analysts call a stag� ationary environment of low growth

but high in� ation.“(The) government is of the view that

the markets had already factored in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision and therefore is not likely to be surprised by these moderate changes,” Chidambaram said in a statement.

The comment comes after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it would scale down its monthly bond purchases by $10bn a month, to $75bn.

Analysts credit measures taken by the Finance Ministry and the RBI for turning around sentiment, after both came under criticism for what was seen as a shaky in-itial response to fears of Fed tapering that sparked a market sell-o� between late May and late August.

Curbs on gold imports, such as higher du-ties, helped narrow India’s current account de� cit to a more than four-year low of 1.2% of gross domestic product in July-September, far below a record high 4.8% in the previous � scal year.

India also built up its foreign exchange reserves to an eight-month high of $295.71 billion, as of December 6, in part because of measures that helped banks raise $34bn in overseas loans and deposits from the Indian diaspora.

Meanwhile, the prospect of heavy foreign selling of Indian assets is looking less likely as most of the yield-chasing hot money that entered the country - especially its bond markets - has largely exited, analysts said.

Foreign investors have turned net buyers of debt, with in� ows of $518.22m so far this month, although net sales still reach $8.31bn for the year. In equities overseas funds are net buyers of $19.06bn.

“India is better prepared for the Fed this time,” said Jonathan Cavenagh, currency strategist at Westpac in Singapore.

“Foreign holdings of Indian bonds are sharply lower compared to April/May of this year and the current account de� cit is also considerably lower so I see less headwinds for India this time around.”

Still, a top � nance ministry o� cial told Reuters the RBI and the government are closely monitoring developments. Chidam-baram spoke to the central bank governor, Raghuram Rajan, earlier in the day.

Rajan has also repeatedly expressed con-� dence about India’s ability to withstand any Fed “taper”.

Instead, the RBI’s priority is � ghting in� a-tion, having raised interest rates by 25 basis points each in September and October de-spite signs of faltering economic growth.

The RBI surprised investors by keeping rates on hold on Wednesday citing signs of easing vegetable prices and the weak econo-my, but said it was ready to resume rate hikes depending on the data.

Any rate hikes that boost the attractive-ness of Indian yields for foreign investors could be o� set by the hit to con� dence about India’s growth rate, analysts said. l

Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram gestures during an interview in New Delhi REUTERS

India: WTO deal will not hit food security programmen BSS

Indian government yesterday insisted in Par-liament that the deal reached at WTO talks in Bali recently would have no adverse impact on foodgrain procurement in India or the food security programme after Opposition expressed apprehensions over it.

Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha feared that the deal would expose India’s Food Security programme, which is still be-ing rolled out, to international scrutiny.

Allaying Opposition’s apprehensions, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said nothing in the agreement im-pinges on India’s food security programme for the poor and vulnerable sections of soci-ety, which is very much part of India’s sover-eign space. He said it was for the government to decide at what price it would procure food stocks from farmers and the WTO has no ju-risdiction over the decision.

“It is our decision nobody can tell us,” he said, responding to clari� cations sought by Opposition on his statement made in Parlia-ment. The minimum support price (MSP) of crops, he said, cannot be lowered, it will go up and nobody can interfere.

Earlier, Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley wanted to know from the Minister if the agreement would adversely impact the Food Security Act.

Jaitely pointed out India would be spend-ing Rs1.25 lakh crore on the food security and there are also additional subsidies for ferti-lizers and transportation among others.

Sharma said as per the interim agreement, until a permanent solution is found, mem-bers will be protected against challenge in the WTO under the Agreement on Agricul-ture (AoA) in respect of public stock-holding programmes for food security purposes.

There is an apprehension that once India implements its food security plan complete-ly, it may breach the 10% subsidy cap under the WTO’s AoA.

Developed countries like the US and Can-ada have raised concerns over India’s food security plan saying stockpiling of food-grains under the programme may distort the global agricultural commodity prices.

Under the food security plan, the govern-ment is procuring foodgrains from farmers at minimum support price (MSP) and selling at cheap rates to poor people.

Sharma earlier said that India will have the � exibility of providing support to its farmers without the apprehension of breaching its WTO entitlements. It has also e� ectively led to a commitment from members of the WTO to work on a permanent solution as part of a post-Bali work programme.

The MSP is deemed as support to farmers under the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). Under the current WTO rules, such support has to be kept within a limit of 10 per cent of the value of production of a product.

The BJP leader also pointed out that there was indication in the interim agreement re-garding the permanent solution likely to be reached in the next two WTO ministerial.

He expressed apprehension that with In-dia agreeing to the deal, it has opened its pub-lic purchases to international inspections. l

China’s equities seen overtaking India’s in 2014n Reuters

Chinese shares may be poised to become an unlikely star of Asian emerging markets in 2014, outshining India, thanks to cheap val-uations and optimism about reforms.

Investors have been underweight China for years.

China-focused equity funds saw some net in� ows in November, when the rul-ing Communist Party announced plans for far-reaching economic and social reforms, and analysts said once the government starts following through on those plans it would trigger a � ood of money.

Foreigners have bought a net $18.8bn worth of Indian shares this year, according to the market regulator’s data.

O� cial statistics are not published for China, but data from fund tracker EPFR shows a net $5.5bn out� ows for the year to December 11 for China-focused equity funds.

At 9.3 times forward 12-month earnings, the MSCI China is trading at a chunky discount to its 10-year median and at its widest gap to the MSCI Asia ex-Japan since the 2008 � nan-cial crisis.

And the Chinese market is trading at a 40% discount to MSCI India on a forward price-to-earnings basis, according to Thom-son Reuters I/B/E/S data.

In contrast, benchmark indexes in India have hit record highs and valuations are on par with 10-year averages.

Besides looking expensive, Indian shares could also be vulnerable to shocks that could come from the U.S. Federal Reserve winding down its stimulus, current account prob-lems, and a general election due by May next year.

At the very least, investors look unwilling to add more Indian risk and will look to make fresh allocations next year in other markets, with China � rmly on their radar.

“Overall, we believe Chinese equities are just too cheap to be ignored by investors in 2014,” said Desmond Tjiang, Greater China and Hong Kong equities portfolio manager at Pinebridge Investments in Hong Kong.

“Despite reforms and the broad economic slowdown, there are still a lot of industries such as mass consumption, e-commerce and environment-related sectors that should continue to grow exponentially in the com-ing years.”

Beijing last month unveiled a bold reform plan, including pledging to free up markets, in a bid to put the world’s second-largest economy on a more stable footing.

The plan sparked a rally in Chinese stocks that saw the o� shore Chinese market in Hong Kong gain more than 10% in four ses-sions, before levelling o� .

Some brokers, such as CLSA, said the rally lacked conviction due to an absence of insti-tutional investors. But while some may still be wary of a market that has been in a funk since 2007, there are signs things could be turning around.

In a November 21 report, Goldman Sachs said funds focused on global emerging mar-kets and Asia were underweight China by 290 and 582 basis points respectively, sug-gesting a return to equal weighting alone would trigger a powerful rally.

“India may have more upside potential in the short term because markets may rally into the elections due in May, but China rep-resents better value in the middle term,” said Angelo Corbetta, Pioneer Investments’ Lon-don-based head of Asian equities.

But India’s potential is starting to look stretched on valuations already. Information technology and pharmaceutical companies, which led stock indices to record highs last week, are expensive.

The MSCI India IT sub-index trades at 21

times earnings forecasts for the year ahead, well above the 12 times for the equivalent index for Asia-Paci� c countries outside of Ja-pan. The MSCI health care sub-index is start-ing to look similarly stretched.

In comparison, China Inc’s earnings revision ratio - the pace of earning forecast upgrades against downgrades - has turned around, suggesting investors think Chinese compa-nies’ earnings prospects are improving.

“For three years, markets have been bet-

ting on a hard landing in China. It is time to unwind some of those bets,” said the head of a Asian macro hedge fund in Hong Kong.

For the rally to last beyond early 2014, in-vestors will expect clear steps to be taken to resolve Chinese banks’ bad debt problems. They will also want to see how the reform drive will impact corporate margins and earnings, especially for giant state-owned � rms.

“We will be looking for a dramatic im-provement at the operating cash � ow level at the next earnings.

Most Chinese companies have negative working capital, which means they are sub-sidising their clients,” Pioneer’s Corbetta said. “It’s all about allocating capital more e� ciently.”

If that happens, Chinese equities may well see a re-rating in the longer run.

“If China gets its reform right ... we will move into an environment where we don’t just buy the dip and sell the bounce, but you actually just buy the dip because the long-term trajectory is positive as opposed to � at to down,” said Andrew Swan, Blackrock’s head of Asian equities, told the Reuters In-vestment Summit in late November. l

BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE 5FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2013

An investor gestures in front of an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Huaibei, Anhui province REUTERS

‘We will be looking for a dramatic improvement at the operating cash � ow level at the next earnings. Most Chinese companies have negative working capital, which means they are subsidising their clients, Pioneer’s Corbetta said. It’s all about allocating capital more e� ciently’

Despite reforms and the broad economic slowdown, there are still a lot of industries such as mass consumption, e-commerce and environment-related sectors that should continue to grow exponentially in the coming years

BANKABBANK | 2.95 | 32.60 | Vol. 407768 D: 25.60 ⇓ 0.78% | 25.77 | 26.20 / 23.50 C: 26.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 26.08 | 26.30 / 25.00CITYBANK | 1.15 | 25.97 | Vol. 327990 D: 20.20 ⇑ 1.00% | 20.09 | 20.50 / 18.00 C: 20.20 ⇑ 0.50% | 20.03 | 20.40 / 19.90IFIC | 1.10 | 18.34 | Vol. 947581 D: 33.70 ⇑ 0.90% | 33.65 | 33.90 / 31.00 C: 33.60 ⇑ 0.60% | 33.54 | 34.00 / 33.00ISLAMIBANK | 3.78 | 27.16 | Vol. 306069 D: 34.50 ⇑ 1.17% | 34.24 | 35.00 / 31.00 C: 34.50 ⇑ 1.77% | 34.22 | 34.60 / 34.00NBL | 1.05 | 15.76 | Vol. 1171026 D: 11.90 ⇑ 0.85% | 11.90 | 12.00 / 11.00 C: 11.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 11.90 | 12.00 / 11.80PUBALIBANK | 1.92 | 21.18 | Vol. 153205 D: 31.60 ⇓ 0.63% | 31.60 | 32.00 / 30.00 C: 31.50 ⇑ 0.64% | 31.48 | 31.60 / 31.20RUPALIBANK | 6.70 | 64.27 | Vol. 13500 D: 65.10 ⇑ 0.77% | 65.19 | 65.40 / 64.80 C: 64.60 ⇑ 0.16% | 64.62 | 65.00 / 64.50UCBL | 1.90 | 21.72 | Vol. 1698955 D: 24.50 ⇑ 1.24% | 24.50 | 26.00 / 22.00 C: 24.70 ⇑ 1.65% | 24.67 | 25.00 / 24.10UTTARABANK | 3.42 | 26.97 | Vol. 248538 D: 31.00 ⇑ 0.32% | 31.02 | 31.20 / 27.90 C: 30.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 30.67 | 30.90 / 30.30ICBIBANK | -1.60 | -13.03 | Vol. 108500 D: 6.30 ⇑ 5.00% | 6.30 | 6.40 / 6.20EBL | 3.91 | 28.22 | Vol. 134244 D: 28.10 ⇑ 0.72% | 28.02 | 28.50 / 26.00 C: 27.90 ⇑ 1.09% | 27.63 | 27.90 / 27.20ALARABANK | 2.03 | 14.91 | Vol. 1841636 D: 19.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 19.23 | 20.00 / 17.50 C: 19.30 ⇑ 1.05% | 19.19 | 19.40 / 18.90PRIMEBANK | 2.89 | 22.40 | Vol. 96902 D: 22.70 ⇓ 1.73% | 22.55 | 23.10 / 21.20 C: 22.50 ⇓ 1.75% | 22.49 | 23.00 / 22.20SOUTHEASTB | 1.89 | 22.66 | Vol. 879247 D: 18.00 ⇑ 0.56% | 18.00 | 18.70 / 16.50 C: 18.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 17.95 | 18.00 / 17.80DHAKABANK | 1.46 | 18.08 | Vol. 51311 D: 18.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 18.66 | 19.00 / 17.00 C: 18.50 ⇓ 0.54% | 18.54 | 18.60 / 18.50NCCBANK | 1.90 | 15.88 | Vol. 693121 D: 13.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 13.06 | 14.00 / 12.00 C: 13.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 13.08 | 13.20 / 12.00SIBL | 2.05 | 14.47 | Vol. 294571 D: 13.30 ⇑ 0.76% | 13.31 | 14.00 / 12.00 C: 13.30 ⇑ 0.76% | 13.26 | 14.00 / 12.00DUTCHBANGL | 11.57 | 54.27 | Vol. 100000 D: 105.5 ⇑ 1.93% | 105.43 | 107.4 / 103.7 C: 104.6 ⇑ 3.56% | 103.79 | 106.0 / 102.0MTBL | 1.17 | 17.27 | Vol. 25290 D: 15.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 15.88 | 17.00 / 15.00 C: 15.60 ⇓ 1.89% | 15.60 | 15.60 / 15.60STANDBANKL | 2.33 | 14.41 | Vol. 257676 D: 14.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 14.65 | 16.00 / 13.30 C: 14.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 14.57 | 14.70 / 14.50ONEBANKLTD | 2.35 | 15.34 | Vol. 857756 D: 16.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 16.01 | 17.00 / 14.40 C: 16.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 15.98 | 16.10 / 15.80BANKASIA | 1.35 | 20.80 | Vol. 841725 D: 18.90 ⇑ 0.53% | 18.93 | 19.40 / 17.00 C: 18.80 ⇑ 0.00% | 18.63 | 18.80 / 18.60MERCANBANK | 2.07 | 16.59 | Vol. 2884622 D: 16.30 ⇑ 0.00% | 16.26 | 17.00 / 14.70 C: 16.30 ⇑ 0.62% | 16.22 | 17.00 / 15.00EXIMBANK | 1.80 | 14.31 | Vol. 459981 D: 12.40 ⇑ 0.81% | 12.33 | 12.60 / 11.10 C: 12.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 12.32 | 12.50 / 12.20JAMUNABANK | 2.47 | 18.56 | Vol. 58681 D: 15.80 ⇓ 0.63% | 15.86 | 15.90 / 14.40 C: 15.90 ⇓ 0.63% | 15.87 | 16.00 / 15.80BRACBANK | 1.51 | 24.87 | Vol. 266381 D: 31.20 ⇑ 0.65% | 31.11 | 31.90 / 29.50 C: 31.00 ⇑ 0.32% | 29.92 | 31.00 / 28.00SHAHJABANK | 2.61 | 14.47 | Vol. 792021 D: 16.80 ⇑ 1.20% | 16.72 | 17.80 / 15.00 C: 16.80 ⇑ 1.20% | 16.62 | 16.80 / 16.40

PREMIERBAN | 1.18 | 13.95 | Vol. 391909 D: 11.20 ⇑ 0.90% | 11.23 | 12.00 / 10.00 C: 11.30 ⇑ 0.89% | 11.25 | 11.50 / 11.20TRUSTBANK | 0.50 | 18.00 | Vol. 136033 D: 20.70 ⇑ 2.48% | 20.61 | 21.00 / 18.50 C: 20.40 ⇓ 0.97% | 20.41 | 20.60 / 20.30FIRSTSBANK | 1.85 | 13.89 | Vol. 433746 D: 15.20 ⇑ 1.33% | 15.17 | 15.50 / 13.50 C: 15.20 ⇑ 1.33% | 15.19 | 16.00 / 14.50

NON BANKING F IIDLC | 4.43 | 29.18 | Vol. 143945 D: 61.00 ⇑ 0.16% | 60.50 | 61.50 / 55.00 C: 60.90 ⇓ 0.33% | 60.78 | 61.50 / 60.30ULC | 1.80 | 14.90 | Vol. 113252 D: 29.50 ⇑ 0.34% | 29.34 | 29.80 / 27.50UTTARAFIN | 7.16 | 41.54 | Vol. 69800 D: 78.70 ⇑ 0.38% | 78.24 | 83.00 / 75.00 C: 79.00 ⇓ 0.25% | 78.61 | 79.10 / 78.10MIDASFIN | 0.16 | 10.21 | Vol. 9907 D: 32.80 ⇓ 5.48% | 32.79 | 33.00 / 32.00 C: 34.70 ⇓ 9.87% | 34.70 | 34.70 / 34.70FLEASEINT | 2.34 | 13.93 | Vol. 1064111 D: 32.20 ⇑ 1.90% | 32.00 | 32.60 / 29.00 C: 32.30 ⇑ 1.25% | 32.05 | 32.80 / 31.30PLFSL | 1.37 | 17.48 | Vol. 428658 D: 23.70 ⇓ 0.42% | 23.76 | 24.20 / 21.50 C: 23.60 ⇓ 1.26% | 23.69 | 24.30 / 23.50PRIMEFIN | 0.87 | 17.88 | Vol. 93379 D: 24.70 ⇑ 0.41% | 24.76 | 24.90 / 23.50 C: 24.70 ⇓ 0.40% | 24.68 | 24.90 / 24.40PREMIERLEA | 0.10 | 11.37 | Vol. 82050 D: 10.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 10.16 | 10.20 / 10.00 C: 10.10 ⇑ 1.00% | 10.10 | 10.10 / 10.10ISLAMICFIN | 1.03 | 15.48 | Vol. 224224 D: 16.80 ⇑ 0.60% | 16.83 | 17.80 / 15.50 C: 17.00 ⇑ 1.19% | 16.89 | 17.00 / 16.80LANKABAFIN | 1.61 | 31.07 | Vol. 1725250 D: 64.60 ⇑ 2.05% | 64.01 | 68.00 / 58.00 C: 64.50 ⇑ 1.57% | 63.88 | 64.70 / 62.80BIFC | 0.15 | 18.58 | Vol. 113634 D: 17.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 17.18 | 17.40 / 16.00 C: 16.90 ⇓ 1.17% | 16.88 | 17.00 / 16.80IPDC | 1.23 | 19.43 | Vol. 85635 D: 18.90 ⇑ 1.07% | 18.79 | 19.00 / 16.90 C: 18.60 ⇓ 0.53% | 18.30 | 18.60 / 18.10UNIONCAP | 0.54 | 17.85 | Vol. 43104 D: 29.20 ⇑ 0.69% | 29.25 | 29.70 / 27.00 C: 29.40 ⇑ 2.08% | 29.29 | 30.00 / 27.00BDFINANCE | 0.57 | 14.77 | Vol. 129133 D: 19.00 ⇓ 0.52% | 19.06 | 19.40 / 18.00 C: 19.00 ⇓ 1.04% | 19.09 | 19.40 / 19.00ILFSL | 0.35 | 12.19 | Vol. 331825 D: 14.90 ⇓ 0.67% | 14.98 | 15.30 / 13.50 C: 15.10 ⇓ 0.66% | 15.03 | 15.20 / 14.90PHOENIXFIN | 2.46 | 19.39 | Vol. 161420 D: 33.00 ⇓ 0.30% | 33.02 | 33.50 / 32.00 C: 32.90 ⇓ 2.95% | 32.76 | 33.30 / 32.50FASFIN | 0.19 | 13.56 | Vol. 605694 D: 15.00 ⇓ 0.66% | 15.04 | 15.20 / 14.70 C: 15.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 15.11 | 15.60 / 14.90DBH | 4.47 | 21.27 | Vol. 52895 D: 52.90 ⇓ 1.67% | 53.05 | 54.00 / 51.00 C: 53.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 48.00 | 53.20 / 53.20NHFIL | 0.57 | 12.70 | Vol. 99013 D: 30.40 ⇓ 0.65% | 30.42 | 30.70 / 30.00 C: 30.10 ⇓ 1.63% | 30.28 | 30.70 / 30.00BAYLEASING | 0.72 | 25.55 | Vol. 565419 D: 30.90 ⇑ 0.32% | 30.86 | 31.00 / 28.00 C: 31.00 ⇑ 0.32% | 30.92 | 32.70 / 28.00ICB | 89.23 | 607.74 | Vol. 2250 D: 1479 ⇓ 0.14% | 1476 | 1489 / 1468GSPFINANCE | 1.63 | 22.23 | Vol. 360485 D: 28.80 ⇑ 1.41% | 28.52 | 29.30 / 26.00 C: 28.50 ⇑ 0.00% | 28.31 | 28.60 / 27.70FAREASTFIN | 0.68 | 13.64 | Vol. 1946500 D: 17.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 17.88 | 18.40 / 17.60 C: 17.80 ⇓ 1.11% | 17.81 | 18.40 / 17.40

INVESTMENT4THICB | 29.24 | 229.24 | Vol. 100 D: 203.9 ⇑ 7.32% | 203.90 | 203.9 / 203.95THICB | 23.45 | 188.92 | Vol. 200 D: 154.9 ⇑ 2.58% | 154.90 | 154.9 / 154.9

6THICB | 10.99 | 60.14 | Vol. 19200 D: 51.90 ⇓ 0.19% | 52.04 | 52.50 / 51.90 C: 51.00 ⇓ 3.41% | 51.00 | 51.00 / 51.008THICB | 12.47 | 70.07 | Vol. 6500 D: 52.90 ⇓ 0.38% | 52.92 | 53.10 / 52.90AIMS1STMF | 3.02 | 15.70 | Vol. 674300 D: 42.90 ⇑ 0.23% | 42.56 | 43.70 / 40.00 C: 42.70 ⇓ 0.47% | 42.05 | 43.60 / 41.00ICBISLAMIC | 2.21 | 26.81 | Vol. 13000 D: 18.30 ⇑ 0.00% | 18.31 | 18.50 / 18.20GRAMEEN1 | 6.26 | 33.23 | Vol. 286500 D: 46.80 ⇑ 0.00% | 46.50 | 47.40 / 45.70 C: 46.90 ⇓ 0.21% | 46.66 | 47.20 / 45.10ICB2NDNRB | 2.49 | 16.24 | Vol. 150000 D: 9.80 ⇓ 1.01% | 9.89 | 10.00 / 9.80 C: 9.90 ⇓ 3.88% | 9.95 | 10.00 / 9.90GRAMEENS2 | 2.17 | 16.41 | Vol. 1997200 D: 18.70 ⇑ 2.75% | 18.20 | 18.90 / 17.60 C: 18.70 ⇑ 1.63% | 18.29 | 19.00 / 17.601STPRIMFMF | 0.64 | 11.63 | Vol. 861500 D: 26.60 ⇑ 3.91% | 26.15 | 26.90 / 25.20 C: 26.70 ⇑ 3.89% | 26.45 | 26.90 / 24.90EBL1STMF | 0.55 | 12.62 | Vol. 3943380 D: 7.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 7.55 | 7.60 / 6.50 C: 7.40 ⇑ 2.78% | 7.28 | 7.40 / 7.00ICBAMCL2ND | 0.60 | 12.12 | Vol. 17500 D: 5.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.93 | 6.00 / 5.90 C: 6.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.98 | 6.00 / 5.90ICBEPMF1S1 | 0.52 | 11.32 | Vol. 51000 D: 6.00 ⇑ 1.69% | 5.98 | 6.10 / 5.90 C: 6.00 ⇑ 0.00% | 6.00 | 6.00 / 6.00TRUSTB1MF | 0.75 | 11.65 | Vol. 823806 D: 7.40 ⇓ 1.33% | 7.47 | 7.60 / 7.30 C: 7.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 7.56 | 7.60 / 7.50PRIME1ICBA | 0.42 | 11.18 | Vol. 541500 D: 6.00 ⇓ 1.64% | 5.86 | 6.10 / 5.60 C: 5.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.86 | 5.90 / 5.80DBH1STMF | -1.12 | 10.15 | Vol. 477000 D: 5.60 ⇓ 3.45% | 5.67 | 5.80 / 5.60 C: 5.80 ⇓ 1.69% | 5.68 | 5.80 / 5.60IFIC1STMF | 0.83 | 11.88 | Vol. 790000 D: 6.60 ⇓ 1.49% | 6.68 | 6.80 / 6.60 C: 6.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 6.67 | 6.70 / 6.60PF1STMF | 0.51 | 11.11 | Vol. 293000 D: 5.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.73 | 5.80 / 5.60 C: 5.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.70 | 5.70 / 5.70ICB3RDNRB | 0.00 | 10.60 | Vol. 218000 D: 5.30 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.33 | 5.40 / 5.30 C: 5.30 ⇓ 1.85% | 5.32 | 5.40 / 5.301JANATAMF | 0.78 | 10.68 | Vol. 231500 D: 6.10 ⇓ 1.61% | 6.10 | 6.20 / 6.00 C: 6.00 ⇓ 3.23% | 6.09 | 6.20 / 6.00GREENDELMF | -0.82 | 9.72 | Vol. 95500 D: 5.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.40 | 5.50 / 5.30 C: 5.40 ⇓ 1.82% | 5.42 | 5.50 / 5.40POPULAR1MF | 0.77 | 11.38 | Vol. 510589 D: 6.10 ⇓ 1.61% | 6.13 | 6.30 / 5.70 C: 6.20 ⇑ 1.64% | 6.17 | 6.20 / 6.10IFILISLMF1 | 0.00 | 10.45 | Vol. 183500 D: 5.80 ⇑ 1.75% | 5.80 | 5.90 / 5.70 C: 5.80 ⇓ 1.69% | 5.89 | 6.10 / 5.70PHPMF1 | 0.63 | 10.92 | Vol. 581000 D: 5.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 5.60 | 5.70 / 5.50 C: 5.70 ⇑ 1.79% | 5.63 | 5.70 / 5.60AIBL1STIMF | -0.07 | 9.25 | Vol. 55000 D: 7.10 ⇑ 1.43% | 7.10 | 7.20 / 6.80 C: 6.70 ⇓ 1.47% | 6.73 | 6.80 / 6.60MBL1STMF | -0.16 | 9.08 | Vol. 65000 D: 6.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 6.23 | 6.40 / 6.20SEBL1STMF | 0.94 | 11.85 | Vol. 942100 D: 8.10 ⇓ 1.22% | 8.14 | 9.00 / 8.10 C: 8.30 ⇑ 0.00% | 8.27 | 8.30 / 8.20EBLNRBMF | 1.07 | 10.88 | Vol. 85567 D: 7.60 ⇓ 2.56% | 7.60 | 8.10 / 7.40RELIANCE1 | 0.95 | 10.33 | Vol. 491150 D: 8.70 ⇑ 1.16% | 8.73 | 9.00 / 8.60 C: 8.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 8.70 | 8.70 / 8.70LRGLOBMF1 | 0.45 | 10.78 | Vol. 135648 D: 6.90 ⇑ 1.47% | 6.97 | 7.00 / 6.20 C: 6.80 ⇓ 1.45% | 6.80 | 6.80 / 6.80ABB1STMF | 0.92 | 10.63 | Vol. 122000 D: 7.20 ⇑ 0.00% | 7.20 | 7.30 / 7.10NLI1STMF | 1.17 | 12.22 | Vol. 474150 D: 9.50 ⇓ 1.04% | 9.50 | 10.00 / 9.30 C: 9.30 ⇓ 2.11% | 9.30 | 9.30 / 9.30

FBFIF | 1.30 | 10.27 | Vol. 40000 D: 9.10 ⇓ 1.09% | 9.18 | 9.20 / 9.00NCCBLMF1 | 1.16 | 10.48 | Vol. 43000 D: 8.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 8.47 | 8.50 / 8.40ICBSONALI1 | 0.00 | 10.39 | Vol. 342000 D: 8.30 ⇑ 0.00% | 8.27 | 8.50 / 8.10 C: 8.30 ⇓ 1.19% | 8.21 | 8.40 / 8.00

ENGINEERINGAFTABAUTO | 3.60 | 50.81 | Vol. 297506 D: 90.10 ⇑ 0.00% | 90.20 | 92.20 / 82.00 C: 89.70 ⇑ 0.45% | 89.62 | 90.90 / 89.00AZIZPIPES | 0.39 | -42.04 | Vol. 18000 D: 21.80 ⇓ 2.68% | 21.74 | 23.90 / 21.00 C: 22.50 ⇓ 0.88% | 22.50 | 22.50 / 22.50OLYMPIC | 5.23 | 14.73 | Vol. 136225 D: 145.6 ⇓ 1.02% | 145.94 | 148.0 / 141.0 C: 145.9 ⇓ 1.08% | 146.31 | 148.0 / 145.4BDLAMPS | -5.31 | 37.07 | Vol. 10850 D: 128.1 ⇓ 0.08% | 128.36 | 129.8 / 127.6 C: 127.2 ⇓ 0.70% | 127.28 | 128.0 / 126.8ECABLES | 6.10 | 23.97 | Vol. 6700 D: 89.10 ⇓ 1.00% | 88.87 | 89.50 / 88.40 C: 92.70 ⇑ 1.31% | 92.72 | 92.80 / 92.70MONNOSTAF | 5.31 | 44.78 | Vol. 700 D: 299.2 ⇓ 0.37% | 300.00 | 305.0 / 290.1SINGERBD | 9.99 | 45.74 | Vol. 50528 D: 191.2 ⇓ 0.98% | 191.71 | 192.4 / 183.0 C: 190.8 ⇓ 0.47% | 190.91 | 191.5 / 190.2ATLASBANG | 9.14 | 222.05 | Vol. 20760 D: 153.2 ⇓ 2.54% | 154.19 | 157.3 / 148.0BDAUTOCA | -0.43 | 5.68 | Vol. 54449 D: 34.60 ⇑ 1.17% | 34.40 | 35.20 / 31.00QSMDRYCELL | 1.06 | 52.31 | Vol. 649253 D: 40.90 ⇑ 2.76% | 40.46 | 41.40 / 36.90 C: 41.00 ⇑ 2.24% | 40.23 | 41.30 / 39.70RENWICKJA | 5.77 | -31.13 | Vol. 10900 D: 142.7 ⇓ 0.97% | 142.94 | 145.0 / 141.9NTLTUBES | 0.67 | 311.00 | Vol. 22300 D: 73.00 ⇓ 0.41% | 72.60 | 73.50 / 72.00BDTHAI | 0.43 | 39.35 | Vol. 1041732 D: 33.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 33.81 | 34.50 / 31.00 C: 34.20 ⇓ 0.87% | 33.98 | 34.80 / 33.20ANWARGALV | 0.52 | 8.10 | Vol. 343500 D: 34.50 ⇑ 2.68% | 33.92 | 35.00 / 32.60 C: 34.90 ⇑ 3.56% | 33.99 | 35.40 / 33.00KAY&QUE | -3.89 | 6.03 | Vol. 6000 D: 19.10 ⇓ 1.55% | 19.09 | 19.50 / 18.10 C: 19.00 ⇑ 1.06% | 19.00 | 19.00 / 19.00RANFOUNDRY | 2.84 | 18.62 | Vol. 16500 D: 94.50 ⇑ 1.29% | 93.88 | 97.00 / 92.70 C: 91.30 ⇓ 2.04% | 91.30 | 91.30 / 91.30SALAMCRST | 3.31 | 20.00 | Vol. 2067570 D: 50.00 ⇑ 2.67% | 49.98 | 51.00 / 45.00 C: 50.30 ⇑ 3.07% | 50.05 | 51.00 / 48.80GOLDENSON | 3.70 | 28.70 | Vol. 6073002 D: 60.90 ⇑ 7.60% | 59.64 | 61.50 / 51.00 C: 61.00 ⇑ 7.77% | 59.27 | 61.80 / 57.00BSRMSTEEL | 3.06 | 19.53 | Vol. 226555 D: 68.80 ⇑ 0.29% | 69.14 | 70.00 / 65.00 C: 68.90 ⇑ 0.15% | 69.04 | 69.90 / 68.80NAVANACNG | 4.09 | 27.04 | Vol. 54316 D: 65.20 ⇑ 0.46% | 65.08 | 70.00 / 59.00 C: 65.20 ⇓ 0.15% | 65.14 | 65.50 / 64.70DESHBANDHU | 0.26 | 10.67 | Vol. 1307924 D: 24.40 ⇑ 2.09% | 24.19 | 24.70 / 21.60 C: 24.50 ⇑ 0.82% | 24.29 | 24.80 / 23.90GPHISPAT | 2.11 | 15.27 | Vol. 533320 D: 54.70 ⇓ 0.18% | 55.02 | 55.90 / 52.00 C: 54.90 ⇓ 0.90% | 54.94 | 55.50 / 54.80BENGALWTL | 3.85 | 24.30 | Vol. 937600 D: 63.50 ⇑ 1.60% | 63.29 | 64.90 / 61.80 C: 63.50 ⇑ 1.76% | 63.28 | 64.70 / 62.00BDBUILDING | 1.33 | 12.70 | Vol. 529000 D: 72.10 ⇓ 0.41% | 72.24 | 73.30 / 71.50 C: 72.00 ⇓ 0.41% | 71.93 | 72.70 / 71.30NPOLYMAR | 2.38 | 32.89 | Vol. 114746 D: 58.70 ⇑ 3.53% | 57.53 | 59.00 / 52.00 C: 56.50 ⇑ 0.00% | 56.54 | 62.00 / 52.00

FOOD & ALLIEDAPEXFOODS | 2.54 | 90.81 | Vol. 104700 D: 99.40 ⇓ 2.83% | 99.77 | 104.2 / 97.00 C: 102.0 ⇓ 0.10% | 103.58 | 103.9 / 102.0

BANGAS | 7.20 | 50.27 | Vol. 40970 D: 470.0 ⇑ 0.77% | 469.04 | 477.9 / 430.0 C: 465.9 ⇓ 0.70% | 466.29 | 469.0 / 461.5BATBC | 65.69 | 117.22 | Vol. 850 D: 1590 ⇑ 0.13% | 1591 | 1595 / 1580GEMINISEA | -15.39 | -5.70 | Vol. 1400 D: 153.5 ⇓ 1.73% | 153.57 | 154.0 / 153.0NTC | 29.88 | 110.05 | Vol. 50 D: 815.0 ⇑ 1.24% | 815.00 | 815.0 / 815.0ZEALBANGLA | -28.94 | -221.34 | Vol. 300 D: 8.30 ⇑ 0.00% | 8.30 | 8.30 / 8.30CVOPRL | 0.58 | 13.86 | Vol. 24500 D: 818.8 ⇓ 7.08% | 818.80 | 818.8 / 818.8AMCL(PRAN) | 6.85 | 57.14 | Vol. 33020 D: 190.3 ⇓ 0.47% | 190.82 | 193.0 / 185.0 C: 190.8 ⇓ 0.26% | 191.47 | 193.0 / 190.0RAHIMAFOOD | 0.52 | 4.45 | Vol. 152000 D: 74.60 ⇓ 9.90% | 74.77 | 77.00 / 74.60 C: 74.40 ⇓ 9.82% | 74.35 | 75.00 / 74.30FUWANGFOOD | 0.94 | 12.28 | Vol. 624380 D: 25.50 ⇓ 1.54% | 25.47 | 26.10 / 24.00 C: 25.70 ⇓ 1.15% | 25.42 | 26.00 / 25.00MEGCONMILK | -7.48 | -23.70 | Vol. 10500 D: 7.80 ⇓ 3.70% | 7.81 | 8.00 / 7.70BEACHHATCH | 1.01 | 12.48 | Vol. 2521791 D: 34.20 ⇑ 9.62% | 32.96 | 34.30 / 28.50 C: 34.60 ⇑ 9.15% | 33.44 | 34.80 / 31.60FINEFOODS | 0.05 | 10.63 | Vol. 461000 D: 25.80 ⇑ 2.38% | 25.11 | 26.00 / 24.20 C: 25.90 ⇑ 2.78% | 25.19 | 26.20 / 24.20RDFOOD | 0.91 | 16.84 | Vol. 2345115 D: 28.80 ⇑ 4.35% | 28.29 | 29.10 / 25.00 C: 29.00 ⇑ 4.32% | 28.49 | 29.30 / 27.50GHAIL | 2.31 | 24.36 | Vol. 1111770 D: 47.40 ⇑ 1.07% | 47.20 | 47.90 / 42.50 C: 47.40 ⇑ 0.64% | 47.17 | 47.90 / 43.50

FUEL & POWERLINDEBD | 31.71 | 144.00 | Vol. 3800 D: 617.3 ⇑ 0.33% | 616.84 | 620.0 / 615.0PADMAOIL | 27.62 | 79.74 | Vol. 148238 D: 301.9 ⇓ 1.85% | 302.55 | 309.0 / 295.0 C: 299.4 ⇓ 2.92% | 300.52 | 305.3 / 293.1EASTRNLUB | 5.33 | 71.01 | Vol. 500 D: 310.7 ⇓ 0.10% | 310.00 | 312.5 / 309.0BDWELDING | 0.33 | 16.82 | Vol. 830580 D: 25.40 ⇑ 2.83% | 25.04 | 25.60 / 22.50 C: 25.50 ⇑ 2.41% | 25.20 | 25.80 / 24.30SUMITPOWER | 3.17 | 19.26 | Vol. 457943 D: 37.00 ⇓ 0.27% | 37.02 | 38.00 / 34.00 C: 37.00 ⇓ 0.80% | 37.07 | 37.50 / 37.00DESCO | 2.34 | 31.27 | Vol. 50750 D: 58.90 ⇓ 1.01% | 58.99 | 59.90 / 55.00 C: 58.80 ⇓ 1.01% | 58.80 | 58.80 / 58.80POWERGRID | 2.19 | 63.69 | Vol. 156107 D: 54.00 ⇑ 0.37% | 53.79 | 54.90 / 50.00 C: 52.60 ⇓ 0.19% | 52.72 | 53.30 / 52.00JAMUNAOIL | 19.83 | 57.32 | Vol. 102346 D: 193.3 ⇓ 0.97% | 193.43 | 196.0 / 192.0 C: 192.8 ⇓ 0.92% | 192.80 | 195.0 / 191.5MPETROLEUM | 21.34 | 59.26 | Vol. 103552 D: 210.8 ⇑ 1.15% | 208.39 | 214.0 / 202.0 C: 208.2 ⇓ 0.19% | 206.46 | 210.0 / 206.0TITASGAS | 9.20 | 46.26 | Vol. 139505 D: 74.00 ⇓ 0.27% | 73.93 | 74.70 / 67.00 C: 74.00 ⇑ 0.68% | 73.78 | 74.50 / 73.20KPCL | 4.73 | 15.86 | Vol. 111078 D: 48.40 ⇓ 0.21% | 48.34 | 50.00 / 45.00 C: 48.20 ⇑ 0.21% | 48.26 | 48.50 / 48.00BEDL | 1.48 | 19.43 | Vol. 728485 D: 32.90 ⇓ 0.30% | 32.91 | 35.00 / 29.70 C: 32.70 ⇓ 0.61% | 33.40 | 34.60 / 29.80MJLBD | 2.73 | 30.24 | Vol. 60287 D: 73.90 ⇓ 0.14% | 73.40 | 75.00 / 68.00 C: 73.30 ⇑ 0.00% | 72.66 | 73.50 / 72.80GBBPOWER | 1.86 | 22.63 | Vol. 477264 D: 29.60 ⇑ 0.68% | 29.45 | 29.90 / 26.50 C: 29.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 29.41 | 29.90 / 29.00SPPCL | 3.81 | 23.34 | Vol. 457370 D: 59.90 ⇓ 0.17% | 59.95 | 60.70 / 54.00 C: 59.90 ⇓ 0.50% | 59.93 | 60.50 / 59.50

JUTEJUTESPINN | -48.14 | -39.89 | Vol. 3000 D: 74.50 ⇓ 3.25% | 74.67 | 75.20 / 74.10

6 DHAKA TRIBUNE Share FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE Share6

Combined Turnover Leader Vol. TO M.

Tk.% of TTL Avg. P

Generation Next Fashions-A 11293560 427.51 8.12 37.85

Golden Son -A 6073002 362.08 6.88 59.62

P Textile Ltd.-N 4842750 293.61 5.58 60.63

AD Limited-A 1749280 173.58 3.30 99.23

Delta Life Insu. -A 546250 148.24 2.81 271.37

DSE Gainer C % A % CP

Beach Hatchery-A 9.62 4.34 34.20

Delta Spinners-A 9.48 3.55 43.90

Northern Jute-Z 8.50 8.50 60.00

Sinobangla Indu.-A 8.10 4.03 30.70

Sa� o Spinning-A 7.72 2.73 32.10

DSE Loser C % A % CP

Rahima Food -Z -9.90 -9.88 74.60

Dulamia CottonZ -8.14 -7.67 7.90

Modern Dyeing-Z -7.65 -8.33 83.30

CVO PetroChem RL-Z -7.08 -7.08 818.80

Midas Financ-ing-Z

-5.48 -5.50 32.80

CompanyCode | EPS | BV | Volume Traded (Share)DSE/CSE: ClosePrice ⇓/⇑ Chn % | Avg.Price | Hi / Lo

DSE Broad Index: 4244.64 ⇑ 0.11%, Turnover: 4751.14 M.Tk ⇓ 1.57%, PE: 12.96 Turnover 5,266.43 MTk . ⇓ 2.62% 19 December 2013 MarketCap. 2,043.60 BTk.⇑0.06% CSE All Share Index: 13198 ⇑ 0.13%, Turnover: 515.29 M Tk. ⇓ 11.36%, PE: 12.79

ShareDHAKA TRIBUNE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2013 7ShareDHAKA TRIBUNE 7

December 19, 2013 Sectotal Index: BANK: 36,691.43 ⇑ 0.46% NBFI: 21,531.28 ⇓ 0.18% INVS: 4,932.22 ⇓ 0.16% ENGG: 6,469.64 ⇑ 0.67% FOOD: 11,058.83 ⇑ 0.06% F&P: 9,959.12 ⇓ 0.52% TEXT: 3,828.20 ⇑ 1.02% PHAR: 18,182.99 ⇑ 0.06% PAPR: 1,387.47 ⇑ 3.78% SERV: 2,987.29 ⇓ 0.20% LEAT: 5,321.57 ⇑ 0.20% CERA: 534.30 ⇓ 0.02% CMNT: 4,290.79 ⇑ 0.03% INFO: 8,533.43 ⇑ 0.49% GINS: 9,159.01 � 0.00% LINS: 124,973.49 ⇓ 0.46% TELC: 1,314.61 ⇓ 0.60% MISC: 6,456.54 ⇓ 0.09%

NORTHERN | -9.98 | -18.22 | Vol. 2600 D: 60.00 ⇑ 8.50% | 60.00 | 60.50 / 55.30SONALIANSH | 2.65 | 226.00 | Vol. 15700 D: 136.0 ⇓ 0.66% | 136.05 | 138.8 / 135.0

TEXTILEAL-HAJTEX | 2.22 | 16.53 | Vol. 32750 D: 73.30 ⇑ 0.00% | 73.10 | 74.30 / 72.50RAHIMTEXT | 4.65 | 56.68 | Vol. 3000 D: 240.1 ⇓ 2.32% | 241.00 | 244.2 / 237.2SAIHAMTEX | 2.75 | 29.50 | Vol. 1012200 D: 29.30 ⇓ 1.68% | 29.38 | 30.20 / 28.90 C: 29.40 ⇓ 1.01% | 29.30 | 30.00 / 29.00MODERNDYE | 0.91 | 10.37 | Vol. 400 D: 83.30 ⇓ 7.65% | 82.50 | 83.50 / 83.20DSHGARME | 0.88 | 12.12 | Vol. 36900 D: 67.70 ⇓ 0.73% | 67.43 | 68.70 / 66.60DULAMIACOT | -1.90 | -29.70 | Vol. 6300 D: 7.90 ⇓ 8.14% | 7.94 | 8.60 / 7.90TALLUSPIN | 1.75 | 16.17 | Vol. 1674930 D: 38.10 ⇑ 1.60% | 37.79 | 38.40 / 35.00 C: 38.30 ⇑ 1.86% | 38.06 | 38.50 / 37.30APEXSPINN | 2.01 | 49.32 | Vol. 2800 D: 73.50 ⇓ 3.54% | 73.57 | 73.80 / 73.40MITHUNKNIT | 2.87 | 20.53 | Vol. 44320 D: 78.10 ⇓ 0.89% | 78.23 | 79.50 / 76.00 C: 79.10 ⇑ 1.67% | 79.10 | 80.00 / 78.80DELTASPINN | 3.06 | 26.84 | Vol. 3004300 D: 43.90 ⇑ 9.48% | 42.28 | 44.10 / 36.10 C: 43.90 ⇑ 9.48% | 42.39 | 44.10 / 40.80SONARGAON | 0.27 | 34.50 | Vol. 220195 D: 20.70 ⇑ 1.47% | 20.54 | 21.00 / 18.50 C: 21.10 ⇑ 1.93% | 20.71 | 21.40 / 20.20PRIMETEX | 1.21 | 59.34 | Vol. 279500 D: 27.40 ⇑ 0.37% | 27.31 | 27.70 / 26.90 C: 27.40 ⇑ 0.74% | 27.29 | 27.70 / 27.00ALLTEX | -1.26 | 8.10 | Vol. 56000 D: 7.30 ⇓ 1.35% | 7.39 | 7.50 / 7.30ANLIMAYARN | 1.36 | 11.99 | Vol. 145500 D: 28.60 ⇑ 1.06% | 28.41 | 29.00 / 27.70 C: 28.80 ⇑ 0.35% | 28.44 | 28.90 / 28.10HRTEX | 2.08 | 14.92 | Vol. 434012 D: 44.60 ⇑ 1.59% | 43.85 | 45.20 / 39.60 C: 45.10 ⇑ 4.40% | 43.66 | 45.40 / 43.00CMCKAMAL | 1.37 | 19.31 | Vol. 1149572 D: 33.30 ⇑ 0.91% | 33.34 | 33.90 / 30.00SAFKOSPINN | 0.95 | 21.78 | Vol. 1206492 D: 32.10 ⇑ 7.72% | 31.28 | 32.50 / 26.90 C: 31.80 ⇑ 6.35% | 31.03 | 32.00 / 29.20SQUARETEXT | 4.32 | 31.82 | Vol. 58795 D: 91.60 ⇑ 0.11% | 91.56 | 91.70 / 84.00 C: 92.00 ⇑ 0.11% | 91.40 | 92.00 / 91.20METROSPIN | 0.56 | 17.71 | Vol. 793588 D: 22.30 ⇑ 2.29% | 22.14 | 22.50 / 20.00 C: 22.30 ⇑ 1.83% | 21.97 | 22.60 / 21.60MAKSONSPIN | 0.16 | 20.55 | Vol. 3036708 D: 20.80 ⇑ 1.46% | 20.69 | 21.10 / 18.50 C: 20.80 ⇑ 1.46% | 20.68 | 21.00 / 20.30DACCADYE | 0.93 | 25.85 | Vol. 568490 D: 25.90 ⇑ 1.57% | 25.72 | 26.10 / 24.00 C: 25.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 25.68 | 26.00 / 25.30RNSPIN | 2.80 | 16.58 | Vol. 3877710 D: 36.70 ⇑ 1.38% | 36.40 | 37.00 / 34.00 C: 36.60 ⇑ 0.83% | 36.32 | 36.90 / 35.90BXSYNTH | 0.93 | 25.42 | Vol. 415215 D: 17.50 ⇑ 1.16% | 17.49 | 18.00 / 16.00 C: 17.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 17.39 | 17.50 / 17.20MALEKSPIN | 2.81 | 43.48 | Vol. 1232635 D: 27.80 ⇓ 0.36% | 27.82 | 30.00 / 26.00 C: 27.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 27.83 | 28.40 / 27.50ZAHINTEX | 1.20 | 31.07 | Vol. 349650 D: 28.80 ⇓ 0.35% | 28.59 | 29.50 / 27.00 C: 29.00 ⇓ 0.34% | 28.78 | 29.50 / 28.30SAIHAMCOT | 1.92 | 23.62 | Vol. 1170750 D: 25.70 ⇓ 0.39% | 25.64 | 26.10 / 25.30 C: 25.80 ⇓ 0.39% | 25.66 | 26.10 / 25.10GENNEXT | 1.68 | 15.15 | Vol. 11293560 D: 38.90 ⇑ 5.71% | 37.84 | 39.40 / 33.30 C: 39.10 ⇑ 5.96% | 37.96 | 39.60 / 36.80ENVOYTEX | 3.10 | 37.86 | Vol. 1497240 D: 57.60 ⇑ 0.52% | 57.68 | 58.50 / 52.00 C: 57.60 ⇑ 0.52% | 57.66 | 58.30 / 56.80ARGONDENIM | 1.89 | 38.86 | Vol. 1749280 D: 99.70 ⇑ 3.10% | 99.28 | 100.8 / 88.00 C: 99.90 ⇑ 3.42% | 98.24 | 99.90 / 100.0FAMILYTEX | 3.72 | 14.68 | Vol. 1315500 D: 66.90 ⇓ 1.62% | 67.81 | 69.00 / 66.50 C: 67.80 ⇓ 0.73% | 68.14 | 68.80 / 66.70

PTL | 1.89 | 17.91 | Vol. 4842750 D: 61.50 ⇓ 3.76% | 60.57 | 62.90 / 58.20 C: 61.40 ⇓ 4.36% | 60.92 | 63.00 / 58.20

PHARMACEUTICAL & CHEMICALAMBEEPHA | 3.94 | 26.15 | Vol. 4600 D: 267.0 ⇓ 0.19% | 267.14 | 269.9 / 265.0 C: 265.0 ⇓ 2.07% | 266.65 | 273.0 / 262.0BXPHARMA | 3.77 | 52.55 | Vol. 308696 D: 46.70 ⇓ 0.43% | 46.96 | 47.50 / 42.60 C: 46.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 46.44 | 46.70 / 46.00GLAXOSMITH | 20.25 | 123.32 | Vol. 350 D: 956.7 ⇓ 0.42% | 957.14 | 965.0 / 955.0ACI | -5.82 | 126.42 | Vol. 10412 D: 171.9 ⇑ 1.18% | 170.86 | 173.0 / 165.0RENATA | 33.57 | 138.83 | Vol. 11400 D: 727.7 ⇓ 0.08% | 728.07 | 734.7 / 725.0PHARMAID | 1.39 | 26.19 | Vol. 22700 D: 166.1 ⇓ 0.84% | 166.08 | 168.0 / 165.1KOHINOOR | 11.46 | 15.99 | Vol. 5500 D: 358.4 ⇑ 5.94% | 358.55 | 367.9 / 338.0IBNSINA | 3.44 | 34.02 | Vol. 36380 D: 102.7 ⇑ 0.49% | 102.62 | 104.0 / 99.90 C: 103.4 ⇑ 0.98% | 103.21 | 104.0 / 100.8LIBRAINFU | 4.21 | 1567.59 | Vol. 1000 D: 390.2 ⇓ 1.86% | 390.00 | 410.0 / 370.0ORIONINFU | 1.27 | 7.00 | Vol. 161600 D: 41.50 ⇑ 0.00% | 41.72 | 42.40 / 41.40 C: 42.50 ⇑ 0.24% | 42.16 | 42.60 / 41.40SQURPHARMA | 6.93 | 37.18 | Vol. 184036 D: 192.7 ⇑ 0.10% | 192.37 | 195.2 / 180.0 C: 191.5 ⇓ 0.31% | 191.81 | 194.8 / 190.5IMAMBUTTON | -1.51 | 4.16 | Vol. 13500 D: 8.00 ⇓ 1.23% | 8.00 | 8.30 / 7.60 C: 7.80 ⇓ 3.70% | 7.76 | 8.00 / 7.60KEYACOSMET | 1.55 | 21.54 | Vol. 1900321 D: 28.70 ⇑ 0.70% | 28.71 | 30.10 / 26.00 C: 28.90 ⇑ 1.05% | 28.74 | 29.10 / 28.20BERGERPBL | 32.46 | 100.20 | Vol. 1350 D: 847.0 ⇑ 0.27% | 847.41 | 850.0 / 840.0ACIFORMULA | 3.33 | 38.08 | Vol. 47575 D: 80.40 ⇑ 1.77% | 81.03 | 82.90 / 79.00 C: 81.40 ⇑ 2.65% | 80.83 | 81.50 / 79.70MARICO | 27.53 | 62.47 | Vol. 450 D: 746.8 ⇓ 0.45% | 746.67 | 748.0 / 745.0BEACONPHAR | 0.04 | 12.01 | Vol. 233575 D: 13.10 ⇓ 0.76% | 13.19 | 13.90 / 12.00 C: 13.20 ⇓ 0.75% | 13.20 | 13.30 / 13.10ACTIVEFINE | 3.23 | 13.89 | Vol. 350323 D: 84.60 ⇑ 0.95% | 84.14 | 85.20 / 77.00 C: 84.10 ⇑ 0.72% | 84.09 | 85.00 / 83.50SALVOCHEM | 0.68 | 10.57 | Vol. 1597243 D: 26.40 ⇑ 1.54% | 26.13 | 28.00 / 23.50 C: 26.70 ⇑ 2.30% | 26.12 | 27.00 / 25.50GHCL | 2.14 | 57.31 | Vol. 312000 D: 59.20 ⇑ 2.78% | 58.30 | 60.40 / 57.00 C: 59.60 ⇑ 3.47% | 57.87 | 59.80 / 56.90ORIONPHARM | 5.02 | 68.68 | Vol. 655040 D: 60.90 ⇑ 0.33% | 60.85 | 61.40 / 55.00 C: 61.00 ⇑ 0.99% | 60.76 | 61.30 / 60.40JMISMDL | 1.12 | 12.83 | Vol. 119000 D: 217.4 ⇑ 3.18% | 212.52 | 219.3 / 207.0 C: 217.6 ⇑ 2.74% | 212.59 | 219.0 / 206.1CENTRALPHL | 1.62 | 12.24 | Vol. 1740195 D: 50.60 ⇑ 0.80% | 50.56 | 51.40 / 46.00 C: 50.70 ⇑ 1.00% | 50.53 | 51.50 / 50.00

PAPER & PACKAGINGHAKKANIPUL | 0.51 | 31.01 | Vol. 31500 D: 39.10 ⇑ 5.39% | 38.82 | 39.70 / 36.50 C: 38.50 ⇓ 1.28% | 37.75 | 39.50 / 35.50

SERVICESAMORITA | 2.49 | 57.42 | Vol. 30126 D: 90.70 ⇑ 1.34% | 90.64 | 92.90 / 85.00SAPORTL | 1.23 | 38.39 | Vol. 308521 D: 30.10 ⇓ 0.99% | 30.19 | 31.00 / 27.40 C: 30.20 ⇓ 0.66% | 30.15 | 30.50 / 30.00EHL | 2.81 | 18.44 | Vol. 256255 D: 51.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 51.47 | 52.40 / 49.70 C: 51.40 ⇑ 0.19% | 51.30 | 52.10 / 50.90

LEATHERAPEXTANRY | 6.57 | 69.38 | Vol. 80800 D: 125.2 ⇓ 0.16% | 126.14 | 127.7 / 124.4BATASHOE | 49.12 | 135.53 | Vol. 4400 D: 697.3 ⇓ 0.07% | 696.82 | 703.0 / 695.7APEXADELFT | 23.01 | 203.26 | Vol. 40800 D: 403.5 ⇑ 2.28% | 401.25 | 407.0 / 390.0SAMATALETH | 0.22 | 12.93 | Vol. 37500 D: 24.20 ⇓ 3.59% | 24.75 | 27.50 / 24.20LEGACYFOOT | 0.63 | 17.19 | Vol. 397777 D: 47.00 ⇑ 6.58% | 45.68 | 47.80 / 39.70 C: 46.50 ⇑ 5.44% | 45.20 | 47.20 / 43.40

CERAMICMONNOCERA | 0.35 | 95.30 | Vol. 39250 D: 34.90 ⇑ 0.87% | 34.73 | 35.40 / 32.00 C: 35.00 ⇑ 1.16% | 35.00 | 35.00 / 35.00STANCERAM | 1.12 | 15.49 | Vol. 2640 D: 40.40 ⇑ 6.60% | 40.11 | 40.50 / 35.00FUWANGCER | 0.65 | 12.70 | Vol. 832293 D: 22.10 ⇑ 0.45% | 22.04 | 22.50 / 21.00 C: 22.10 ⇓ 0.90% | 22.08 | 22.40 / 21.80SPCERAMICS | 0.62 | 30.92 | Vol. 469299 D: 18.70 ⇓ 0.53% | 18.69 | 19.00 / 17.00 C: 18.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 18.73 | 19.10 / 18.50RAKCERAMIC | 1.98 | 16.76 | Vol. 84967 D: 52.00 ⇑ 1.17% | 51.59 | 54.00 / 47.00 C: 51.60 ⇑ 0.19% | 51.41 | 51.90 / 51.30

CEMENTHEIDELBCEM | 22.85 | 111.50 | Vol. 30550 D: 371.1 ⇓ 1.15% | 371.72 | 373.8 / 370.3CONFIDCEM | 6.23 | 90.76 | Vol. 360172 D: 127.8 ⇑ 0.47% | 126.89 | 129.0 / 120.0 C: 128.2 ⇑ 0.16% | 126.76 | 128.9 / 125.7MEGHNACEM | 6.28 | 33.81 | Vol. 205600 D: 146.5 ⇑ 0.69% | 145.71 | 149.8 / 141.1 C: 148.0 ⇑ 2.49% | 145.66 | 154.9 / 140.1ARAMITCEM | 3.03 | 14.65 | Vol. 99500 D: 86.70 ⇓ 0.91% | 86.81 | 88.90 / 85.40 C: 85.00 ⇓ 1.62% | 85.00 | 85.00 / 85.00LAFSURCEML | 1.60 | 7.22 | Vol. 269500 D: 31.70 ⇓ 0.31% | 31.70 | 31.90 / 31.60 C: 31.60 ⇑ 0.00% | 31.56 | 32.50 / 31.20MICEMENT | 4.48 | 37.67 | Vol. 92099 D: 81.80 ⇓ 1.09% | 81.95 | 83.20 / 77.00 C: 81.60 ⇓ 0.49% | 81.64 | 82.00 / 81.40PREMIERCEM | 5.00 | 32.60 | Vol. 130600 D: 103.7 ⇑ 0.68% | 103.57 | 104.8 / 102.3 C: 103.9 ⇓ 0.38% | 103.72 | 105.4 / 102.0

IT IINDUSTRIESISNLTD | 0.28 | 17.31 | Vol. 153110 D: 20.60 ⇑ 0.98% | 20.59 | 20.90 / 19.50 C: 20.80 ⇓ 0.48% | 20.66 | 20.90 / 20.40BDCOM | 1.40 | 14.41 | Vol. 646771 D: 31.70 ⇑ 0.96% | 30.86 | 32.20 / 28.50 C: 31.30 ⇑ 0.32% | 31.37 | 32.00 / 28.10INTECH | 0.94 | 10.08 | Vol. 253520 D: 17.30 ⇑ 0.00% | 17.33 | 18.00 / 17.00 C: 17.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 17.25 | 17.60 / 17.00AGNISYSL | 0.96 | 14.90 | Vol. 632288 D: 24.80 ⇑ 0.40% | 24.73 | 25.50 / 24.00 C: 24.90 ⇑ 0.81% | 24.96 | 26.40 / 24.10

DAFODILCOM | 0.85 | 10.99 | Vol. 461965 D: 15.00 ⇓ 1.96% | 15.03 | 16.00 / 14.00 C: 15.10 ⇓ 1.31% | 15.05 | 15.50 / 14.90AAMRATECH | 1.33 | 19.91 | Vol. 1162700 D: 38.90 ⇑ 0.78% | 38.64 | 39.30 / 34.80 C: 39.00 ⇑ 1.30% | 38.77 | 39.40 / 37.70

GENERAL INSURANCEBGIC | 1.65 | 20.33 | Vol. 42333 D: 29.00 ⇓ 0.68% | 28.97 | 29.30 / 27.00 C: 29.10 ⇓ 0.68% | 29.05 | 29.10 / 29.00GREENDELT | 4.05 | 64.44 | Vol. 75093 D: 89.30 ⇑ 3.00% | 88.07 | 90.00 / 85.00 C: 89.40 ⇑ 2.76% | 88.81 | 89.50 / 87.50UNITEDINS | 2.47 | 21.04 | Vol. 36800 D: 42.60 ⇓ 2.74% | 42.96 | 43.80 / 42.50PEOPLESINS | 2.05 | 20.72 | Vol. 78800 D: 33.70 ⇓ 0.30% | 33.75 | 34.10 / 33.40 C: 33.80 ⇓ 2.03% | 33.83 | 33.90 / 33.80EASTERNINS | 2.22 | 35.88 | Vol. 17920 D: 36.90 ⇓ 0.81% | 36.94 | 37.20 / 36.50JANATAINS | 0.78 | 17.07 | Vol. 87700 D: 27.00 ⇓ 0.37% | 27.06 | 27.30 / 25.00 C: 27.10 ⇓ 0.37% | 27.09 | 27.20 / 27.00PHENIXINS | 2.70 | 20.96 | Vol. 22325 D: 41.50 ⇓ 0.72% | 41.34 | 42.00 / 40.00EASTLAND | 4.06 | 23.29 | Vol. 152400 D: 47.00 ⇓ 1.05% | 47.08 | 47.70 / 46.80 C: 47.50 ⇓ 1.04% | 47.50 | 47.50 / 47.50CENTRALINS | 1.54 | 19.04 | Vol. 52009 D: 29.60 ⇓ 1.00% | 29.61 | 29.80 / 27.00 C: 28.80 ⇓ 4.00% | 28.80 | 28.80 / 28.80KARNAPHULI | 1.56 | 19.42 | Vol. 90040 D: 24.20 ⇓ 0.41% | 24.15 | 24.40 / 23.90RUPALIINS | 2.76 | 23.38 | Vol. 122357 D: 34.00 ⇓ 1.16% | 34.09 | 34.80 / 32.90 C: 34.00 ⇓ 0.87% | 33.97 | 34.00 / 33.90FEDERALINS | 1.10 | 10.98 | Vol. 150162 D: 24.70 ⇓ 0.40% | 24.64 | 25.40 / 22.50 C: 24.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 24.69 | 26.50 / 23.00RELIANCINS | 3.93 | 61.52 | Vol. 2000 D: 71.80 ⇑ 0.00% | 72.00 | 72.10 / 71.50PURABIGEN | 1.05 | 18.71 | Vol. 469205 D: 26.90 ⇑ 0.75% | 26.82 | 27.50 / 25.00PRAGATIINS | 2.01 | 50.30 | Vol. 16068 D: 56.10 ⇑ 2.94% | 55.39 | 57.90 / 52.00PRIMEINSUR | 2.14 | 14.14 | Vol. 73787 D: 32.00 ⇓ 0.31% | 31.71 | 32.40 / 31.00PIONEERINS | 3.11 | 23.84 | Vol. 85260 D: 65.20 ⇓ 1.21% | 65.46 | 66.10 / 63.00MERCINS | 1.53 | 14.50 | Vol. 55411 D: 27.00 ⇓ 0.37% | 27.05 | 27.50 / 26.00 C: 27.50 ⇑ 2.23% | 26.44 | 27.50 / 26.10AGRANINS | 1.73 | 14.39 | Vol. 53636 D: 27.20 ⇓ 1.09% | 27.22 | 27.90 / 25.00GLOBALINS | 1.09 | 11.78 | Vol. 47060 D: 28.40 ⇓ 1.05% | 28.59 | 28.90 / 27.00NITOLINS | 2.59 | 15.41 | Vol. 4000 D: 33.60 ⇓ 0.88% | 33.75 | 33.80 / 33.40ASIAPACINS | 1.84 | 13.76 | Vol. 14000 D: 29.70 ⇓ 0.67% | 29.71 | 30.00 / 29.40SONARBAINS | 1.68 | 13.38 | Vol. 206000 D: 24.40 ⇓ 2.40% | 24.53 | 25.00 / 24.20 C: 25.00 ⇓ 4.94% | 25.00 | 25.00 / 25.00PARAMOUNT | 1.26 | 13.19 | Vol. 16495 D: 24.70 ⇓ 0.80% | 24.77 | 25.00 / 23.00 C: 24.70 ⇑ 0.82% | 24.75 | 24.80 / 24.70CITYGENINS | 1.65 | 14.26 | Vol. 75710 D: 27.80 ⇑ 0.00% | 27.66 | 28.20 / 26.00 C: 27.90 ⇓ 0.36% | 27.88 | 28.00 / 27.50CONTININS | 1.41 | 15.68 | Vol. 117239 D: 29.40 ⇓ 0.34% | 29.38 | 29.90 / 27.00 C: 29.60 ⇓ 0.34% | 29.59 | 29.70 / 29.50TAKAFULINS | 2.19 | 15.17 | Vol. 131863 D: 38.60 ⇓ 1.28% | 38.86 | 39.60 / 37.00 C: 38.80 ⇓ 0.77% | 38.78 | 38.80 / 38.70STANDARINS | 2.58 | 13.99 | Vol. 9060 D: 39.50 ⇓ 0.50% | 39.47 | 40.00 / 37.10 C: 38.80 ⇑ 0.00% | 37.40 | 38.80 / 38.80NORTHRNINS | 1.77 | 11.15 | Vol. 65306 D: 40.10 ⇓ 0.99% | 40.21 | 40.60 / 36.50 C: 40.80 ⇑ 0.25% | 40.63 | 40.90 / 39.00REPUBLIC | 2.14 | 12.42 | Vol. 111505 D: 42.90 ⇑ 0.00% | 42.95 | 43.30 / 39.00 C: 42.50 ⇓ 0.47% | 42.33 | 42.50 / 42.20ASIAINS | 1.56 | 17.34 | Vol. 225414 D: 29.50 ⇑ 1.03% | 29.41 | 29.90 / 28.80 C: 29.20 ⇑ 1.74% | 28.98 | 29.40 / 27.00

ISLAMIINS | 1.29 | 11.96 | Vol. 355728 D: 33.00 ⇓ 2.65% | 32.83 | 34.50 / 32.50 C: 33.10 ⇑ 1.53% | 34.14 | 35.10 / 33.10PROVATIINS | 1.90 | 14.30 | Vol. 15502 D: 28.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 28.42 | 28.60 / 26.70 C: 28.40 ⇓ 0.35% | 28.23 | 28.50 / 28.30DHAKAINS | 2.84 | 18.02 | Vol. 94375 D: 40.90 ⇓ 0.73% | 40.83 | 41.10 / 40.00 C: 40.60 ⇓ 1.46% | 40.61 | 41.00 / 40.50

LIFE INSURANCENATLIFEINS | 12.34 | 80.99 | Vol. 21725 D: 295.9 ⇓ 0.50% | 294.50 | 302.5 / 275.0DELTALIFE | 38.53 | 189.40 | Vol. 546250 D: 270.3 ⇓ 0.88% | 271.36 | 275.8 / 269.0 C: 270.5 ⇓ 0.88% | 271.51 | 277.0 / 270.0SANDHANINS | 2.39 | 28.22 | Vol. 40802 D: 72.90 ⇓ 1.09% | 73.63 | 75.00 / 72.00 C: 73.00 ⇓ 0.68% | 73.00 | 73.00 / 73.00POPULARLIF | 3.70 | 715.41 | Vol. 7753 D: 213.5 ⇓ 1.20% | 213.78 | 221.0 / 210.0FAREASTLIF | 9.21 | 60.79 | Vol. 91107 D: 97.20 ⇓ 1.82% | 98.47 | 101.0 / 90.00 C: 100.2 ⇓ 0.30% | 100.56 | 99.80 / 100.0MEGHNALIFE | 10.82 | 48.87 | Vol. 50460 D: 116.8 ⇓ 0.51% | 116.92 | 121.8 / 115.7 C: 114.4 ⇓ 2.31% | 114.13 | 116.0 / 113.3PROGRESLIF | 2.30 | 31.45 | Vol. 1571 D: 116.1 ⇑ 0.00% | 115.73 | 116.5 / 110.0PRAGATILIF | 0.60 | 30.15 | Vol. 30150 D: 165.8 ⇓ 0.54% | 164.68 | 169.9 / 155.0PRIMELIFE | 5.51 | 27.10 | Vol. 43154 D: 96.20 ⇓ 0.31% | 96.57 | 99.90 / 95.00 C: 100.0 ⇑ 0.00% | 93.43 | 100.0 / 100.0RUPALILIFE | 3.75 | 31.25 | Vol. 359010 D: 120.2 ⇑ 1.69% | 121.27 | 125.9 / 111.7PADMALIFE | 1.63 | 25.76 | Vol. 109600 D: 63.40 ⇓ 1.86% | 63.80 | 65.00 / 59.00 C: 63.60 ⇓ 1.24% | 63.36 | 64.00 / 62.00SUNLIFEINS | 0.00 | 0.00 | Vol. 154300 D: 58.10 ⇓ 1.53% | 58.70 | 59.20 / 55.00 C: 58.20 ⇓ 1.19% | 58.62 | 59.40 / 57.90

TELECOMGP | 12.96 | 26.26 | Vol. 377708 D: 199.9 ⇓ 0.15% | 199.62 | 201.9 / 190.0 C: 199.2 ⇓ 0.50% | 199.50 | 202.0 / 198.4BSCCL | 5.82 | 26.38 | Vol. 131980 D: 166.2 ⇓ 0.54% | 166.34 | 170.0 / 155.0 C: 165.1 ⇓ 0.96% | 165.37 | 168.0 / 164.6

TRAVEL & LEISUREUNITEDAIR | 1.10 | 12.87 | Vol. 3761384 D: 16.70 ⇑ 0.60% | 16.65 | 16.80 / 15.00 C: 16.70 ⇑ 0.00% | 16.65 | 16.90 / 15.10UNIQUEHRL | 4.02 | 86.29 | Vol. 471760 D: 80.00 ⇓ 0.87% | 80.36 | 81.30 / 73.00 C: 80.10 ⇓ 0.62% | 80.08 | 81.00 / 79.50

MISCELLANEOUSARAMIT | 16.07 | 99.93 | Vol. 14950 D: 346.9 ⇑ 5.70% | 343.57 | 353.5 / 331.5 C: 342.7 ⇑ 1.39% | 342.69 | 348.5 / 327.5BSC | 1.77 | 565.82 | Vol. 41500 D: 423.0 ⇓ 0.76% | 424.06 | 431.5 / 422.3 C: 423.5 ⇓ 0.70% | 424.31 | 431.0 / 422.0GQBALLPEN | 6.55 | 250.45 | Vol. 40629 D: 147.3 ⇑ 0.34% | 145.82 | 148.5 / 132.2 C: 148.0 ⇑ 1.16% | 144.50 | 148.0 / 144.1USMANIAGL | 3.45 | 27.20 | Vol. 251170 D: 148.6 ⇑ 3.77% | 149.23 | 150.7 / 140.0 C: 148.0 ⇑ 4.52% | 149.28 | 151.0 / 146.0BEXIMCO | 3.24 | 86.74 | Vol. 1129295 D: 33.40 ⇑ 0.00% | 33.40 | 34.00 / 30.10 C: 33.40 ⇓ 0.60% | 33.41 | 34.00 / 30.50SINOBANGLA | 1.75 | 21.01 | Vol. 1318500 D: 30.70 ⇑ 8.10% | 29.42 | 31.10 / 27.90 C: 30.90 ⇑ 8.42% | 29.47 | 31.30 / 28.20MIRACLEIND | 0.09 | 14.41 | Vol. 365500 D: 18.80 ⇑ 1.08% | 18.82 | 19.00 / 18.40 C: 18.80 ⇑ 0.00% | 18.73 | 19.00 / 18.50

BONDIBBLPBOND | 0.00 | 1000.00 | Vol. 255 D: 975.3 ⇓ 0.41% | 976.00 | 976.5 / 974.3 C: 970.0 ⇓ 0.05% | 970.00 | 970.0 / 970.0ACIZCBOND | 0.00 | 1000.00 | Vol. 7036 D: 900.0 ⇑ 0.90% | 900.00 | 900.0 / 900.0

8 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE Business

Fed cuts bond buying in � rst step away from historic stimulusn Reuters

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday em-barked on the risky task of winding down the era of easy money, saying the US economy was � nally strong enough for it to start scal-ing down its massive bond-buying stimulus.

The central bank modestly trimmed the pace of its monthly asset purchases, by $10bn to $75bn, and sought to temper the long-awaited move by suggesting its key in-terest rate would stay at rock bottom even longer than previously promised.

At his last scheduled news conference as Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke said the pur-chases would likely be cut at a “measured” pace through much of next year if job gains continued as expected, with the program ful-ly shuttered by late-2014.

The move, which surprised some inves-tors but did not cause the market shock many had feared, was a nod to better prospects for the economy and labor market. It marked a historic turning point for the largest mone-tary policy experiment ever.

“The recovery clearly remains far from complete,” Bernanke said. But “we’re hope-ful ... we’ll begin to see the whites of the eyes of the end of the recovery, and the be-ginning of the more normal period of eco-nomic growth.” Bernanke said he consulted closely on the decision with Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen, who is set to succeed him once he steps down on January 31 after eight years at the helm. “She fully supports what we did today,” he said.

Investors took the action as a validation that the outlook for the economy was im-proving. After a brief pullback, U.S. stocks rallied sharply, with both S&P 500 and Dow industrials closing at all-time highs.

At the same time, US Treasury bond prices fell, but the move was modest, capped by the Fed’s strengthened commitment to keep in-terest rates near zero for a long time irrespec-tive of the reduction in its asset purchases.

The Fed said monthly purchases of both

mortgage and Treasury bonds would be trimmed by $5bn each, starting in January.

“This is a modest change, not a big one, and it shows that they are not in a rush,” said Scott Clemons, chief investment strat-egist for Brown Brothers Harriman Wealth Management. “The Fed is using very careful language that they are going to continue to support the economy.”

The Fed’s extraordinary money-printing has helped drive stocks to record highs and sparked sharp gyrations in foreign curren-cies, including a drop in emerging markets earlier this year as investors anticipated

an end to the easing. “They � nally pulled a Band-Aid o� that they’ve been tugging at for a long time,” said Rick Meckler, president of hedge fund LibertyView Capital Manage-ment in Jersey City, New Jersey.

The Fed launched its third and latest round of quantitative easing, or QE, 15 months ago to kick-start hiring and growth in an economy recovering only slowly from the recession. Its � rst program was launched during the 2008 � nancial crisis.

The central bank’s asset purchase pro-grams, a centerpiece of its crisis-era policy, have left it holding roughly $4tn of bonds, and the path it must follow in dialing it down is rife with numerous risks, including the possibility of higher-than-targeted interest rates and a loss of investor con� dence.

To soothe investors’ nerves, the Fed said it “likely will be appropriate” to keep overnight rates near zero “well past the time” that the jobless rate falls below 6.5%, especially if in-� ation expectations remain below target. The Fed has held rates near zero since late 2008. It was a noteworthy tweak to an earlier pledge to keep benchmark credit costs steady at least until the jobless rate, which dropped to a � ve-year low of 7% in November, hits 6.5%.

“The actions today are intended to keep the level of accommodation the same over-all,” said Bernanke, who held out the pros-pect of fresh stimulus if the economy stum-bled. He said o� cials could further bolster their low-rate pledge, or even cut the interest rate they pay banks on excess reserves held at the Fed in a bid to spur lending.

In fresh quarterly forecasts, the central bank lowered its expectations for both in� a-tion and unemployment over the next few

years, acknowledging the jobless rate had fallen more quickly than expected. It now sees it reaching a range of 6.3% to 6.6% by the end of 2014, from a previous prediction of 6.4% to 6.8%. Three policymakers expect the � rst rate rise to come in 2016, up from only two in September, while 12 of the Fed’s 17 top o� cials still see the move in 2015. Fu-tures markets do not see better-than-even odds of a rate hike until September 2015.

Critics of the bond buying, including some Fed o� cials, have worried the program could unleash in� ation or fuel hard-to-de-tect asset price bubbles.

But some have credited the purchases with stabilizing an economy and banking system that had been crippled by the 2008 � -nancial crisis and with staving o� what could have been a damaging cycle of de� ation.

One policymaker, Eric Rosengren of the Boston Fed, dissented against the decision, which he felt was premature given the still-high unemployment rate.

Bernanke stressed the Fed was not giving up on supporting the economy, and said it would take action if in� ation failed to rise to the central bank’s 2% target. In� ation as meas-ured by the Fed’s preferred price gauge rose just 0.7% in the 12 months through October.

Even so, recent growth in jobs, retail sales and housing, as well as a fresh budget deal in Congress, had convinced a growing number of economists the Fed would trim the bond purchases. But many thought the central bank would wait until early in the new year, given persistently low in� ation and the fact that the world’s largest economy has stum-bled several times in its crawl out of the 2007-2009 recession. l

A trader listens to an announcement by the US Federal Reserve on the � oor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York REUTERS