Khaleda for unity to eliminate extremism

Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia on Saturday called for united efforts irrespective of party and creed to root out extreme power.
‘If the extremist cannot be eliminated immediately through united efforts, they would make difficult to maintain peace, stability and security in the country through waging long-term battle,’ she said in a press statement.
The former prime minister condemned the incident of killing that started from Friday night to Saturday morning at Holey Artisan Bakery at Gulshan in Dhaka.
‘The cruel bloody uprising by the miscreants is the outcome of the misrule prevailing in the country.’
‘We urged, over and over again, the government to take steps for facing evil design of the extremists, but the government neglected the call and remained busy to criticise BNP and opposition parties,’ she said.
The government flourished extremism by playing ‘blame game’ in a bid to accuse BNP, rather clamping down on it, Khaleda added.
The former prime minister, however, demanded necessary steps to maintain security in the diplomatic zone.
Joint forces have cleared Holey Artisan Bakery on Saturday morning killing six attackers who took at least 20 hostages, including foreigners, on Friday night.
At a news conference at army headquarters, Brigadier General Nayeem Ashfaq Chowdhury said the operation could rescue 13 hostages alive, caught one of the attackers and killed six attackers.
The short lasting operation named Operation Thunderbolt also found bodies of 20 people who were killed with sharp weapons last night, he said.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net