Bangladesh Forces arrest ex-PM Khaleda’s son

BANGLADESH: Bangladesh Security Forces have detained Tareque Rahman, the son of former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, and several other politicians as part of a nationwide sweep against corruption, police said.

Tareque is the joint secretary-general of Khaleda’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which ended its five-year rule in October and handed power to an interim government in charge of holding the next election.

Security forces also detained several other key political figures, including Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, former health minister in Khaleda’s government, Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, a former deputy from BNP ally Jamaat-e-Islami and the mayor of the port city of Chittagong, A.B.M. Mohiuddin Chowdhury.

The arrests are been part of a countrywide crackdown launched by the army-backed interim government against corrupt politicians and dishonest businessmen, officials said.

Since Jan. 11 Bangladesh has ben under a state of emergency imposed following weeks of violence between BNP and Awami League activists that killed 45 people and injured hundreds.

The interim government, headed by former central bank chief Fakhruddin Ahmed, has vowed to clean up corruption before setting a date for the next election. Polling originally scheduled for Jan. 22 was postponed indefinitely in the wake of violence.

A law adviser to the interim government, Mainul Husein, said earlier this week that many more people were on a “wanted” list prepared by the law enforcing agencies.

“Anyone found to be involved in corruption in any way will not be spared,” he told reporters.

Tareque was detained at his mother’s house inside the Dhaka military barracks, where they have been living since Khaleda’s husband, former President General Ziaur Rahman, was killed in an abortive coup in May 1981.

Tareque, who is preparing to contest the next election, was also being tipped as Khaleda’s likely political heir. Security forces also raided the home of Awami Lague chief Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday but did not detain anyone, witnesses said.

In the past few weeks security forces arrested more than 150 politicians, including more than a dozen former ministers, on charges of corruption.

They are being held in jail pending a full investigation of the charges against them.

The detainees include Musaddek Ali, a former BNP lawmaker and media tycoon who owns two private television channels and a daily newspaper.

Another detained media stalwart is Nurul Islam Babul, owner of the popular Bengali daily, Jugantar

Dhaka, Thursday, Reuters