B’desh arrests second son of former PM Zia

BANGLADESH: A second son of the former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia was arrested late Sunday as part of the military-backed government’s nationwide anti-graft crackdown, police said.

Military-led security forces arrested Zia’s younger son Arafat Rahman Coco at her house in the capital Dhaka, a senior police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The arrest came just a month after Zia’s influential eldest son, Tareque Rahman, was arrested by the security forces on suspicion of extortion.

While Tareque has been groomed as his mother’s political successor, Arafat has maintained a low profile. He owns several companies, ferries and was a patron of the country’s cricket board.

The military-backed government has thus far arrested more than 50 top politicians since launching its anti-graft drive in February.

A month before, the government took power after the country’s president declared a state of emergency and cancelled polls scheduled for January 22 following months of political turmoil.

The new government vowed to clean up politics and carry out sweeping reforms before announcing a new date for elections. Last week the head of the government pledged that the polls would be held before the end of 2008.

Zia was placed under virtual house arrest last week.

Her main political rival Sheikh Hasina Wajed, who leads the main opposition Awami League party, has been charged with extortion and the murder of four political activists last October.

Police said Hasina, now vacationing in the United States, would face arrest when she returns home.

Hasina, also a former premier, rejected the charges as false and said she would face them in court upon her return home.

Local newspapers have reported that the military-backed government would force Zia and Hasina into exile in a bid to bring massive changes in the country’s political order.

Dhaka, Monday, AFP