Staff Reporter:
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Friday said the government has taken a tough stance on the armed activities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
A joint operation is going on there, he said, hoping that the situation would return to normal soon.
Quader, also the general secretary of the ruling Awami League, was addressing an Iftar and Eid gifts distribution programme organised by the party’s front Matshyajeeby League in Dhaka.
The minister made the statements following the robberies in state-owned Sonali Bank and Bangladesh Krishi Bank branches in Bandarban, while Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan blamed the ethnic armed group Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), also known as the Bawm Party in the hills, for the incidents.
In addition, suspected members of the KNF attacked government establishments, including Thanchi police station, in Bandarban on Thursday night following the joint operation launched by the law enforcers in the district.
On Friday, Quader said the small ethnic group Bawm in Bandarban has started armed activities. “We are aware of it and the government is in a very strict position.”
He said, “A joint operation is underway. I do not think it will bring chaos in the entire Chittagong Hill Tracts. I hope the situation will calm down soon.”
