Staff Reporter:
Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed has called on the nation to rise above divisions in the wake of the shocking incident in Rajbari’s Goalanda, where the body of Nurul Haque, widely known as Nural Pagla, was exhumed and set on fire.
“No matter what obstacles come our way, we must rise above all divisions,” the chief justice told reporters on Saturday at the Archbishop’s House in Kakrail, Dhaka.
He was speaking after attending a reception for Cardinal George Kovakad of the Vatican.
When asked whether such an incident signaled that constitutional democracy was being undermined by mob rule, CJ Refaat replied, “Today I spoke about the ideals of the Constitution and the Charter of Medina. Achieving those ideals often requires going through obstacles and disruptions. But we cannot retreat. Today’s message is that your religion, your gender, your race, your skin color—none of these matter. We must rise above everything. We must sit together and find the root cause of these incidents. Do not be discouraged by them—we must keep moving forward.”
On another question regarding the root causes of such incidents—whether they stem from declining mutual trust or political factors—the chief justice said, “Often, individually, we feel our expectations from society and the state structure are not being met. But we must also ask ourselves: are we expecting too much? Are we trying to go too far too quickly? We must be a little more tolerant, a little more patient, a little more realistic.”
Cardinal George Kovakad is leading a high-level Vatican delegation that arrived in Dhaka on Saturday and was formally received at the Archbishop’s House in Kakrail.
