‘Killing of foreigners a sign order is collapsing’

DHAKA: A senior Bangladesh opposition leader said the killing of two foreign nationals was a sign that law and order was collapsing and the situation may get worse unless a stalemate between the two main political parties is resolved.

The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has staged violent protests since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League won a second consecutive term in January 2014.

The BNP boycotted the election, deemed by international observers to be flawed. Islamist groups have been staging high-profile attacks in the South Asian nation.

Earlier this year, four online critics of religious militancy were hacked to death. Over the past week, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for shooting an Italian and a Japanese man and threatened more such attacks.

“Such downward trends will continue until there is some kind of political reconciliation between the two major political parties in Bangladesh,” Abdul Moyeen Khan, a senior BNP leader, said in an interview on Friday.

Moyeen, a former federal minister, said there had been attempts by the international community, including the UN, to broker peace between the parties. — Reuters