Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina made the observation, addressing a press briefing at Awami League's (AL) Dhanmondi office. The briefing followed a meeting of the 14-party line-up.

Hasina, also president of AL, said the prime minister's address to the nation after the 'arrest drama' was a brazen attempt to shield the patrons of the militants.

She said the alliance government itself has created the militants and been using them as a political pawn.

Earlier the AL chief presided over the opposition alliance's meeting attended by among others Abdur Razzak, Rashed Khan Menon, Tofail Ahmed, Hasanul Haque Inu, Abdul Jalil, Bimal Biswas, Dilip Barua, Obaidul Quader, Zakir Hossain, and Abdus Samad.

The former prime minister accused some of the cabinet members and ruling party lawmakers of providing administrative, financial, and logistic aid to the militants and alleged that such support from the government high-ups still continues.

She said when the people were clamouring for immediate action against Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), the government claimed that Bangla Bhai was merely a creation of the media and a propaganda by the opposition to tarnish the country's image.

Hasina said before the August 17 blasts across the country, Jamaat Ameer Nizami and some other ministers and lawmakers ridiculed the countrymen's worry over the rise of militancy.

"Had the government had a sincere stance against militancy, they would not have expelled BNP MP Abu Hena for naming some ruling alliance leaders as patronising the militants," Hasina observed.

After the 17 August blasts, the government had taken some measures against the militants in the face of pressure from international community as well as public, but they repeatedly made drama in the name of hunting down Shaekh Rahman and Bangla Bhai, said the opposition leader.

The way Rahman surrendered has aroused suspicion among the people, she added.

Hasina said it was unbelievable how a man like Rahman stays with his family members even after the government had announced a bounty of Tk 50 lakh for his head.

The recovery of books of Golam Azam and Moududi from the house of Rahman proves the ruling coalition partner Jamaat-e-Islami's links with the militant outfit, the AL president observed.

She said the people now wait for what she said was the time when the government would again stage a drama on Bangla Bhai.