No political motive behind it

Claiming that the ongoing crackdown on militants was not politically motivated, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan yesterday said the drive was being conducted as part of security measures following recent target killings and also on the occasion of Ramadan and ahead of Eid.

He was talking to reporters after a meeting with US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat at his secretariat office.

The minister said the US envoy wanted to know about the “huge arrests” in the ongoing combing operation.

“I informed her that there are 630 police stations in Bangladesh. If 20 people are arrested under each police station every day, the number turns big after accumulation,” he added.

Asaduzzaman said police earlier used to arrest or detain around 2,000 people across the country on various allegations every day. “Compared to this, the number of arrests during the crackdown is not so different.”

He also claimed that the arrestees were accused in various cases.

About the BNP's allegation that law enforcers rounded u a good number of its leaders and activists in the name of crackdown, he said, “If BNP activists were accused in cases, they might have been arrested. But I have no knowledge about it.”

The minister said both he and Bernicat agreed that terrorism is a global threat. “So, we need to work together to combat the menace.”