AGL 41.65 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (0.36%)
AIRLINK 127.32 Decreased By ▼ -0.68 (-0.53%)
BOP 6.63 Increased By ▲ 0.37 (5.91%)
CNERGY 4.16 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.73%)
DCL 8.56 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.42%)
DFML 40.89 Increased By ▲ 0.20 (0.49%)
DGKC 87.24 Decreased By ▼ -0.66 (-0.75%)
FCCL 33.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.30 (-0.88%)
FFBL 65.98 Decreased By ▼ -0.35 (-0.53%)
FFL 10.52 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.38%)
HUBC 109.41 Increased By ▲ 0.71 (0.65%)
HUMNL 14.90 Increased By ▲ 0.44 (3.04%)
KEL 4.86 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (4.52%)
KOSM 7.65 Increased By ▲ 0.32 (4.37%)
MLCF 42.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.27 (-0.63%)
NBP 61.24 Increased By ▲ 0.40 (0.66%)
OGDC 182.90 Increased By ▲ 3.93 (2.2%)
PAEL 25.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.70 (-2.72%)
PIBTL 6.23 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (2.81%)
PPL 148.10 Increased By ▲ 1.95 (1.33%)
PRL 24.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.04%)
PTC 16.20 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.37%)
SEARL 69.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.50 (-0.71%)
TELE 7.35 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (1.8%)
TOMCL 36.45 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (0.69%)
TPLP 7.85 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.13%)
TREET 15.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.19 (-1.22%)
TRG 52.35 Increased By ▲ 1.99 (3.95%)
UNITY 26.90 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
WTL 1.25 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.81%)
BR100 9,845 Increased By 50.4 (0.51%)
BR30 29,984 Increased By 337.5 (1.14%)
KSE100 92,429 Increased By 407.8 (0.44%)
KSE30 28,776 Increased By 111.1 (0.39%)

Hopes for a smooth run-up to Bangladesh's December election hit new snags after a court issued warrants for several former ministers and asked them and ex-prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia to appear at a hearing next week. They have been asked to be available in court on October 12 for trial over a coal mine case in which Khaleda and a dozen of her ex-ministers and officials are accused to making millions of dollars illegally.
They all deny the charges, which Khaleda and her supporters say are politically motivated, but the court appeared firm on pursuing the case, reflecting what analysts said was the military-backed interim government's vow to let the law take its own course. "The charges against Khaleda Zia and other leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) have been submitted (by the Anti-Corruption Commission) with an ulterior motive to keep them away from the election," BNP secretary-general Khandaker Delwar Hossain told reporters late on Monday.
Earlier, the High Court refused to grant another former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, now on a medical parole in the United States, bail on charges of corruption. Instead, it asked authorities not to arrest or harass Hasina on her return, expected by October 20. Hasina's lawyers said the court's decision would at least keep Hasina from an immediate arrest after she comes back to Dhaka, but her Awami League party was unhappy about the move.
The BNP and Awami League fear detention and legal battles could prevent the two ex-prime ministers from contesting in the December election. The parties are protesting the legal actions and say they will stay away from the polls if they do not include Khaleda and Hasina, who alternated as the impoverished Muslim-majority country's prime minister over 15 years until 2006.

Copyright Reuters, 2008

Comments

Comments are closed.