Pakistan High Commission here succeeded in getting two mainstream political parties, the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) to record grief and sorrow for the slain PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto in the condolence book at the Chancery.
The book was signed by AL secretary general Zillur Rahman as well as Islam Hussain of the BNP. At first the AL was reluctant, but Chairperson of the party Shaikh Hasina sent instructions to the party to sign the condolence book, it was learnt.
It is noted that there was marked changed in the style in which the PHC has worked with the government, and the people of this country, and this was especially manifest in the celebrations of the two important national days, March 23 and August 14.
Sajida Iqbal said to this corespondent that there was more emphasis on the Independence Day celebration, and last year the celebrated singer Ghulam Hussain kept the Dhaka citizens spell bound with his performance and also won kudos for singing from 10 PM until 6 AM the next mooring.
She said although Pakistan Resolution was adopted at Lahore on March 23, however seen in the context of the unfortunate action taken on March 25, which later led to the separation of the two wings of the country. The fact, brought to the attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Islamabad, was accepted and since then it was decided to celebrate August 14 more elaborately.
After mentioning that when coming to Dhaka by PIA on December 29 he had noticed that there was a substantial number of Bangladesh passengers on board that flight, and asked what could be the reason because Bangladesh airlines, Biman, also operated from Karachi.
The query was answered by Bangladesh citizens in a number of ways, including the simple answer that perhaps Biman did not have a flight that day. However, a number of BD citizens also suggested that like PIA, Biman was in bad shape. One former official said the reason might be that the airline was being run in a bureaucratic way unlike a commercial operation in which it should be run.
There are other parallels between Bangladesh and Pakistan, which is in the heat being faced in the hike of their staple food price. The price of rice has scaled up by Taka (Rs 8) per kilo in the last two days.
A friend purchased a kilo of piflau Rice, grown in Rangpur, for Rs 80 per kilo. The rice was nothing comparable to our own Basmati. Nor it had a comparable fragrance.
The present Caretaker Cabinet is also losing popularity for returning to the past groove which it aimed to clear up, as is the Caretaker Cabinet in Pakistan, home, as should be guessed by a lead story in the Daily Star which on Tuesday ran a headline that 'A Great Expectation unfulfilled.'