DT e-Paper 24 February 2017

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4 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2017 DT News Tk300 hike in household gas price by June • Aminur Rahman Rasel People at home will have to pay an additional Tk300 for the gas in their stoves, in two phases starting from March. Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) yesterday announced that it was raising the price of gas for all sectors. BERC Chairman Monowar Islam announced the hikes in a press conference at the regulator’s headquarters in Kawran Bazar. Gas prices were last raised in September 2015. Starting in March, the monthly gas bill for single burner stoves will be Tk750, which is currently Tk600. From June 1 it will be Tk900. The bill for the double burner will be Tk800 from March 1 and Tk950 from June 1. “Urban consumers use energy at a lower price than the rural consumers. So, it is very reasonable to raise the price of gas,” the BERC chairman said in response to questions from journalists. This is a hike of about 55% to 58%. Similarly, homes with metered connections will have a 60% hike. While the current rate is Tk7 per cubic metre, from March 1 they will pay Tk9.10 and Tk11.20 from June 1. In August last year, the BERC held an eight-day public hearing on gas transmission tariff and price hike proposals submitted by the state-owned gas transmission and distribution companies. When asked whether the price of gas had been raised because of LNG, Chairman Monowar Islam said: “No, that is a wrong idea. “The price has been raised fairly to match the cost of the energy.” He added that with this price hike the government can collect an extra Tk4,185 crore annual revenue from which a portion will be used to meet the operating costs of gas distribution and transmission. “The remaining portion will go to the government exchequer as supplementary duty and VAT. Another portion will be deposited to gas development fund and energy security fund,” Monowar said. Only two of the distribution companies, Pashchimanchal Gas Company Limited and Sundarban Gas Company Limited, will gain margins from this increased revenue. These two are the newest companies. Although domestic gas prices have been raised significantly, it is not the biggest hike. Manufacturers who make their own power from gas are taking the biggest hit. The cost of captive power will go up from Tk4.18 to Tk 8.98 on March 1 and on June 1 it will be Tk9.62, more than double the current rate. Another hard-hit sector will be commercial users, who are mostly small restaurant owners, as they will have to pay Tk14.20 per unit from March and later Tk17.04 – almost double the current rate of Tk9.47. For power stations, the price of gas will be Tk2.99 per cubic metre, up from Tk2.82 and from June 1 the price will be Tk3.16. The gas price for fertiliser factories will be Tk2.64 from Tk2.58 and from June 1 the price will be Tk2.71. In the industry category, the price of the gas will be Tk7.24 from Tk5.86 and from June 1 the price will be Tk7.76. In case of the tea industry, the price of gas will be Tk6.93 from current price of Tk5.86 and then finally it will be Tk7.42. For CNG users the price will be Tk38 in the first phase and from June 1 the price will be Tk40. The margin price for CNG operator has also been raised to Tk8 from Tk7. The transmission charge for Gas Transmission Company Limited will be Tk0.2654 per cubic metre, up from Tk0.1565. • Canadian court labels BNP a terrorist organisation • Tribune Desk A Canadian court has labelled Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) a terrorist organisation, over the residency plea of a Swechchhasebak Dal activist to that country. In January, Canadian Federal Court turned down an appeal by Md Jewel Gazi, a Swechchhasebak Dal activist from Mirpur, against the decision of an immigration officer last year to not grant him permanent residence on the grounds that BNP was involved in acts of terrorism. Awami League has hailed the verdict, calling it BNP’s indictment for its criminal acts. BNP has criticised the verdict, claiming that the ruling Awami League was behind it. More than 100 people are believed to have been killed in a violent three-month blockade enforced by the BNP and its allies in 2015. “Politics in Bangladesh is a violent affair,” the court said in its verdict. While it acknowledged that both parties were involved in conflict, the court remarked that mutual misconduct did not exculpate BNP from being considered a terrorist organisation under the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. It said it found that the immigration officer had reasonable grounds to believe that the BNP, through general strikes and hartals, was engaged in terrorism as defined by the Criminal Code of the country. “To emphasise, Canada defines terrorism very broadly and in my view, in such a way that hartals may reasonably be said to come within that definition. To repeat, Canada’s definition of terrorism in this case include acts and omissions outside Canada (e.g., that occurred in Bangladesh) that have elements of intimidation of the public or parts of the public,” the verdict read. Awami League proposes tribunal to try BNP Meanwhile, the Awami League has suggested establishing a special tribunal to put the BNP on trial for its “acts of terrorism” after the Canadian court’s observation. “We have been repeatedly saying that the BNP is a terrorist ogranisation. ‘Gas price hike will have negative impact’ • Tribune Desk The government’s decision to raise gas prices will have a negative impact on the economy, experts have said. Dhaka University Professor and energy expert Badrul Imam told the Dhaka Tribune: “Gas price raise will have a negative impact on all sectors including public transport and market. In particular, there will be a hazardous situation over transport fares.” “An artificial crisis has been created by saying the gas resources are depleting. Besides, LNG will be imported at a high cost. So the government now wants to create a balance by raising the gas price,” he said. Consumers Association of Bangladesh’s energy advisor Prof. Shamshul Alam said: “In public hearings, it was not proved logically that the prices of gas should be raised.” Economist Mirza Azizul Islam said: “The government raising gas prices despite the fact that the gas companies are not in loss, was completely unnecessary. This price hike will affect the growth in export and manufacturing sectors. BNP demands withdrawal BNP has called upon the government to withdraw the decision to hike gas prices, terming the decision ‘irrational’ and ‘unethical’. Reading out a statement at the press conference, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the decision to hike gas prices is irrational, unethical and would create a massive pressure in the economy. People will not accept this decision, added the BNP spokesperson. He also criticised the government for not holding the mass hearing on the proposed gas price hike which was scheduled to be held in December last year. • The Canadian court’s verdict has proven us right,” Awami League Publicity Secretary Hasan Mahmud told a media briefing at the party chief’s Dhanmondi office on Thursday. Referring to the verdict, Hasan said the BNP had “lost its political character and turned into a terrorist organisation.” “The time has come to bring the BNP to book for its terrorist activities,” he told the briefing, held to clear the ruling party’s stance on the issue. “For this, forming a special tribunal is crucial,” he added. •
News 5 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2017 AQIS supports Hefazat on SC statue removal DT • Tribune Desk Ansar al-Islam, the Bangladesh affiliate of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), has extended support for the ongoing movement of radical Islamists who demand that the “idol” of Lady Justice be removed from the Supreme Court premises. While members of the militant group expressed solidarity with the demand, they also bitterly criticised Hefazat-e-Islami, a Qawmi madrasa-based platform, for sailing on two boats – trying to please the government with soft words and at the same time working to uphold Islam. The matter is being discussed among the Ansar al-Islam members in their online forum Dawahilallah. The reaction came after Hefazat Secretary General Babunagari at a programme on Wednesday threatened to stage another May 5-like siege at Motijheel if the statue was not removed immediately. The al-Qaeda affiliate – formed in late 2014 with members from universities and madrasas – also castigated Hefazat for submitting memoranda to the prime minister and the chief justice to realise the demand. Other than Hefazat, an umbrella organisation led by Hathazari Madrasa Principal Shah Ahmed Shafi who professes death for atheists, the Islamist parties and groups opposing the installation of the statue are Awami Olama League, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish, Islami Andolon Bangladesh and Jamaat-Shibir. All these domestic and regional militant outfits want to establish Shariah Law in the country, while the Islamist parties and groups are working for the same cause as a long-term goal. US ‘concerned’ over al-Qaeda presence Meanwhile, a senior US military official has said that their government are “concerned about the instability in Bangladesh,” caused due to “a lot of AQIS interference.” “Yes, they [AQIS] have a regional agenda, but this region is very important to the United States ... In this Shorabak objective, there were congratulatory notes going back and forth about some of these activities in Bangladesh. There is a linkage to core al-Qaeda,” General John Babunagari warned that they would not accept any sculpture but the one of a Qur’an on the apex court premises W Nicholson, who serves as the commander of Resolute Support and US Forces in Afghanistan, said. “Of course, al-Qaeda is very focused right now on the survival of their senior leadership, but they are connected to these guys as well. They all share the same agenda and the same focus,” Nicholson said in an interview with the Counter Terrorism Centre website Wednesday. The US government blacklisted AQIS as a “foreign terrorist organisation” and its leader, Indian-born Asim Umar, a “specially designated global terrorist” in a statement issued on June 30 last year. Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden’s successor, Egyptian ideologue Ayman al-Zawahiri, announced the formation of AQIS in September 2014 to carry the group’s fight to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Under the new designation, if investigators tie any assets or property under US jurisdiction to the group or its leader, they will be frozen. US citizens are forbidden from having any dealings with the group, AFP reported. AQIS members in Dawahilallah have expressed astonishment over the US military official’s acknowledging the presence of the outfit in Bangladesh after several years. A discussant even claimed that the Muslims of Bangladesh had accepted them warmly, though the governments of Bangladesh and the US refused to admit their presence. Before Ansarullah Bangla Team, two other banned Islamist terror outfits of Bangladesh – HujiB and JMB – had al-Qaeda affiliation. What al-Qaeda is doing here A major issue being discussed in Dawahilallah forum is the removal of the names of two Islamist clerics SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN from two roads in Dhaka. The Dhaka South City Corporation took the step in line with a High Court order that says the duo had taken stance against the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh. Their call for wider campaigns and waging an armed jihad – against the Myanmar government for the recent atrocities against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and the plight of those who fled to Bangladesh – is a top priority issue the militants are discussing every day. Ansar al-Islam earlier extended support to Harakah al-Yakin or Faith Movement, a like-minded Rohingya-based militant group that attacked three border outposts of Myanmar as part of their armed jihad on October 9. In a public statement issued on December 15, al-Qaeda urged the Muslim youths of Bangladesh to join the fight to avenge the persecution against Rohingyas. The statement came at a time when Hefazat was campaigning throughout the country against the Myanmar government and to raise funds for Rohingyas who have taken shelter in Bangladesh. The forum members earlier instigated attacks on the Hindus of Nasirnagar last year when the local Muslim hardliners carried out rampage in the area in the name of protesting against an alleged blasphemous post by a Hindu youth on Facebook. Since 2013, members of Ansar al-Islam, previously Ansarullah Bangla Team, have killed a dozen secularists and war trial campaigners based on “lists of atheists” prepared by different radical Islamist groups including Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Chhatra Shibir and Hefazat. It uses the May 5, 2013 demonstration of the Hefazat members at Motijheel to inspire the extremists. Both al-Qaeda and Islamic State have criticised the radical Islamist groups and their leaders for signing the government-sponsored fatwa against militancy, and holding rallies and processions condemning last year’s Gulshan terror attack. ‘Hefazat plays double standard’ On Wednesday, after a Dawahilallah forum member posted a news item on Babunagari’s remarks, two senior members reacted sharply accusing the Islamist group of taking favour from the government. One of them wondered why Babunagari addressed the “tyrant government of Sheikh Hasina” as an “honourable government.” Babunagari warned that they would not accept any sculpture but the one of a Qur’an on the apex court premises. Another al-Qaeda member accused Babunagari of double standard, saying: “You are playing with Islam. Islam is not so insignificant that you will need to submit a memorandum or application to the kufr [government]. “You have cheated the people by signing the fatwa against the mujaheeds of Islam. You are trying to please the government and Islam at the same time.” The senior member, known as “Mohammad bin maslama,” also alleged that Hefazat was supporting democracy while giving a blind eye to the deaths of its supporters at Motijheel in 2013. But in the end, the militant said that they would continue to support Hefazat, disregarding differences, as long as the radical platform was working on the spread of Islam.• TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY DRY WEATHER LIKELY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24 Dhaka 31 13 Chittagong 29 18 Rajshahi 30 11 Rangpur 29 11 Khulna 31 13 Barisal 32 15 Sylhet 28 11 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 5:59PM SUN RISES 6:24AM YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW 32.4ºC 14.2ºC Patuakhali Tetulia Source: Accuweather/UNB PRAYER TIMES Cox’s Bazar 28 19 Fajr: 5:55am | Jumma: 1:15pm Asr: 4:45pm | Magrib: 6:07pm Esha: 8:00pm Source: Islamic Foundation
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