In the wake of the savage attack on the Buddhist community in Cox's Bazar, we editorially warned the government against politicizing the mayhem in anyway.
We were impelled to spell out caution in the backdrop of the home minister himself blaming the local BNP lawmaker for the incident.
Then followed BNP leaders pointing accusing finger to Awami league. Even the opposition leader herself entered the fray blaming the ruling party.
Now we have our prime minister putting the blame on the BNP lawmaker. Unfortunately, our warnings have fallen on deaf ears.
Admittedly, an act of terror is always accompanied by trading of rhetoric and blame between the ruling and the opposition parties. This has been an unfortunate characteristic feature of our political culture regardless of the seriousness and gravity of the occurrence.
But people, who are custodians of law, are supposed to look professionally and impartially at how such a catastrophe happened in the first place.
What becomes the casualty in the process is the investigations which begin on a wrong foot leading to the real culprits going scot-free.
For instance, when the dastardly grenade attack on the then opposition-Awami League's meeting in 2004 occurred, the ruling party of that time, the BNP, oblivious of its failure to prevent the attack, pointed fingers at the opposition for the incident.
That amounted to sheltering the culprits.
But why should the PM commit the same kind of folly in the present case by putting the blame squarely on the shoulder of the local BNP MP?
And in an extended imputation, she even said that the opposition leader 'knew everything'. Such flippant remarks from the PM at this critical juncture is unfortunate, to say the least.
If indeed she has credible evidence in this regard, the PM should bring it before the court and the nation.
Actually, there should have been a united nationwide condemnation and expression of outrage and disgust by the two political parties and a serious commitment shown by the PM to get to the bottom of the cowardly attack.
The PM's obligation is to bring out the truth. She shouldn't indulge in narrow partisan politics for the sake of a meaningful and effective investigation leading to unearthing the truth and punishing the culprits.
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