DHAKA, Nov 16: Quite puzzled by the failure to stop the repeated bomb and grenade attacks in the capital city and elsewhere in the country, the government seems to be divided over the ways of containing terror, believed to be unleashed by Muslim extremists.

Besides, there is no sign yet that the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party of Khaleda Zia and opposition Awami League of Sheikh Hasina would work together to contain this killer violence.

After the death of two Jhalakati judges in a bomb attack on Monday, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia ordered her state minister for home affairs, Lutfuzzaman Babar, to ‘ensure immediate arrest and punishment of the culprits through the Speedy Trial Tribunal’.

Earlier, some senior ministers, including Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman, expressed frustrations over the security situation in the country and argued that ‘none can avert targeted killings unless the criminals get immediate punishment’.

The finance minister’s frustration was clearly evident on Monday when he told journalists: “You never know I’ll not be attacked by the assailants. You (journalists) always come to me and even ask me questions standing beside my car. If I’m attacked, you will also die.”

The government’s sense of helplessness got further evident when, after the death of two Jhalakati judges in a bomb attack, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s commissioner, SM Mizanur Rahman, told the press that the administration has expedited security measures, ‘but we also encourage all to arrange their own security system’.

But some senior members of Khaleda’s Cabinet reportedly believe that efforts to deliver quick results will weaken investigations and allow the top militant kingpins involved in the attacks to escape arrest.

They said that the government should allow the law enforcers adequate time to collect evidence against the culprits.