Opposition political leaders Thursday demanded arrest of the "godfathers of Shaekh Abdur Rahman in the cabinet" to stop militant activities in the country forever following the capture of the JMB kingpin, reports BDNEWS. "These JMB men remained in the shelter of the BNP-Jamaat coalition government and were brought to the surface from the shelter. The ministers and the lawmakers created them and nurtured. If the godfathers are now arrested, militancy could be eliminated," Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon said. He said they had portrayed pictoral activities of Shaekh Rahman and Bangla Bhai in 2004, but the government had been denying their existence. "This arrest proved that Shaekh Rahman and Bangla Bhai do not only exist, but a strong forces had to engage their highest strength to arrest him," he said. JSD president Hasanul Huq Inu said the government was compelled to arrest Shaekh Rahman following pressure from the people. "Now, the godfathers of Shaekh, who are now in the cabinet, must be arrested to eliminate militancy and bombing forever," he said. Communist Party Bangladesh (CPB) president Mujahidul Islam Selim said only the arrest of Shaekh Rahman is not enough and those who propagated that Bangla Bhai was the creation of media and protected JMB must be arrested. "Jamaat Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami and some other cabinet ministers must be arrested for patronising the JMB. Jamaat has ideological relations with the JMB and the USA is using Jamaat certifying it as a democratic party," he said adding that patronisation of criminals is also a similar offence. Juba League general secretary Mirza Azam, MP, Thursday alleged that the government staged a drama of arresting Shaekh Abdur Rahman when US President George W Bush is visiting neighbouring India. Talking to journalists at the Dhanmondi office of the Awami League president Sheikh Hasina, Azam said Shaekh Rahman and Bangla Bhai are nothing but the creation of this BNP-Jamaat government. He said the government had conducted operation to nab Rahman and Bangla Bhai during the visit of US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca, but failed. "Now, they staged the drama when the US President is visiting India."
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