On May 11, the day after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, people took to the streets in Pakistani cities with cars and motorcycles.

They waved the national flag and carried posters praising the army, especially the army chief, General Syed Asim Munir. There was a sense of joy and relief in the air.

For the previous four days, Pakistan had been engaged in a tense military conflict with its arch-rival India.

Two weeks after 26 civilians were killed by armed attackers in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, on May 7, India launched missile strikes on various locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Pakistan's Punjab province, blaming Islamabad for the attack.

At least 51 people were killed, including 11 soldiers and several children.

Over the next three days, the two nuclear-armed countries fired missiles, drones, and artillery at each other, bringing the subcontinent's 1.6 billion people to the brink of all-out war.

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, the chief guest at the 'River and Wetlands Symposium 2025' event at the PTI auditorium in Gazipur city on Saturday evening, said this. The advisor also said, 'We will sign an agreement to de-encroach and de-pollute four rivers of Dhaka and give an action plan. Because, we cannot do these in our time. However, the restoration of the Turag River will start within our time.'

At the beginning of the program, chaired by Gazipur Deputy Commissioner Nafisa Arefin, Bangladesh River Foundation Chairman Muhammad Monir Hossain presented an article on rivers.

The speakers at the event said that several other small rivers and streams flow through Gazipur, including the old Brahmaputra, Shitalakshya, Banar, Chilai, Luandaha, Shaldah, Goyali, Turag, Banshi, Balu, Goallar, Paruli. There are also several freshwater reservoirs including the beautiful Bolai and Moksh Beel. Despite being devastated by encroachment and pollution, these rivers and reservoirs are still influencing the society and culture of not only their own districts but also the surrounding areas. Research has shown that the quality of water in this district is declining. In some places, the amount of dissolved oxygen in water is even going to zero. River pollution is entirely responsible for this. Today's event is very important to find a way to protect rivers and wetlands to overcome this situation.

Sixteen proposals were presented from the Rivers and Wetlands Symposium. Speakers called for effective action on them.

The event was attended by special guests including Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology Vice Chancellor Mohammad Joynal Abedin, Gazipur Development Authority Chairman Mohammad Abdul Mannan, Gazipur Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Hasan, Gazipur District Police Superintendent Chowdhury Md. Jaber Sadek, among others.

However, human rights groups and opposition parties have expressed deep concern over the operation. They allege that many innocent tribals are also being killed under the guise of 'Maoists'. They have called on the government to stop the fighting and hold talks.

According to government data, more than 11,000 people, including civilians and members of the security forces, were killed in Maoist conflicts between 2000 and 2024. Of these, at least 6,160 were rebels.

The armed Maoist movement in India began in 1967 with a peasant uprising in Naxalbari, West Bengal. This 'Naxal' movement was led by Charu Majumdar, Kanu Sanyal, etc. Their demand was that land should be given to landless farmers and action should be taken against the exploitation of landlords.

This movement gave rise to the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), which believed in armed rebellion beyond the democratic process. The revolutionary philosophy of Chinese leader Mao Zedong was their main inspiration. However, over time, this party broke into many parts. The original CPI(ML) is now a formal political party. They participate in elections.

Public administration experts say that the general rule is that a candidate with a criminal record, a criminal record or any other such offense should be considered unsuitable for appointment. But in reality, for years, political affiliations of candidates or their families and relatives have been sought. The desire for change that began with the movement against quotas in jobs and ended with the student uprising in 2024, led many to hope that such a system would end. But in reality, it has not stopped yet.

This time, there is a lot of discussion after the publication of the notification for the appointment of 227 people who passed the 43rd BCS exam. Many people are also making various comments on the social media Facebook about the issue. The excluded candidates have been vocal about this. The Ministry of Public Administration has taken the matter into consideration. The ministry said in a notification on Thursday that any application for reconsideration from among the 227 people who are unsuitable for appointment is being accepted. The opportunity to apply for reconsideration is open to everyone.

The Ministry of Public Administration also explained why these candidates were excluded. The notification said that the PSC temporarily nominated 2,163 people for appointment to various cadres through the 43rd BCS examination and recommended them on January 25 last year. Then, according to the rules, the pre-character of the candidates was verified through the special branch of the police and the district administrators, and a total of 99 people were excluded, including 40 who were absent in the health examination and 59 people considering the agency's report, and the remaining 2,064 people were appointed, and a notification was issued on October 15. Since then, questions have been raised about the acceptability of this appointment from various perspectives. In view of this, it was decided to further verify the pre-character of the 2,163 people recommended by the 43rd BCS through the state intelligence agencies NSI and DGFI in order to determine transparent candidates and re-establish trust and confidence in the government recruitment process. Reports on the suitability or unsuitability of 2,163 candidates were received from NSI and DGFI.

According to the report, adverse comments were received about the background of 227 candidates. Due to adverse comments, 227 candidates were temporarily considered unsuitable for appointment and it was decided to conduct further verification and inquiry into their cases. However, 40 people who were absent from the health examination were considered unsuitable for appointment. In this situation, a notification for the appointment of 1,896 people was issued on December 30.

Firoz Mia, a job expert and former additional secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, told Prothom Alo, "If someone has a criminal case against them, has been in jail, or is a notorious terrorist, the police will report them by mentioning their records. If someone gets a job by cheating, that should also be taken into consideration. But no one can be excluded for any other reason or political consideration other than this type of crime. But this has happened in the past and is happening now. This should not be done in any way, it should stop."

Talking to the bus passengers and the bus owner, it was learned that a bus carrying passengers with the Welcome banner left Motijheel, Dhaka for Chandra on Friday afternoon. When the bus reached in front of BPATC in Savar at around 6:30 pm, a group of 3-4 hijackers boarded the bus. They held some people hostage with sharp country-made weapons. Later, they snatched money, mobile phones and gold ornaments from 15-20 passengers on the bus. When some tried to stop them, they were beaten and one of them was stabbed. Later, the hijackers went down the speed breaker on the Dhaka-Aricha highway in front of the gate adjacent to Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall of Jahangirnagar University.

Eyewitnesses said that after the bus reached the main gate of the university, some students stopped the bus and questioned the driver and the driver's assistant. Later, they took the bus to the Bishmail area. Upon receiving the information, the police reached the spot and took the bus, along with the driver and the driver's assistant, into their custody.
Meanwhile, the bus passenger injured in the stabbing, Md. Shamim Hossain, was first given primary treatment at Jahangirnagar University Medical Center. Later, he was taken to Enam Medical College Hospital. Hasan Mahbub, a doctor on duty at the hospital's emergency department, said, "A person injured in the stabbing named Shamim has been brought to the hospital. There are stab marks on his body."

A passenger on the bus, Harun Or Rashid, said that after the bus passed the Savar Radio Colony area around 6:30 pm, three young men armed with sharp weapons suddenly took the bus passengers hostage. First, they stabbed a passenger sitting in the front seat of the bus. Later, they looted money and belongings from all the passengers.

A representative of Welcome Paribahan, who did not wish to be named, said, "3-4 people got on the bus from in front of BPATC in Savar with small knives. Then they held a knife to the throat of a child on the bus. They were between 25-30 years old."

Ashulia Police Station Sub-Inspector Alok Kumar Dey said, passengers said that some robbers from the BPATC area boarded the bus, held some hostage at sharp weapons, and quickly got off the bus after the robbery. Later, students of Jahangirnagar University detained the bus and the driver. After reaching the spot after receiving the information, several passengers narrated the incident. Since the incident was in the Savar Model Police Station area, the victims have been advised to file a complaint with the Savar Model Police Station.

Savar Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Jewel Mia said that a team of them is working on the matter. Details will be announced later.