At last, we have an expert view on the ammo haul. Though admittedly tentative, it somewhat clears the air thickened by political bickering as to the origin and destination of the munitions recovered from Bogra. Former army chief General (retd) Mustafizur Rahman making an on-spot visit to Bogra, maintained that the recovered ammunition were made for use in insurgency or unconventional warfare. "A regular army", he added, "cannot use bullets not marked with the name of the manufacturer."

On a point of controversy pertaining to the seized bullets being allegedly made at the Bangladesh Ordnance Factory, the former army chief said that he didn't believe that those were smuggled from the local factory. However, "if it is suspected that the bullets were made at the Bangladesh Ordnance Factory, the government should come up with a clarification," said he.

Pat comes the government clarification on Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina's contention that the ammo recovered in Bogra were made in Bangladesh Ordnance Factory (BOF). Home Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury told the Jatiya Sangsad on Saturday that bullets produced by our ordnance factory bear the factory name (BOF), but the hauled up bullets have no such mark. So, the opposition leader's theory based on pure conjecture, stands nailed. On such an important and sensitive issue concerning national security, there is no scope whatsoever for any knee-jerk reaction or politically retributive comments. She would have certainly done better if she had refrained from making the premature and rash remark about the origin of the bullets.

On the one hand, we hear such reckless observation from the opposition and on the other, there has been the ruling party finger-pointing to AL involvement even before the investigations got seriously underway. Such knee-jerk reactions to the series of recovery incidents touching on national security, sovereignty and stability do not evidently sit in with the gravity of the issues involved.

The bottom-line is: it's not a matter for politicised handling. Indeed, the munitions haul should be left entirely to the experts for unravelling the truth about it. In this context, we endorse the view of the former army chief to the effect that a technical inquiry by experts from BUET, the ordnance factory, army and police is an imperative necessity at this juncture.