IT is certainly the biggest of the huge arms hauls that we have seen in the last couple of years. The seizure of ten truckloads of lethal combat-grade weapons from the Karnaphuli coast is indeed alarming news.

The ultimate destination of the huge load of arms is not yet known. Is Bangladesh being used as a regular transit route by international arms dealers having links with terrorist groups in the neighbouring countries? Or was the latest consignment meant for some local terrorist outfit? These questions have to be answered if we want to get at the root of it.

The arms and ammunition were apparently

unloaded from a ship in the outer anchorage. So the investigators should concentrate on finding out the international linkages and the possible shipping route . That could provide vital clues about the modus ope-randi of the men behind the illegal business.

The government must respond vigorously to what is surely a very potent threat to our national security. Imagine what it would really have meant if the arms landed in the hands of some terrorists within! The government should immediately seek help from international organisations like the Interpol, and specially those that keep watch on maritime arms smuggling, in order to resolve the mystery. The big jolt to national security must be neutralised with effective counter moves.

Then comes the question of how the issue should be handled by the political parties. The state minister for home has already said that opposition involvement in the arms haul cannot be ruled out. Similar charges and counter-charges were traded in the past every time there was a big arms haul. It seems national security has been relegated to a position of secondary importance, as the political parties remain busy blaming each other for such grave threats to our collective security. We believe the ammo haul cases made little headway in the past because of premature and irresponsible politicisation of the highly sensitive issue. The state minister has made his first move, a blind shot no doubt, without carefully weighing the implications of what he has actually said.

It is the terrorists and the threat that they pose to our national security which must be eliminated at any cost. The political parties must reach an understanding on how that goal can be attained. This is not the time for political and personal bickering.