THE remarks made by the BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia day before yesterday at a discussion meet in Dhaka took us by surprise. She is reported to have told the meet that an indirect threat of a tragedy in the armed forces like Peelkhana carnage is being rumoured.

It is indeed a matter of concern as the remarks come from none other than the current leader of the opposition in parliament, two times Prime Minister and chief of one of the largest political parties of the country. Her comments have apparently caught even the senior leaders of the BNP on the wrong foot. The leaders expressed their ignorance about the source of information. A senior member of the BNP standing committee however observed that the comments reflect her own thinking.

We wish to say that even if she has the information of such nefarious designs she should have shared those with the government instead of making an irresponsible public statement of it. She ought to keep in mind that apart from our own people she has a wider audience to take note of such sensational utterances. She should have known better that her remarks and comments on any issue if not substantiated could send wrong signals to different people.

Her comments on the perceived threat to armed forces come at a time when the nation is coming to terms with the BDR massacre and its fallout. We appreciate her concern for the armed forces but expressing fear of a probable threat against it is not only an expression of frivolity with a serious matter but also unwarranted.

We sincerely hope that she would share the information, if any, with the government to help avert any incident in the armed forces like she perceives. And also refrain from making public statements that fuel unnecessary confusion about such an important institution like the armed forces.