HOLDING a press conference on Friday against the backdrop of Jamaat-e-Islami-called two-day hartal, Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia has added another day to the series of shutdowns. As a result, the entire nation will be in the throes of another 60 hours of uncertainties and chaos. Even on hartal eve there have been disturbances.

Given the stressful condition that the country is in, the three-day period will predictably be marked with more violence, loss of human lives and destruction of public and private properties. What is of graver concern is that as part of the spiralling violence over the last few days, sporadic attacks on minority communities have also been reported.

We have always been opposed to hartal as it is usually forced upon the people, who have had enough of it. Already the shutdowns enforced between February and early March have wreaked unimaginable havoc on the country's economy.

Therefore, we would urge both the opposition BNP and Jamaat to step back from the path of confrontation.

It is disconcerting to note that the opposition leader has drawn an analogy between the loss of lives in the aftermath of the last two verdicts of the International War crimes Tribunal (ICT) and the genocide by occupation army in 1971. Such equation sounds absurd. Her statement may be construed as making light of the genocide of 1971. It is worthwhile to mention that in the war of liberation, many BNP leaders had made significant contribution.

The Jatiya Sangsad session is on. Hopefully, it will address some of the contentious issues of the time including present level of violence and divisiveness across the political spectrum. In that context, we urge the BNP to join parliament session to play its due role and contribute positively towards bringing peace and order in the country.

The nation is divided and the political forces are highly polarised. Thus, judicious approach to handling the situation is urgently called for from both sides.