The grenade blast in Habiganj, Sylhet on 27 January took away a precious life and left the nation shocked and outraged. Another explosion had revealed the utter inability of this Administration to provide security and maintain law and order in public gatherings.

Sixty-nine persons have perished and hundreds injured, some critically, as a result of powerful explosions at public places since the takeover of the reins of government by the BNP led alliance in October 2001. This has included bombing and arson inside cinemas in Tangail, Mymensingh and Sylhet, inside the shrine of Hazrat Shah Jalal in Sylhet, at Awami League meetings and rallies at Taltala, Sylhet and at the Bangabandhu Avenue in Dhaka. In 2005, within one month, we have witnessed a bomb attack on a cultural function in Bogra and now a grenade attack on the Awami League rally at Habiganj, Sylhet.

Till to-date, only one of the cases has had a charge sheet submitted to the court. The investigations of the others have made no headway.

The surprising aspect is that some of these attacks have taken place in very important meetings. It has targeted the former Prime Minister and the current leader of the opposition Sheikh Hasina and in another instance, the British High Commissioner. These are high value targets. Despite this, the approach towards investigation and inquiry have been unsatisfactory to say the least.

The murder of SAMS Kibria has brought anguish to many who have known him over the years. This heinous deed has only underlined what Sheikh Hasina has been saying for the last year. There seems to be a pernicious plan to hunt down Awami League partisans and selectively do away with their leadership either by design or through random selection.

With near impunity, attacks have led to the death of Ahsanullah Master MP of Gazipur, Ivy Rahman, leader of the women's faction of the Awami League and many other mid-level Awami League organisers at the district level. Now it has been the turn of SAMS Kibria.

Armed hooligans have systematically exposed the inefficiency and inability of the Administration in being able to provide suitable security to the opposition in the exercise of their constitutional rights of freedom of association and assembly.

Time has now come for the government leadership to understand that it is not enough to just express deep shock or desire a dialogue. This is a crisis which demands action, not words, not sympathy.

This trend of thought has been reflected in the comments made by the family members of the late SAMS Kibria and also by foreign dignitaries. Asma Kibria, widow of the assassinated leader has commented with deep sorrow that she does not 'Believe that the BNP-led coalition government will ensure justice.' Such lack in the credibility of the government strikes at the very root of governance.

The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has 'condemned the perpetrators of this abhorrent act' and called 'for them to be brought to justice.' Amnesty International, has similarly, not only 'called on the Bangladesh government to fully investigate the deadly grenade assault on an opposition party rally' but also criticised it 'for failing to adequately examine similar previous attacks.' In this context, they have also underlined the need to investigate the attacks 'with the rigour and determination they deserve.' Other organisations have also stated that unless such inquiries are conducted thoroughly and impartially, they will lack credibility and the culprits will be sheltered from justice.

We have watched with dismay as half-truths and propaganda have overtaken the political scene. It has indeed been pertinent, that Heads of Missions from the European Union, USA, Japan and Australia, should have also expressed their anxiety about the failure on the part of our government to carry out suitable investigations into previous incidents and explosions. They have, quite correctly pointed out that this had led to a climate of impunity which in turn had encouraged a continuation of such incidents.

They have also called upon the government to ensure the observance of due process of law. This assumes special significance, given the fact that one of those directly affected includes the British High Commissioner.

The government, as in the past (after the 21 August incident), has sought international help for the probe being carried out into this latest grenade attack. The FBI, Interpol and Scotland Yard have all been requested to assist the government. This was done also in the past. Nothing happened then. Some are questioning as to whether anything will happen now.

Last year, foreign intelligence agents came, spoke to some officials and isolated individuals and then left. They apparently did not get full access to all requisite evidence. This might have rendered ineffective their investigations. Subsequently, no report was ever published. One hopes that full access as desired by US Assistant Secretary of State Rocca will be provided this time.

The other factor is confidentiality. This is important but transparency is equally valuable. It would be preferable if the secretive approach adopted by Justice Joynul Abedin in the preparation of his report about the August 21 grenade attack is avoided.

The ordinary citizen has the right to be kept informed about the results.

This guarded approach also appears to be in direct contrast to the views of the Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister who has publicly stated that 'whenever an inquiry commission is formed, its report should be made public' (New Age, 30 January, 2005). Are we then to understand that views of Moudud Ahmed counts for less in the Cabinet?

We have also not seen as yet any report from the special team of lawyers constituted by the Supreme Court Bar Association. They should remember that delay does not facilitate the carriage of justice.

In the meantime, stung by public opinion, the Chiefs of District and Sadar Upazila police in Habiganj have been suspended for negligence in providing security to those who attended the fatal meeting of the Awami League at Boidder Bazar. This was probably also because of the sermon delivered during the Namaj-e-Janaza at Baitul-Makarram, last Friday. It is being stressed that these officials are being punished for their inability to provide security to Kibria and also because of their failure to apprehend the assailants as they were escaping after hurling the grenades.

The Awami League leader has been laid to eternal rest at Banani graveyard with full state honours. Diplomats, Awami League leaders, university teachers, lawyers and his admirers came to the graveyard to show him deserved honour as bugles played the last post as a tribute. It was only fitting that this happened. We have lost a great man.

Time is of the essence. The government must understand that there is a cause and effect relationship in their actions. It is not enough to state that investigations could have been completed had the Awami League cooperated. This is absurd. Responsibilities of the intelligence agencies and the police force impact directly on governance. They must be seen to be performed.

The criminals must be apprehended and the perpetrators brought to justice as has been stated by the Prime Minister. Empty words, request for cooperation and dialogue will not satisfy the broken hearts of the spouses and aggrieved family members.

The government needs to understand that the business community, both at home and abroad, follow events very carefully. Unsatisfactory investigations and inability to punish those responsible will further erode our image. We have already been tarred with the brush of corruption. This additional failure will certainly affect future foreign direct investment.

Enough is enough! We must all remember that the people of Bangladesh are not fools. They can, and will, make up their own minds about lack of governance. This will influence their verdict in the next general elections.

Muhammad Zamir is a former Secretary and Ambassador -- any response to mzamir@dhaka.net