"Given the magnitude of the incident, it seems to me forces beyond the borders are responsible for the bombings," he said and proposed a national dialogue for overcoming the crisis.

He was speaking at a press briefing at the party office at Banani in the city yesterday after his visit to Saudi Arabia.

Ershad, who returned home Sunday morning after his 10-day visit to Saudi Arabia, briefed the newsmen about his trip and the current situation of the country in the wake of the orchestrated bomb blasts that killed three people and injured many.

He said the August 17 countrywide bombing spree was not a conspiracy against the government rather against the country and the nation as a whole.

The ex-military ruler said there is an ongoing conspiracy to paint Bangladesh as a terrorist, failed and dysfunctional state--and the bombings in all but one district are part of that blueprint.

He said that following the incident the country is suffering economically, people, including students, are facing problems in acquiring visas and manpower export is affected significantly.

Due to the August 17 bomb blasts, he said, the expatriates in different countries are denigrated, being subject to suspicion.