The government is delaying its action against rising militant activities with its manoeuvring for an all-party dialogue but it would not be wise to give the militants any chance to inflict further destruction, the business leaders said in an impromptu meeting at the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI).

Sharply criticising the role of the state minister for home affairs in delaying of addressing militant activities, some business leaders demanded his resignation immediately and said when the media had carried out news about the emergence of militant groups people were told that 'Bangla Bhai was created by the media'.

"The situation would not have gone to the extreme if action was taken without delay. The state minister for home affairs is responsible for the delay and he should resign first," a business leader said.

About 200 business leaders from the chambers and associations groups expressed their concerns over the government's inaction saying that all the opposition parties, businessmen and the others agree on the necessity for immediate stern measures against the militants.

"The common question was why the government is still stalling in taking actions against the militants and seeking dialogue instead. Can a dialogue solve the problem?" a participant in the meeting said.

The militants are destroying the country's image abroad, which will hamper Bangladesh's trade and commerce, the business leaders said.

FBCCI President Mir Nasir Hossain said giant investors like Tata, Dhabi Group and Bill Gates became interested in investing here because of a stable macro economic situation and for the economic growth.

Foreign investors and buyers would definitely take the overall situation into account if risk factors in the country go beyond a certain level, he said.

"Buyers have started to avoid visiting Bangladesh in recent times due to the spate of terrorist attacks and some of the governments officially warned their citizens against visiting Bangladesh, which is a bad omen for the country's export import trade," a businessman said in the meeting.

They called upon the government, opposition parties, and others to resist Islamist forces from their respective positions and urged the government to take a leading role as it controls the law enforcing agencies.

The FBCCI decided to maintain strict rules in selling new mobile connections that include maintaining of a database of identities and photographs of new clients. It also urged the government to introduce caller identification system for all land phones and frequency jamming technology for overseas mobile calls.

Leaders of the federation also decided to hold meetings and exchange of views programmes among the businessmen in six divisional cities and to arrange programmes symbolising their resistance against terrorism.

They reiterated their solidarity with the nine-point charter of demands that business leaders led by the federation placed before the prime minister on December 4.

Mir Nasir Hossain presided over the meeting where vice presidents of the federation Mohammad Ali and Dewan Sultan Ahmed were present.