Nationwide strike shuts down much of Bangladesh
Pakistan Times Foreign Desk

DHAKA (Bangladesh): Streets were empty and shops and schools closed across much of Bangladesh Saturday as the opposition began a 36-hour strike in protest at a deadly grenade attack on a party rally, police and witnesses said.

"Strike supporters torched four buses Friday night. But this morning things are much quieter as we have around 10,000 police and paramilitaries on guard," Dhaka city police chief Mizanur Rahman told a French news agency Saturday.

The situation was similar in the southern cities of Khulna and Barisal, northern Rajshahi and souteastern Chittagong, police said.

The strike is one of a series called by the opposition Awami League in protest at a grenade assault on a party rally in northeastern Bangladesh on January 27.

Five people died including a former minister. A 60-hour strike was enforced last week in protest.

Last year the Awami League called 22 shutdowns, despite pleas from aid donors and business groups who say such actions hit the nation's impoverished economy.

The party said it was highlighting the failure of the government, a four-party Islamist-allied coalition, to crack down on crime and corruption.

The government says it is working hard to tackle a difficult situation inherited from the former Awami League administration. ●