BDR verdict needs to be followed through

The High Court's observations on the Pilkhana carnage case verdict are very significant. The three judges of the special bench unanimously made ceetain recommendations, which the state can implement if they want.
The verdict highlights the brutality of the BDR soldiers and reminds us of the psychological gap that existed between the officers and the soldiers. The judges have maintained that it was a mistake to undertake the 'Daal Bhaat Project'. Terming it a 'dangerous provocation', they have warned the forces not to engage in any such projects in the future. This will only spell disaster, they observed. The policymakers need to be cautious regarding this.
They have also raised questions about whether the incident was actually only about their demands, especially because it happened in less than 50 days after the government of Sheikh Hasina assumed power. The court mentioned intelligence failure. The government intelligence agencies need to be made more accountable. The people have the right to know if any steps have been taken to ensure accountability of these agencies.
It is not known whether the agencies have been revamped after the Pilkhana Carnage. Everyone knew about the dissatisfaction of the soldiers. The home minister and many other top leaders and officers were informed about the growing unrest. It is true that the government has tried to compensate the victims' families, but many questions remain unanswered.
The three judges in separate verdicts recommended forming three different committees. Justice Md Abu Jafar Siddiqui wanted an inquiry commission that would look into whether the incident was an attempt to overthrow the government of Sheikh Hasina. Justice Md Shawkat Hossain, who has just gone into retirement, blamed it on the failure of the intelligence agencies and recommended forming a committee to this end.
Justice Md Nazrul Islam also spoke about intelligence failure. It seems he holds the Rifles Security Unit (RSU) accountable. He suggested forming a commission that would look for answers as to why the unit failed to provide accurate information. He recommended making the results public in the shortest possible time.
The Pilkhana carnage is a national tragedy. We lost 57 army officers in nine months during the liberation war while 55 were killed in around 24 hours in the BDR killing.
We need to look ahead and do some real soul searching. We have to remain alert so that such tragic events are nver repeated.