I am shocked by the barbarity of the terrorist attack on innocent people in Dhaka on July 1 evening. I express my heartfelt condolences to those,far and near, who have lost their loved ones. and wish their souls to rest in peace.

I cannot think of such attacks taking place in Bangladesh. I always believed Bangladesh to be a tolerant liberal country. We must do soul searching on how this breeding of violence began in our country. We want to create a society peacefully shared by everyone,with everyone having their space, having the right for all to express their views freely,without fear or social or official constraints. We want to be part of an emergent new world of equality and dignity.

We also want to promote the same values internationally. I appeal to all nations to work to bring lasting peace in Middle East. Violence,military or terrorist, can no longer be can contained in one country or region. We are seeing this everyday,and must wake up to the fact that violence in one place breeds violence even in remotest places of the world. I plead to the powerful nations please overcome differences among yourselves to bring peace in the Middle East so we have better chances of peace in our cities and communities around the world. I urge the civil society leaders to bring pressure on relevant parties and super-powers to stop violence and to go to the negotiating tables to bring immediate peace in the Middle East.