Held at the World Bank premises on December 21, this well-attended seminar was moderated by Syed Akhtar Mahmood of the World Bank. Dr. Hossain spoke for about 40 minutes and then took questions from the floor. There is a crisis of governance in the country. The institutions that are supposed to uphold the rule of law are not functioning well. Violence has increased in society.
Political parties have violent cadres.
There are armed gangs residing in university dormitories. Common people are helpless in the face of violence. The political parties seem to be caught in a vicious circle. Many leaders on both sides understand that they should not be tolerating violent elements in their parties but no party is willing to take the first step to disband its own cadres. They fear that the other parties will not follow and this will put them at their mercy.