Dhaka: ‘I have been trying to think of what to write but I have been at a loss for words. It was a terrible, heinous attack. These killers were not Muslims. Terrorists have no religion, said Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the ICT affairs adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on Monday.

In a post on his verified Facebook page Sajeeb Wazed said, ‘My deepest condolences to the families of the victims. Especially the brave police officers who sacrificed their lives trying to stop the terrorists.’

His status came in reaction to the recent attack at a Gulshan restaurant by gunmen, which left 20 people killed.

‘One of the hallmarks of our culture is hospitality to our foreign guests. These terrorists want to stop that. We cannot allow them to succeed. Bangladesh must always remain welcoming to all people and religion.’ Sajeed said in his Facebook status.  

‘It is also disturbing that some people are yet again blaming our Awami League government for not doing enough. We have arrested the killers of almost all the attacks on bloggers and foreigners in the past three years. In the past seven years our government has made almost monthly seizures of weapons and explosives. Each of those seizures was an attack just like this one. Except that thanks to our Government it did not happen,’ said the ICT affairs adviser to prime minister.

‘No one can perform 100% all the time. This was the one time we could not catch it. Such attacks have happened in the wealthiest countries of the world with far more resources than us,’ he added.

Sajeeb said, ‘The reality is that these terrorists were educated, middle class individuals. There are many more like them. They could be your neighbours, relatives, sons. Each one of us has the responsibility to be vigilant to keep our country safe.’

He also said more than anything we need to reverse the brainwashing of our youth with lies about religion. We need to stand united in doing this.