The government does not support vandalizing any newspaper office or pressuring it to close, said Nahid Islam, advisor to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. He said, such incidents will not be tolerated if they happen again.

The information advisor said this at a news briefing organized by the Chief Advisor’s Press Wing at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital on Monday (November 25) evening. Local Government Ministry Advisor Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan, Chief Advisor’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam and Deputy Press Secretary Jahangir Alam Apurba were present at the briefing.

Information advisor Nahid Islam spoke about contemporary issues at the briefing. He said, I have been seeing tension with Prothom Alo for a few days. Yesterday too, such tension was created in front of the office. Today, their office was vandalized in Rajshahi and protests were held in various places including Chittagong and Bahmanbaria. Our position is that if any section of the public has a complaint or grievance against a media outlet or newspaper, they can express it, but it must be done peacefully.

Nahid Islam said, we do not support vandalizing a newspaper office or pressuring it to close down. Such incidents will not be tolerated if they happen again.

The information advisor said that legal action will be taken against those involved in the vandalism. He said, we will appeal to those who have grievances to express them peacefully. People have the right to hold meetings. If they have specific grievances, they can take legal action. We will appeal to the public not to participate in any undesirable or anarchic situation. We should refrain from doing such things that tarnish the image of Bangladesh.