It is the season of "talking reforms" in Bangladesh. Both the print and the electronic media are busy discussing reforming everything in the country – political parties, the political system, society, the NGOs, the education system - the list goes on. It is incredible to think that such issues could be discussed so openly, and mostly in rather forthright manner.

This is taking place in the country not because of a revolution. Since 1/11 last year, when a military-backed caretaker government started running the country under emergency rule, the fight against corruption has gained the respect of the people. Bangladeshis whole-heartedly support the government's unflinching determination in arresting and prosecuting corrupt former cabinet ministers, members of parliament, and family members of the previous Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and relatives of another former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

By arresting and charging Sheikh Hasina with extortion, a crime that allegedly took place nearly eight years ago, the caretaker government sent a clear signal. Unfortunately or fortunately, the manner of Hasina's arrest under emergency rule and the denial of bail, raised the prospects of the implementation of an alleged government plan to develop a new political system based on a "minus-two women" principle - without Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia.

With a view to improving the country's exports, the caretaker government has done a remarkable job in containing corruption, none more evident than at Chittagong port, which has seen an increase in efficiency by 30%. For businesses, processing goods through Chittagong now costs less than 40% than at any time in the past. Most certainly, the deployment and management of the port facilities by elements of the military have contributed to these positive developments at Chittagong.

However, the deployment of the same in arresting the spiraling prices of daily necessities like rice, vegetables, cooking oil, fish etc. may not meet with the same success. In a bid to bring down the price of these daily necessities, the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), a border security force, have been organising markets in Dhaka city to increase the supply of daily necessities. At the present moment the BDR operates twenty such markets in Dhaka city, and the number is likely to increase to more than one hundred. However the price of essential items like rice, fish and cooking oil has not fallen.

It has been suggested that the BDR be allowed to import some of those items in short supply. The involvement of security forces in business activities is perhaps not new in developing countries, but given the less-than-expected experience of such experiments in countries like Indonesia and Pakistan, the civil-military dialectic determines that the BDR ought to be left in charge of protecting borders than get involved in business.

In spite of the popularity of the "reform talk" and measures to combat corruption, issues which none of the past elected governments could dare dream of implementing or rectifying, the possibility of having a reformed political system in Bangladesh remains tenuous. Firstly, there are lingering doubts over what the editor of a Dhaka-based popular English language newspaper has termed "command politics" - where the military is seen to dictate policy. Secondly, the involvement of security forces in the economy of the country does not create the conditions that encourage long-term confidence. Finally, the escape of some corrupt civil servants from the government's anti-corruption dragnet has created a small, albeit perceptible degree of cynicism in regard to the reach and depth of its anti-corruption efforts.

While Hasina remains in jail, Khaleda is confined to her home inside Dhaka's military cantonment area. Her arrest however sparked off political uneasiness within the country. Calls for her release have come from home and abroad. Protesting the treatment of Khaleda and Hasina, Dhaka University faculty have chosen not to preside over classes, while students have demonstrated on campus. In an ironical twist befitting a Bollywood melodrama, even Khaleda severely criticised the manner in which her bitter political rival Hasina was arrested.

Hasina has accused Bangladesh's intelligence agencies of dividing the country's main political parties. Advisers to the caretaker government however have denied this charge. Until the arrest and incarceration of Sheikh Hasina, the AL was also showing signs of a split. Despite the government's denials, concerns also continue to linger about a "King's Party" – a party consisting of "reform-minded" politicians, backed by the military no less – who plan to take over power in the aftermath of the elections in late 2008. Despite a ban on politics, the media continue to report on meetings of like-minded politicians to form a political party that can rival the two main political parties – the Awami League (AL) and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The common consensus suggests that many of these "reform-minded" politicians have shady past, and are no better than those arrested on charges of corruption.

Hasina has denied the extortion charges and maintains these charges are fabricated and designed to prevent her from participating in the next elections. If the AL leader is convicted in the court and her party stays away from elections scheduled for next year, the kind of political stability the elections are designed to bring about are unlikely to come to pass. In a sense, Bangladesh is in a catch-22 of sorts. While there is a palpable sense of relief engendered by the caretaker-government's war against the politics of corruption, the process by which it has sought to sideline and destroy the "old regime" has set off alarm bells too.

About nine months after the imposition of military rule, more than two hundred politicians have so far been arrested on charges of corruption. In concert, it is very gratifying to note that an open judicial process has begun in earnest. However, it is also relevant to note that the majority of civil servants have escaped the caretaker government's anti-corruption campaign, leaving residual doubt over the day-to day problems that afflict country. After all, politicians govern through the civil servants who have enormous manipulative power. There is no doubt that the caretaker government has accomplished a lot in a short period. But if it is not careful in taking appropriate political steps to manage the tension between civilian control and military rule, in spite of the latter's clear benefits at the moment, all those achievements will come to the nought.