[JURIST] Arafat Rahman, the son of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia [Virtual Bangladesh profile], was arrested Monday on corruption allegations, according to local media. Zia's elder son Tarique Rahman [party profile, in Bengali] was also arrested on arrested [JURIST report] corruption charges last month in Dhaka. Tarique, a senior member in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party [party website], was widely expected to succeed his mother, who stepped down at the end of her term last October to make way for the interim government. Unlike Tarique, Arafat was not involved in politics.

In recent weeks, security forces have arrested more than 60 politicians [JURIST news archive], mostly members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Awami League [party website]. Corruption watchdog group Transparency International [advocacy website] lists Bangladesh among the world's most corrupt nations. Bangladeshi President Iajuddin Ahmed [official profile] declared a national state of emergency [JURIST report] on January 11 in the face of unrest over upcoming national elections and later cancelled a scheduled national poll. The interim military-backed government has delayed general elections until the end of 2008. BBC News has more.