information, infrastructure, implementation and inefficiency" and committed the government to achieving change. He credited the opening of the power plant Meghna Energy Limited in Kanchpur, to the government's energy deregulation. Between 2002 and 2003, foreign investment in Bangladesh increased from $52 million to US$121 million, an increase which Rahman said was the greatest in South Asia. In 2004, the United Nations reported that foreign investment in Bangladesh had reached a record US$460 million. Political unrest arose in 2004. On 21 August, grenade attacks at an opposition Awami League rally killed 20 and injured around 300 others. General strikes against Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's government were held regularly throughout the end of the year. Rahman criticized both sides, saying that such political violence and unrest threatened much-needed foreign investment, and the government had to provide security. He offered his resignation in December 2004, reportedly over a dispute with officials in the Prime Minister's Office, but Zia declined to accept it. Rahman continued in the post for the remainder of his "two-year contractual obligation." Rahman's goal was to attract US$1 billion in investment to Bangladesh while in office. He said that Bangladesh's infrastructure needed improvement. The government encouraged foreign investment in infrastructure through a "build-own-transfer" model. In May 2005, Rahman announced a deal with the US company Vulcan Inc. to invest $1.6 billion in new power and fertiliser plants, projected to increase Bangladesh's energy capacity by nearly 50 percent. In August 2005, Rahman sued five members of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, a private think tank, for defamation after they criticised his investment policy. He said they had made "disgraceful, false and fabricated statements". The Hindustan Times said the suit and issuance of related arrest warrants, was an example of "persecution of intellectuals critical of the government" and the persons sued were renowned in their field. Energy Adviser The June 2005 explosion at Niko Resources' Tengratila Gas Field in Sunamganj District, was the second during the project to revive the Chattack field. Against accusations that Niko had bribed Energy Adviser Mosharraf Hossain, he resigned. Rahman was named to succeed him. In August 2005, he announced completion of a deal with the British oil company Cairn Energy to explore oil and gas deposits offshore Bangladesh. The following month, Rahman participated in talks for a transborder natural gas pipeline from Burma's Arakan State to India, to pass through Bangladesh. The deal was shelved in