Dhaka, Oct. 20 -- The message came swiftly: three days after appearing in a video carrying a firearm during an anti-drug drive, Ishraque Hossain resigned as state minister.

Eighteen days earlier, lawmaker Ferdousy Ahmed Mishti had resigned from parliament after being linked to an alleged attack on a clinic in Dhaka's Mirpur.

Both departures followed instructions from Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, raising a question: is the ruling party signalling that misconduct will carry consequences, even for its own leaders?

Ishraque, the Dhaka-6 MP and state minister for Liberation War affairs, drew criticism after posting a Facebook video on Saturday showing him and his entourage carrying firearms during an "anti-drug operation"...