CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh — The police in Bangladesh arrested the acting editor of a pro-opposition newspaper on Thursday amid strikes by opposition forces that have frozen travel in much of the country and that are crippling its economy.

The editor, Mahmudur Rahman, who works at the Bengali-language newspaper Amar Desh, was arrested in a raid on his office in Dhaka, the capital, and charged with sedition, among other crimes.

Bangladesh has become increasingly paralyzed by demonstrations, counterdemonstrations and strikes that often turn violent and nearly always disrupt already difficult travel conditions. In recent days, strikes have been called by pro-Islamic groups allied with the opposition parties. The groups have issued a list of 13 demands, including the death penalty for those who defame the Prophet Muhammad, a demand directed at bloggers critical of some opposition leaders. Four bloggers were jailed Wednesday on charges of insulting religious beliefs.

The bloggers have in turn demanded death sentences for those now being tried for crimes committed during Bangladesh’s war for independence more than 40 years ago.