Bangladesh's deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League would not be allowed to participate in elections, a key adviser of Muhammad Yunus's interim government said on Saturday. "The elections will be contested among pro-Bangladesh groups only, said Mahfuz Alam, a top leader of the Anti-Discrimination Movement, which spearheaded the mass uprising that toppled Hasina's Awami League regime and forced her to flee the country on August 5 last year. Addressing a street rally at central Chandpur district, Alam said only former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islam and other pro-Bangladesh groups would carry on their politics in the country. He added that either of these will establish future governance through a fair electoral process. "But Awami League's rehabilitation will not be allowed in this country, said Alam, a de facto minister without portfolio in Chief Adviser Yunus's administration. Alam stated that no election would take pla
Against the backdrop of an increase in engagement between Bangladeshi and Pakistani military officials, India on Friday said it keeps a close watch on developments in the neighbourhood having a bearing on national security and takes "appropriate" action if required. Pakistani spy agency ISI's Director General of Analysis Maj Gen Shahid Amir Afsar and certain other officials are currently visiting Bangladesh, according to reports. The visit to Dhaka by the Pakistani military officials came after a delegation of Bangladeshi military officials toured Pakistan and held meetings with the three service chiefs. "We keep an eye on all activities around the country and in the region, as well as all activities affecting national security, and the government will take appropriate steps," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to a question at his weekly media briefing. He said India's approach towards Bangladesh has been to maintain friendly ties. "We support
The father of the Bangladeshi man accused of stabbing actor Saif Ali Khan will soon approach that country's foreign ministry and the Indian High Commission for the release of his son, who he said was being framed for reasons unknown to him. In a 12-minute interview, Mohammad Ruhul, the father of Shariful Islam, told PTI over the phone from Bangaldesh that his son did not have proper documentation for his stay in India and he lived in constant fear of being arrested. He alleged that the man seen in the CCTV camera footage was not Shariful and added that his son was being framed. "I will get in touch with the Bangaldeshi foreign ministry and also seek help from the Indian High Commission in Dhaka for the release of my son," Ruhul told PTI. He claimed that he learned about his son's arrest through Facebook and news channels and added he had not been contacted by police in this connection. "The police have not said anything to us," Ruhul told PTI. He revealed that Shariful entered In
According to the Dhaka Tribune, the conflict occurred in the Ismailpur area of Shyamnagar after tensions escalated between the two groups
A court in Bangladesh acquitted BNP Chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia on Wednesday in a sabotage case filed in the southeastern Cumilla district 10 years ago. Additional District and Session Judge Court-2 of Cumilla Afroza Jesmin passed the order as there was no evidence against 79-year-old Zia, who is now undergoing treatment in London, the state-run BSS news agency reported. The court observed that the case was filed on political grounds and harassment, the agency said. The case was filed against 32 people, including Zia, in the Special Powers Act, 1974, at Chouddagram Police Station in Cumilla in connection with damaging and setting fire to a covered van during a strike on January 25, 2015. Zia was the 32nd accused in the case. No specific evidence was found against Zia and she has been acquitted, Public Prosecutor Kaimul Haque Rinku was quoted as saying by bdnews24 news portal. He added that 32 people were named in the FIR, but 42 people were charged afterwards
In an effort to build closer ties with Beijing, Bangladesh's Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain is on a state visit to China this week
The RPF has apprehended 916 people, including 586 Bangladeshi nationals and 318 Rohingyas, since 2021, showing its commitment to safeguarding the nation, the railway ministry said on Sunday. According to the ministry, in the months of June and July last year, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) apprehended 88 Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants in areas under the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR). "Some of these individuals confessed to entering India illegally and were intercepted while travelling by train to destinations such as Kolkata," according to a press statement issued by the ministry. "In October 2024, reports highlighted that despite increased security measures along the Bangladesh border, illegal migrants continue to infiltrate India, using Assam as a transit route and railways as their preferred mode of travel to reach other parts of the country," the statement said. The ministry said these incidents underscore the challenges faced by Indian authorities in monitoring and .
The cops, citing preliminary investigation, suspect that the man is a Bangladeshi and changed his name after entering India illegally
The incidents include vandalism and attacks on shrines and devotees, looting of shrine properties, and setting fire, the statement released by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus' Press Wing stated
Ousted Bangladesh leader Sheikh Hasina breaks down as she recounts fleeing Dhaka with her sister, Rehana, amid protests
The Constitution Reform Commission on Wednesday submitted its report to interim government chief Muhammad Yunus, proposing the replacement of the state principles of secularism, socialism and nationalism. The commission set up by the Yunus administration, after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister following a mass agitation led by students, also proposed a bicameral parliament for the country and a two-term limit on a premier's tenure. The three principles are among the four enshrined as fundamental principles of state policy in the country's constitution. Under the new proposals, only one -- democracy, remains unchanged. We are proposing five state principles -- equality, human dignity, social justice, pluralism, and democracy -- for reflection of the great ideals of the 1971 Liberation War and the people's aspiration during the 2024 mass upsurge, commission chairman Ali Riaz said in a video statement. The report kept democracy alone in the constitution's preamble alongsi
Chief Minister Manik Saha on Wednesday assured the Tripura Assembly he will take up with the Centre the issue of Bangladesh government's move to build a massive embankment opposite Kailashahar subdivision in the state's Unakoti district. The assurance came after Congress legislator Birajit Sinha drew Saha's attention on the matter. "The Bangladesh government has been constructing a massive embankment opposite Kailashahar. We have a 40-year-old embankment at Rangaoti. If our embankment is not strengthened on an urgent basis, people will suffer in case of floods," Singh said. State's fisheries minister Sudhangshu Das, who hails from Unakoti district, said the matter is international and a few patches of the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura are still unfenced leading to cattle smuggling in bordering areas. "This is an international matter. I have already sent reports to Delhi suggesting strengthening of embankments. I will refer the matter to the Centre again", Saha assured.
A Bangladeshi court on Wednesday sentenced former army chief Harunur Rashid and 18 others to 12 years of imprisonment and also slapped fines worth more than Tk 4,500 crore for embezzlement and money laundering. The Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 sentenced former army chief Lieutenant General (Retd) Rashid and Rafiqul Amin, managing director of Destiny Multipurpose Co-Operative Society Limited to 12-year imprisonment each in a case lodged over embezzlement and money laundering. A court official said Judge Md Rabiul Alam simultaneously fined them Tk 4,515.57 crore (USD 1=Tk 120.93), an amount double to what they were accused of misappropriation involving the MLM company or network business firm. MLM companies sell products to family and friends and recruit other people to do the same. Rashid was recruited by the firm as a director years after his retirement from the army while he was granted bail as the hearing was underway since the trial began in 2016. The Destiny group chairman, Ras
Bangladesh High Court has commuted the life imprisonment of separatist ULFA leader Paresh Baruah to 14 years imprisonment in a case under the country's Arms Act while acquitting several others. The two-judge bench commuted the life imprisonment of ULFA's Paresh Baruah and four Bangladeshis, an official of the attorney general's bureau said on Wednesday. United Liberation Front of Assam's (ULFA) now absconding military commander Baruah and several Bangladeshis, including former junior home minister and former military generals, civil officials and private citizens, were convicted of two charges in 2014 for their alleged attempt to smuggle 10-truck loads of weapons to ULFA hideouts in Assam. On December 18 last year, the High Court commuted the death sentence of Baruah. Baruah, who is believed to be living in China, was sentenced to death after a trial in absentia in 2014. His name also figures in the most wanted' list of India's National Investigation Agency (NIA). Ten truckloads o
In a rare high-level meeting in Rawalpindi, Pakistan and Bangladesh's militaries stressed that their 'enduring partnership' must 'remain resilient against external influences'
The niece of Bangladesh's deposed former leader Sheikh Hasina, Labour Party MP Tulip Siddiq, on Tuesday resigned as Treasury minister to prevent her family connections becoming a distraction for the work of the British government. Last week, the British Bangladeshi minister in charge of tackling corruption in the UK financial markets as Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister had referred herself to Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests over allegations of corruption and a lack of transparency surrounding her use of properties in London. In her resignation letter released by 10 Downing Street, Siddiq pointed out that the watchdog had not found her in breach of the Ministerial Code and noted that she had not acted improperly. I want to assure you that I acted and have continued to act with full transparency and on the advice of officials on these matters. However, it is clear that continuing in my role as Economic Secretary to the ...
Yunus has said elections might be possible by the end of 2025, but only following electoral reforms
Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry voiced concern over India's BSF allegedly building unauthorised fencing along the 4,156-km border
Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus urged the UK government to launch a thorough investigation into properties linked to Tulip Siddiq, UK's anti-corruption minister
The development came hours after Dhaka alleged that India was trying to construct fences at five locations along the Indo-Bangla border, in violation of a bilateral agreement