Page 9 - Bangladesh

Interim govt committed to holding polls in Feb 2026: Bangladesh adviser

Bangladesh's interim government is "unwavering" in its commitment to hold general elections in February next year, Law Adviser Asif Nazrul has said, according to media reports on Wednesday. "The government is moving forward with all preparations for the election," Nazrul was quoted as saying by the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS). "The polls will be held in February, and the government's stance on this remains unwavering," he said after a meeting at the Cabinet Division on Tuesday. The law adviser's comments came amid growing speculation over the elections, following statements by National Citizen Party leaders who dismissed the possibility of polls taking place in February next year without key reforms and the completion of trials initiated by the interim government. Commenting on the issue, Nazrul said that political parties making statements about the timing of the elections is part of the political process. "You have always seen this. Traditionally in Bangladesh, s

Statsguru: How India, Bangladesh fared after a year under Yunus' rule

Despite worsening diplomatic ties and rising anti-India sentiment under Mohd Yunus' rule, India's trade with Bangladesh has seen unexpected growth, led by imports

India bans jute product imports from Bangladesh via all land routes

India on Monday banned imports of certain jute products and ropes from Bangladesh through all land routes with immediate effect, amid strained relations between the two countries. However, according to a notification of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), these imports are allowed through the Nhava Sheva Seaport. "Imports from Bangladesh shall not be allowed from any land port on the India-Bangladesh Border," it said, adding, "Import of certain goods from Bangladesh to India is regulated with immediate effect." The products included in the list are bleached and unbleached woven fabrics of Jute or of other textile bast fibre; twine, cordage, rope of jute; and sacks and bags of jute. Earlier on June 27, India prohibited imports of a number of jute products and woven fabrics from Bangladesh through all land routes. Those imports are, however, allowed only through Nhava Sheva seaport in Maharashtra. The curbs were imposed on items such as jute products, flax tow and waste

Bangladesh to hold general elections in first week of Feb 2026: CEC

Bangladesh's poll body chief on Saturday said general elections would be held in the first week of February 2025 but ensuring it in a free, fair and impartial manner remained a major challenge. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin, however said the exact date would be disclosed two months before the schedule was announced. People have lost confidence in the election system, the Election Commission and the administrative machinery involved in the electoral process, state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) quoted Uddin as saying at a function in northwestern Rangpur district. Uddin said his office, however, was working tirelessly to restore this lost trust. The CEC's comments come four days after interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus announced that the polls would be held in February next year. Yunus had made the announcement coinciding with the first anniversary of the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League regime on August 5. Uddin feared t

Reckoning in Dhaka: A year since the coup, Bangladesh is in a shambles

An indecisive "interim" government under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is increasingly prey to non-democratic Islamists, who envisage a Bangladeshi caliphate. None of this augurs well for the country

Year after uprising, Bangladesh struggles to find political stability

Abdur Rahman Tarif was talking to his sister Meherunnesa over the phone when the voice on the other end of the call suddenly fell silent. In that moment, Tarif knew something bad had happened. He rushed home, dodging the exchange of fire between security forces and protesters on the streets of Dhaka. When he finally arrived, he discovered his parents tending to his bleeding sister. A stray bullet had hit Meherunnesa's chest while she was standing beside the window of her room, Tarif said. She was taken to a hospital where doctors declared her dead. Meherunnesa, 23, was killed on Aug 5 last year, the same day Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee the country in a massive student-led uprising, which ended her 15-year rule. For much of Bangladesh, Hasina's ouster was a moment of joy. Three days later, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took over the country as head of an interim government, promising to restore order and hold a new election after ..

A year after bloody revolt, Bangladesh still far from political stability

Abdur Rahman Tarif was talking to his sister Meherunnesa over the phone when the voice on the other end of the call suddenly fell silent. In that moment, Tarif knew something bad had happened. He rushed home, dodging the exchange of fire between security forces and protesters on the streets of Dhaka. When he finally arrived, he discovered his parents tending to his bleeding sister. A stray bullet had hit Meherunnesa's chest while she was standing beside the window of her room, Tarif said. She was taken to a hospital where doctors declared her dead. Meherunnesa, 23, was killed on Aug 5 last year, the same day Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee the country in a massive student-led uprising, which ended her 15-year rule. For much of Bangladesh, Hasina's ouster was a moment of joy. Three days later, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus took over the country as head of an interim government, promising to restore order and hold a new election after .

'Crimes against humanity': Bangladesh tribunal begins Sheikh Hasina's trial

Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on Sunday commenced the trial of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in absentia over crimes against humanity related to the violent suppression of the 2024 student-led protests. The interim government-appointed Chief Prosecutor, Tajul Islam, in his opening statement, described Hasina as the "nucleus of all crimes" and called for the maximum penalty. The prosecution also named Hasina's two top aides -- former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and former Inspector General of Police Chowdhury Abdullaah Al Mamun -- as the co-accused in the case. The ICT commenced the proceedings against Hasina on several charges, with the major one being killings and tortures to tame last year's Students Against Discrimination (SAD)-led violent street campaign that eventually toppled her Awami League government on August 5, 2024. While Hasina and Kamal are being tried in absentia, Mamun is in custody and has agreed to be the approver in the case. T

Bangladesh secures 20% US tariff rate, Yunus says 'diplomatic victory'

Bangladesh's relative competitiveness in apparel exports remains unaffected, Bangladesh's Chief Adviser's Press Wing said

Bangladesh govt sets up probe panel to investigate Dhaka jet crash

The commission will be led by former secretary AKM Zafar Ullah Khan and has been asked to submit its report within four weeks

Bangladesh offers to buy 25 jets from Boeing to sway Trump on tariffs

Dhaka last week also signed an initial agreement with US wheat growers to import 700,000 tonnes of the grain annually over five years

Yunus thanks India, global teams for treating Dhaka plane crash victims

The international medical teams are currently in Dhaka to provide specialised healthcare services to victims of the recent plane crash at Milestone School and College

S&P affirms Bangladesh's sovereign credit rating, warns of US trade risks

S&P Global Ratings affirmed Bangladesh's B+ sovereign rating with a stable outlook, citing improved forex reserves but warning of US tariffs and policy unpredictability

Grief, angst continue as toll in jet crash on school rises to 32 in B'desh

Grief and angst continued to grip Bangladesh on Wednesday, two days after a jet crashed on a school building as the death toll climbed to 32 with most victims being children. The F-7 BGI aircraft, a training fighter jet manufactured in China, experienced a mechanical fault moments after takeoff and crashed into a two-storey building of Milestone School and College in Dhaka's Uttara area on Monday. Thousands of students on Tuesday protested in Dhaka demanding accurate information on casualties and compensation for the families of those killed in the Bangladesh Air Force training jet crash into the school. On Wednesday, as scores of others with burn wounds continued fighting for lives at different hospitals in the capital, authorities of the Milestone School, on which the jet had crashed, formed their own committee to ascertain the accurate death toll and number of their wounded students and teachers. Doctors said a nine-year-old boy, identified only as Nafi, succumbed to his wounds

Govt to send burn-specialist team to Dhaka to treat air crash victims

The deployment of the medical team comes as part of India's response to the recent fighter jet crash in the Diabari area of Bangladesh's Dhaka

Why are China’s ageing F-7 fighters under fire? Bangladesh jet crash

A Bangladesh Air Force jet crash has reignited questions about the safety of Chinese-made F-7 fighter aircraft. Is it time to retire these ageing jets? Watch!

Staffers at border seek Bengal CM intervention to lift ban on jute imports

An organisation of clearing agents' staffers at Petrapole border checkpost has written a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, seeking her intervention to lift the Centre's ban on imports of jute products and garments from Bangladesh via land routes. The Petrapole Clearing Agents' Staff Welfare Association claimed that the trade flow at the border checkpost in North 24 Parganas district has been affected due to the restriction. It highlighted how the ban has disrupted trade flows and impacted the livelihoods of thousands who depend on the transactions via the critical India-Bangladesh integrated checkpost. "Import trade volumes have plummeted sharply after the restrictions were imposed. The number of import trucks and rakes handled at Petrapole fell to 1,654 in June, down from 3,886 in May 2025," association secretary Kartick Chakraborty told PTI. Unlike the current trends, the peak monthly figure was 4,900 in 2023, while average volumes typically remain above 3,500

Bangladesh Air Force jet crash: Death toll rises to 27, 170 injured

The death toll from the crash of the Bangladesh Air Force training fighter jet into a school building in Dhaka rose to 27 as more people succumbed to their injuries, authorities said on Tuesday. The F-7 BGI aircraft, a training fighter jet manufactured in China, experienced a "mechanical fault" moments after takeoff and crashed into the two-storey building of Milestone School and College at Diabari in Dhaka's Uttara area on Monday. The toll is now 27, and 25 of them are children, Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus's special adviser, Saidur Rahman, told reporters. About 170 were injured, with several of them said to be critical. Wails of despair and pain reverberate at hospitals where patients were treated with burn injuries. Twenty deaths were reported initially, and seven died of their injuries overnight. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Mohammad Towkir Islam, was among those killed in the crash. The government has declared a state day of mourning for Tuesday in memory of those

All you need to know about Bangladesh Air Force jet crash into Dhaka school

At least 20 people have been killed after a Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed into a private school campus in the south Asian country's capital, Dhaka, on Monday. It is the deadliest airplane crash in the Bangladeshi capital in recent memory. In 2008, another F-7 air force training jet crashed outside Dhaka, killing its pilot, who had ejected after he discovered a technical problem. While details are still emerging, here's what is known so far: The crash The F-7 BGI jet, a variant of a Chinese fighter, crashed into the campus of the Milestone School and College, in the Uttara neighborhood of Dhaka. The pilot was among the dead, according to the military and a fire official. More than 160 other people have been injured. Officials described the plane as a training aircraft. The military said the jet took off from Bangladesh Air Force Base A K Khandaker in Dhaka's Kurmitola neighborhood at 1:06 pm local time and crashed soon after, catching fire immediately. The military said the pi

B'desh Air Force jet crashes into school in Dhaka; 19 dead, 164 injured

A Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed onto a school campus in Dhaka's northern Uttara area on Monday afternoon, according to the military and a fire official. Children were present at the Milestone School and College at the time of the crash. The aircraft crashed on a campus of the Milestone School and College in Dhaka's Uttara area in the afternoon. The Bangladesh Army's public relations office confirmed in a brief statement that the downed F-7 BGI aircraft belonged to the Air Force. Fire official Lima Khan stated by phone that at least one person died and four others were injured, though she did not provide further details.