Muhammad Yunus

From Hasina extradition to India ties: Muhammad Yunus' plan for Bangladesh

Bangladesh interim government Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus acknowledges recent events may have 'disheartened' India, calls on New Delhi to ensure stronger regional cooperation

B'desh interim govt announces nine member constitution reform commission

Bangladesh's interim government has announced the formation of a nine-member commission to review and evaluate the country's constitution, and recommend necessary reforms. Under the leadership of prominent Bangladeshi-American professor Ali Riaz, the Constitution Reform Commission will submit its report to the government within 90 days, the state-run BSS news agency reported. The commission was formed to review and evaluate the existing constitution to establish a representative and effective democracy while empowering the people, it was announced on Monday. It will prepare a report on recommendations for constitutional reform considering everyone's opinions, The Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported. The commission includes student representative Mahfuj Alam, who is also the special assistant to the Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, the report said. Other members include Dhaka University (DU) Law Department's Professors Sumaiya Khair and Muhammad Ikramul Haq, Barrister Imran Siddique, and

Bangladesh interim govt recalls five envoys in major diplomatic reshuffle

The foreign ministry ordered envoys in Brussels, Canberra, Lisbon, New Delhi and the permanent mission to the United Nations in New York to immediately return to the capital, Dhaka

Protests erupt outside UN headquarters as Muhammad Yunus addresses UNGA

Slogans of terrorist, minority killer, Hindu killer Yunus, go back, step down were raised outside UN headquarters in New York

Yunus meets Chinese FM, WB President Banga; discusses bilateral cooperation

Earlier on Tuesday, Yunus called for repatriation of Rohingyas amid the "deteriorating" security situation in Bangladesh during a high-level meeting

Amid Bangladesh turmoil, Adani eyes Indian power grid to link Godda plant

Adani Power's Jharkhand plant, which sells its entire output to Bangladesh, is exploring selling power in India. This comes amid reports that Bangladesh may review its pact with the company

Sri Lankans seek change but stability crucial amid economic uncertainty

Sri Lanka's new leaders must demonstrate they are more responsible than the old guard they revile

Bangladesh's interim govt gives Army magistracy powers for 2 months

Bangladesh's interim government has granted magisterial powers to the Army for two months to improve law and order in the country and prevent "subversive acts". The Ministry of Public Administration issued a notification on the government's decision on Tuesday, saying it will be applicable with immediate effect. The powers will be given to commissioned officers of the Army. The order will remain in force for the next 60 days. Section 17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, or CrPC, which awards Army officers the status of special executive magistrates, says these officers shall be subordinate to the district magistrates, or deputy commissioners, bdnews24.com reported. This authority including arrest and dispersal of unlawful rallies has been conferred upon commissioned officers of the Army. In self-defence and extreme need, the officer can open fire, said an adviser to the interim government on Tuesday, The Daily Star newspaper reported. "We are witnessing subversive acts and disru

US delegation meets Bangladesh interim chief adviser Yunus, assures support

A high-level US delegation Sunday met Bangladesh interim government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus here and assured him of expanding economic and political ties to create a more equitable and inclusive future for the people in the South Asian country. The delegation led by Assistant Secretary for International Finance at the US Department of the Treasury Brent Neiman met Yunus at the State Guest House in Dhaka. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Donald Lu, who arrived in Dhaka on Saturday from India, also joined the delegation. "Our delegation met with the Chief Adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus, affirming our dedication to fostering inclusive growth, institution building and development to benefit the people of Bangladesh. As Bangladesh looks to chart a more equitable and inclusive future, the US stands ready to support those efforts," the US embassy here said in a post on X after the meeting. The meeting came as the US Agency for ...

Want good relation with India but on basis of fairness and equality: Yunus

Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday said his country wants good relations with India and other neighbouring nations it should be on the basis of "fairness and equality". In a televised address, Yunus said after he took oath as the head of the administration, many foreign leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif, telephoned to congratulate him. "We want good relations with India and other neighbouring nations, but that relations should be on the basis of fairness and equality," he said. The 84-year-old Nobel laureate took oath as the head of the interim government on August 8 after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India following widespread protests against her government. Yunus said Bangladesh has already started high-level bilateral cooperation talks with India to deal with floods. "I have also taken the initiative to revive SAARC to enhance regional cooperation in South Asia, he ...

India-funded projects 'very important', to continue in B'desh: Interim govt

A top adviser of the interim government said Tuesday that India-funded projects are "very important" and will continue under the new administration in Bangladesh. Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed also said that Dhaka looks forward to "enhanced cooperation" with New Delhi during his meeting with Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma here, the state-run BSS news agency reported. "Already, the projects they (India) have with us are big projects, and we'll continue those, as those are not small projects and we'll take another big project for the benefits of ours...," the report quoted him as saying. "We'll not stop on whatever we have got, and we'll talk about those projects ...funding of the projects and also their implementation part," he added. The financial adviser's remarks come amid concerns about the timely implementation of projects funded under India's three lines of credit following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government last month after a mass ...

Adani seeks intervention on power supply dues in letter to Bangladesh Govt

Adani Power is said to have invested $2 billion in setting up the Godda power unit

Bangladesh-India relations should be based on equity and fairness: Yunus

Interim government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus Sunday said that Bangladesh wants to maintain good relations with India while asserting that it should be based on equity and fairness. Yunus, 84, made the remarks while responding to a question at a meeting with students who had participated in the student-people revolution that ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina last month, state-run BSS news agency reported. "We need to maintain good relations with India. But it should be based on equity and fairness," the chief adviser's special assistant Mahfuj Alam quoted him as saying. Mahfuj, who briefed the media after the meeting, added that the chief adviser said Bangladesh always gives importance to mutual respect and equity in maintaining relations with neighbours. He stressed reviving the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to enhance regional cooperation. The interim government headed by Yunus was appointed days after Hasina resigned and fled to India on August

Revival of SAARC spirit can solve many regional problems: Muhammad Yunus

There should be a revival of the spirit of SAARC, Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh's interim government has said, underlining that the eight-member bloc can solve many of the region's problems. In an interview with PTI at his official residence in Dhaka, Chief Adviser Yunus said that although the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was formed with a great cause, it now exists only on paper and is not functioning. The regional grouping comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Yunus mentioned that he would try to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session scheduled to be held later this month. He also mentioned that he will try to get the heads of state of SAARC nations together for a photo op. Obviously, we will try to meet (Prime Minister Narendra Modi). I will try if all the heads of state of SAARC nations come together and take a photo. SAARC was formed for

Muhammad Yunus calls for resolving issues over Teesta treaty with India

Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has said the interim government would pursue with India ways to resolve the differences over the long-pending Teesta water sharing treaty, as delaying it for years serves no purpose for either nation. In an interview with PTI at his official residence in Dhaka, Yunus stated that the water-sharing issue between the two countries must be resolved according to international norms, emphasising that lower riparian countries like Bangladesh have specific rights that they seek to uphold. By sitting over this issue (water sharing), it is not serving any purpose. If I know how much water I will get, even if I am not happy and sign it, it would be better. This issue has to be resolved, he said. Replying to a query on whether the interim government would push for resolving the issues over the Teesta water-sharing treaty at the earliest, he said the new regime will pursue it. Push is a big word; I am not saying it. We will pursue it. But we have to sit

Hasina must stay silent till Bangladesh seeks her extradition, says Yunus

Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh's interim government, has said that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina making political remarks from India is an unfriendly gesture", asserting that she must remain silent to prevent the discomfort to both countries until Dhaka requests her extradition. "If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh (government) wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet," he said. In an interview with PTI at his official residence in Dhaka, Yunus, who was appointed the country's Chief Adviser after Hasina's ouster, stressed that while Bangladesh values strong ties with India, New Delhi must move beyond the narrative that portrays every other political party except Awami League as Islamist and that the country will turn into Afghanistan without Sheikh Hasina. "No one is comfortable with her stance there in India because we want her back to try her. She is there in India and at times she is talking, which is problematic. Had she be

Attacks on Hindus not communal, issue exaggerated, says Bangladesh's Yunus

Chief Adviser to Bangladesh's interim government, Muhammad Yunus, has said the issue of attacks on minority Hindus in his country is exaggerated and questioned the manner in which India projected it. In an interview with PTI at his official residence here, Yunus said the attacks on minorities in Bangladesh are more political than communal. He suggested that the attacks were not communal, but a fallout of a political upheaval as there is a perception that most Hindus supported the now-deposed Awami League regime. I have said this to (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi also that this is exaggerated. This issue has several dimensions. When the country went through an upheaval following the atrocities by (Sheikh) Hasina and the Awami League, those who were with them also faced attacks, the Nobel laureate told PTI. The minority Hindu population faced vandalism of their businesses and properties, as well as the destruction of Hindu temples, during the student-led violence that erupted followi

Hasina must stay silent in India till B'desh seeks her extradition: Yunus

Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh's interim government, has said that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina making political remarks from India is an unfriendly gesture", asserting that she must remain silent to prevent the discomfort to both countries until Dhaka requests her extradition. "If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh (government) wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet," he said. In an interview with PTI at his official residence in Dhaka, Yunus, who was appointed the country's Chief Advisor after Hasina's ouster, stressed that while Bangladesh values strong ties with India, New Delhi must move beyond the narrative that portrays every other political party except Awami League as Islamist and that the country will turn into Afghanistan without Sheikh Hasina. "No one is comfortable with her stance there in India because we want her back to try her. She is there in India and at times she is talking, which is problematic. Had she be

With 2 more murder charges, Bangladesh's deposed PM Hasina faces 94 cases

Two more murder cases have been filed against Bangladesh's deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, taking the total number of cases to 94, a media report said on Wednesday. The 76-year-old Awami League leader, who resigned and fled to India last month, has had a slew of cases filed against her mostly for murders during the mass student protests against a controversial quota system in government jobs. Hasina is now facing at least 94 cases, mostly for murders during the mass student protests. On Wednesday, Hasina and 26 others were booked over the killing of a resident of Dhaka during the protests on July 19, The Daily Star newspaper reported. The victim's wife filed the case in the Court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Afnan Sumi, who asked the Police Bureau of Investigation to submit a report after an investigation. Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader and several leaders and activists of Awami League and its front organisations are

Bangladesh interim govt warns of legal action for creating instability

Bangladesh's interim government on Tuesday warned that it would take legal action against anyone found creating instability in the country that is going through turmoil. The Ministry of Home Affairs issued the warning in a circular and expressed concern over instability being created by forced resignations, vandalism, arson, illegal searches, looting and extortion by over-enthusiastic and vested quarters, The Daily Star newspaper reported. The circular said that to create instability, some quarters are putting pressure on the police to file cases and also attacking the accused in court. The government assured that a case filed does not mean random arrests will be made. "All these cases will be properly investigated and appropriate action will be taken," according to the circular. The government said it would identify all the miscreants and take legal action against them irrespective of party affiliation. Bangladesh witnessed massive student protests in mid-July over the controvers