Page 14 - Sheikh Hasina

Over 1,000 killed during anti-govt protests in B'desh: Interim govt adviser

Over 1,000 people have been killed during the protests against the Sheikh Hasina-led government in Bangladesh while more than 400 were blinded by police fire, with some of them losing sight in one or both eyes, a top adviser of the interim government said on Thursday. Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum disclosed this during a visit to the Central Police Hospital in the capital's Rajarbagh where she interacted with the police personnel injured in clashes and spoke to those at the surgical department to ask about their condition. "So far 1,000 people have been killed and more than 400 students and members of the general public have lost their sight. Many have been blind in one eye, while others are blind in both," Nurjahan was quoted as saying by the bdnews24.com news portal. An anti-discrimination student movement against the government started in mid-July over a controversial quota system in jobs. The protests turned violent after crackdown by the forces. Several protesters were killed

Operations in Bangladesh stabilised, people rejoining factory: Emami CFO

Homegrown FMCG major Emami has said its operations in Bangladesh have stabilised as people have rejoined the factory and production has resumed. Replying to queries at the AGM, Emami CFO Naresh Bhansali said the business was impacted in Bangladesh due to political turmoil, and the company expects operations to normalise over a period of time. "Last month was very turbulent. But it (operation) has stabilised now. People have joined back work, factory has resumed operations. The market has also opened," Bhansali said while replying to a query from the shareholder. The company does not see a big impact on its overall business from the Bangladesh operations. "Bangladesh will also come back on the same growth trajectory path over a period of time. The new Government, which we expect to get established in some time, will hopefully give political stability and we expect the business to resume soon. We do not expect any market share or any loss there," the CFO said. Emami has one ...

B'desh wants cordial ties with India, but doesn't want interference: JeI

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami supremo Shafiqur Rahman has said his party seeks harmonious and stable ties with India but asserted that New Delhi needs to reconsider its foreign policy in the neighbourhood, as bilateral relations do not entail interfering in each other's internal issues. Rahman, who is the Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, stated in an interview with PTI that his party supports close relations between India and Bangladesh but also believes that Bangladesh should maintain strong and balanced relations with countries like the US, China, and Pakistan, by leaving behind the baggage of the past. Rahman, 65, contended that New Delhi's perception of Jamaat-e-Islami as anti-India is mistaken, asserting that Jamaat-e-Islami is not against any country; it is a wrong perception. We are pro-Bangladesh and are solely interested in safeguarding the interests of Bangladesh, and emphasised that this perception needs to change. The Jamaat-e-Islami suggested that it would have been ..

Bangladesh forms commission to identify victims of forced disappearance

Bangladesh's interim government on Tuesday formed a commission to trace and identify victims of forced disappearance during deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's nearly 16-year regime, an official notification said. According to the notification, the five-member commission has been entrusted with the task of tracing and identifying the missing people and investigating the circumstances under which they were forcibly disappeared by various intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The commission comprised two retired High Court judges, two rights activists and a university teacher. The commission has been asked to investigate the cases of forced disappearance between January 1, 2010, and August 5, 2024, when Hasina's regime was ousted in a student-people mass upsurge. "In line with the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1965, the Commission will submit its report to the government in the next 45 working days, the Cabinet Division notification read. According to the notification, the polic

Five more murder cases filed against ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina

Five more murder cases have been filed against Bangladesh's ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina taking the total number of cases filed against the Awami League leader to 71, a media report said on Tuesday. Four of the new cases were filed in Dhaka and one in Rajshahi against the 76-year-old deposed former prime minister, several former ministers and police officials, The Daily Star newspaper reported. In the first case, Hasina and 48 others were booked for the death of one Dulal alias Selim in the city's Jatrabari area on August 3 during mass protests. The victim's brother Mostafa Kamal filed the case against the Awami League president and others with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Saddam Hossain. Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader, former Awami League lawmakers Shamim Osman and Ramesh Chandra are among the accused, The Daily Star said. In the second case, Hasina along with 21 others was booked on the charge of killi

UN human rights watch tells Bangladesh interim govt to investigate abuses

This domestic mechanism should operate with UN support and oversight to ensure its independence and adherence to international human rights standards, the letter added

'We are equal citizens': Muhammad Yunus assures Bangladesh's Hindus

Addressing Bangladesh's Hindu leaders on the occasion of Janmashtami, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said that it was his interim government's responsibility to safeguard the rights of all citizens

Hasina's ouster watershed moment for student activism in B'desh: Analysts

The recent student movement in Bangladesh, culminating in the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, marks a watershed moment in the nation's political landscape, fuelled by a 70-year legacy of student activism from the 1952 Language Movement to the Liberation War and beyond. Political analysts and observers view the recent student protests, which many in Bangladesh have christened as the Bangla Spring taking a cue from the Arab Spring or the Monsoon Revolution, as a watershed moment in Bangladesh's political landscape, driven by the same spirit of activism that has characterised student movements in the country for over 70 years, even before its independence in 1971, when it was known as East Pakistan. The latest movement, which began in July 2024, was sparked by the Court's decision to reinstate a controversial job quota system, a move that reignited long-standing frustrations among students and the general public. The reinstatement of the job quota system, which had been ...

Muhammad Yunus greets Hindus on Janmashtami, promises to promote harmony

Bangladesh's interim government chief Muhammad Yunus on Monday met the country's Hindu community and vowed to promote interfaith harmony as he hosted a reception for them coinciding with Janmashtami. The minority Hindu population has faced vandalisation of their business and properties and devastation of Hindu temples in the students' violence that ensued for days following the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India on August 5. "There can't be any divisions among people in our country. We are equal citizens. The interim government is determined to protect the rights of every citizen of the country," the chief adviser's (CA) office quoted Yunus as saying. According to the statement, Yunus expected to build Bangladesh where everyone can practice their faith without any fear and where no temple needs to be guarded. Bangladesh is a large family where the responsibility of the government is to protect the rights of every citizen, his office quoted him as saying on ..

Bangladesh: Muhammad Yunus' govt suspends 2 diplomats serving in India

Shaban Mahmud, who served as the First Secretary (Press) at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi and Ranjan Sen serving in Kolkata have been asked to step down

Bangladesh update: Sheikh Hasina facing 53 cases, growing extradition calls

Bangladesh's interim government last week revoked all diplomatic passports issued to Members of Parliament from Hasina's era, including that of the former prime minister

Bangladesh begins with economic clean-up after Sheikh Hasina's exit

From a distance, Bangladesh was widely perceived as an economic success story, propelled by the world's second-largest garment exports industry

Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League members placed on remand in murder cases

A court here on Saturday placed Salman F Rahman, private industry affairs adviser to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, former law minister Anisul Huq, former social welfare minister Dipu Moni and two others on different terms of remand for interrogation in four murder cases. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Jashim passed the orders in the cases, Daily Star Newspaper quoted a sub-inspector working in the court as saying. Apart from the three, former chief whip ASM Feroz and former army officer Major General Ziaul Ahsan were also placed on remand in murder cases. Salman, Anisul and Ziaul were placed on a fresh 10-day remand in two murder cases filed with New Market and Lalbagh police stations. Dipu Moni was placed on a four-day remand in a case filed with Badda Police Station and Feroz was placed on a seven-day remand in a case filed Bhatara Police Station. Cases have been filed against many officials or ministers of the ousted Hasina-led government after she resigned and f

Hindus, Muslims both protected Dhaka's ancient temple after turmoil: Priest

Describing the deity of the ancient Dhakeswari Temple here as a "mother to all humans", a priest of the revered shrine said several Hindus, Muslims and others from the local community had come together to guard it soon after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh. The centuries-old temple in old Dhaka has many mosques in its vicinity and chimes of temple bells at times merge with the sound of 'azaan' emerging from nearby mosques. PTI on Friday visited the Sree Sree Dhakeswari National Temple, one of the prominent shakti peethas', and interacted with priests and members of the Hindu community who visited the shrine. While a young married couple had come to seek blessings for their two-month-old daughter, a woman lit candles at a corner of the temple courtyard facing the sanctum sanctorum and diligently prayed. "People of many religions come here to pray. And, Maa (Goddess) is mother to all humans whether it is Hindus, Muslims, Christians or Buddhists. They come here

Bangladeshis not angry but hurt over Hasina's stay in India: Top BNP leader

A top BNP leader here said Bangladeshis are "not angry but hurt" over deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's stay in India, even as he urged politicians and security strategists in New Delhi to "rethink" their policy given the ground reality here. In an exclusive interview with PTI at his residence in Dhaka, Abdul Moyeen Khan, a former Cabinet minister of Bangladesh, also said his country shares a border with India on three sides and it is a big neighbour, so there is "no reason why India should not be our best friend". After unprecedented anti-government protests which reached a crescendo on August 5, Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled the country, even as protesters had termed the fall of the government and her departure a "day of victory". She landed in India on August 5 and is currently staying there, even as her over two-week-long presence in India has given rise to speculation here. Khan said the current situation is of "consolidation" and coming back to normalcy. Th

Explained: Why Bangladesh social media is blaming India for causing floods

Earlier today, social media users in Bangladesh blamed India for the floods affecting at least eight districts in the neighbouring country

Bangladesh revokes Sheikh Hasina's diplomatic passport; extradition looms

Sheikh Hasina's extended stay in India raises diplomatic concerns for India as Bangladesh intensifies calls for her extradition

Bangladesh update: Sheikh Hasina facing 33 cases, including 27 for murder

Bangladesh's interim government intends to prosecute those involved in the killings during the recent student movement against the Hasina-led government in the country's International Crimes Tribunal

'Not feasible': ICC moves Women's T20 WC from strife-hit Bangladesh to UAE

The ICC on Tuesday moved the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup from Bangladesh to the UAE, saying it "wasn't feasible" to conduct the event there after governments of a number of participating countries advised against travelling to the unrest-hit nation. The event, which also features India and is scheduled to take place from October 3 to 20, will now be staged in Dubai and Sharjah with Bangladesh retaining the hosting rights, ensuring that it receives its share of revenue. "It is a shame not to be hosting the Women's T20 World Cup in Bangladesh as we know the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) would have staged a memorable event," ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said in a statement which avoided any direct mention of the violence and tension in the South Asian nation. Allardice said the Bangladesh Cricket Board explored "all avenues to try and enable the event to be hosted" there. "...but travel advisories from the governments of a number of the participating teams meant that wasn't

Bangladesh's Yunus to head foundation to be set up for violence victims

Bangladesh on Tuesday decided to set up a foundation to take care of the families of those killed and injured in the unprecedented student-led violent protests that ultimately led to the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government. Over 600 people, including 44 police personnel and at least 30 children, have been killed since the massive protest by students over a controversial quota system in government jobs first started in July. Hasina, 76, resigned and fled to India on August 5 following the massive protest by students against the controversial quota system. Yunus, 84, took oath as the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government on August 8. Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus will head the Foundation, which will include an Adviser of the Interim Government, student representatives, and the family members of the deceased and injured, the state-run news agency, Bangladesh Sangbad Sanstha (BSS), said quoting a press release from the Press Wing of Yunus' office. We can never forget the