'The civil war in Islam has just got worse and the existential crisis facing it more threatening.'
'If this region destabilises, then we are not far away. This region should not destabilise.'
Bangladesh is preparing for elections and a referendum on reforms, but the absence of the Awami League and rising political tensions are raising concerns about the legitimacy and stability of the process.
A Hindu businessman in Bangladesh died after being brutally attacked, raising concerns among minority groups about increasing intimidation and violence.
A key leader of Bangladesh's National Citizen Party (NCP), Mahfuz Alam, has distanced himself from the party's alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, citing ideological differences and concerns over Jamaat's controversial history.
'There is no substantive basis for Bangladesh-Pakistan relations. The only real link they can have is mischief, with Pakistan's intelligence agency using Bangladesh to create trouble along our eastern borders.'
Sheikh Hasina, sentenced to death in absentia in Bangladesh, denounces the tribunal as biased and rigged, claiming the verdict reveals the murderous intent of extremist figures within the interim government.
'I have always broken my image every time I went on screen. I don't know what it means to be a Greek God but people used to call me one.'
A Bangladeshi court has sent 16 people, including veterans of the 1971 Liberation War, to jail under the Anti-Terrorism Act after a mob disrupted their public discussion.
Pakistan and China have submitted a joint bid at the UN Security Council to designate the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its suicide wing - Majeed Brigade - as a terrorist entity under the Council's 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
The entry of other Arab countries in the mutual defence deal between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is not ruled out, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said, adding that 'doors are not closed' for such developments.
It is high time India ends its silence on the human cost of the Gaza war and takes a principled stand without diluting its relations with Israel. A largely friendless Tel Aviv today needs New Delhi more than the other way around. India's failure now may cost it diplomatically in the long run, cautions M R Narayan Swamy.
Bangladesh's interim government on Wednesday dismissed as 'completely baseless' and 'misleading' the media reports that claimed it has dropped the 'Father of the Nation' title for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and revised the definition of freedom fighter.
The move comes a few days after the Yunus-led government dropped the portrait of the country's founding father and deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's father Mujibur Rahman from new currency notes.
A UN Security Council report states that The Resistance Front (TRF) claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam terror attack and published a photograph of the attack site. The report also cites assertions that the attack could not have happened without the support of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT).
'Iranians admire Indian cinema and often mention Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan when you meet them.'
In 2023, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had carried out searches at Padgha as part of a nationwide crackdown on the terror outfit ISIS and arrested several persons, including Nachan.
'A man with a gun commanded respect. I thought if I also got a gun, I could save my family. With this thought, I went to Pakistan and got training there'
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal is set to formally hear charges against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday allowing state-run BTV to broadcast live the event, a first such instance in the country's history.
All-party parliamentary delegations on Friday met leaders and diplomats from several countries to galvanise international action against terrorists and decisively counter the tactics of those who perpetrate, support and sponsor cross-border terror activities against India.
'It is high time that the 'war on terror' is removed from our diplomatic toolbox.' 'Certainly, our parliamentarians have no role in it,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The government is saying 88 Hindus have been killed, but it could be much more.' 'Their properties are being looted, their businesses have been ransacked. I am getting distress calls from there.' 'Muslims who believe in the philosophy of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman are also under attack. Most of those who have fled Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina's fall are Muslims.'
'Mamata needs to address the anger and resentment among various sections of the Hindu community because low-scale communal violence has always paid richer electoral dividends for the BJP.'
The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (SAD), which led protests against Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has launched itself as a political party called the National Citizen Party (NCP). The new party, which aims to 'dismantle constitutional autocracy' and establish a 'second republic,' has pledged to create a 'solely Bangladesh-oriented' political system, with no room for 'pro-India and pro-Pakistan politics.' The NCP's inaugural rally was attended by representatives of various political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami, and envoys from the Vatican and Pakistan.
Asim Munir and his brand of short-sighted army officers give no inkling of paying heed, changing course or learning lessons from the past, observes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
'If Pakistan's army wants to escalate violence in Kashmir, they have an unlimited supply of jihadis they can train and send. That's not an issue for them.'
'The BJP lacks a credible mass leader who matches Mamata Banerjee's popularity.' 'Given the division of votes among Opposition parties, the West Bengal government's dole-giving strategy, and the consolidation of the poor, significant sections of scheduled caste groups and Muslim minorities behind the ruling party, it will be difficult to dislodge the Trinamool from power.'
'India is using Hasina to warn the Yunus government because there is a ground support for the Awami League in Bangladesh.'
In a notification, the Union home ministry said the HuT is involved in radicalisation and motivation of gullible youth to join terrorist organisations, such as ISIS, and raising funds for terror activities.
'He should be made an example of so that others will follow the law.'
Firhad Hakim, a senior minister in West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), has defended his remarks on the Muslim population in the state and India, saying he is a diehard secular and patriotic Indian. Hakim's comments, made at a minority students' event, have sparked controversy with the BJP, Congress, and Hindu monks accusing him of promoting communalism and advocating for a Muslim majority. Hakim, however, clarified that his remarks were taken out of context and that he was merely advocating for the empowerment of the Muslim community. He also highlighted the need for greater representation of Muslims in the judiciary.
'Is he one who defends individual liberty at all costs, or is he one who allows some give and take that recognises the primacy of the social contract, our coming together to live in a society?'
The juggernaut of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, which triumphed in three of the four east and north-eastern states that went for assembly bypolls on Saturday, was halted yet again in West Bengal where Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress registered a six-on-six clean sweep.
The bypolls were held in six constituencies - Naihati, Haroa, Medinipur, Taldangra, Sitai (SC), and Madarihat (ST) - following the resignation of MLAs who had vacated their assembly seats after securing victories in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The educated, respectable and established Muslims voices, that were on the modernising side on the Shah Bano issue, are fighting on the opposite side now, mostly because they worry about Narendra Modi, observes Shekhar Gupta.
In days of smart, networked technology and no shame over collateral damage, what will blow up next -- cars, mobile phones, TV sets, refrigerators? And where?, asks Shyam G Menon.
Bangladesh descended into chaos on Monday as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina surreptitiously resigned and fled the country in a military aircraft while the Army stepped in to fill the power vacuum.
People in Bangladesh have welcomed the new interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, hoping it would restore order, end repression and hold a fair election to facilitate a democratic transition of power.
A senior police officer said bomb disposal squads have been rushed to all the places mentioned by ULFA-I but there is no report of recovery of any bomb or explosive.
New Delhi -- which has had a disastrous neighbourhood policy that has alienated almost all the States with which it has a land or sea border -- seemed to be unwilling over the past years to even consider that its unquestioning support of Sheikh Hasina was painting it into a corner, points out Mihir S Sharma.
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