Government employees in Bangladesh locked down the main gate of the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka, protesting a new service law that allows for easier dismissal of officials for misconduct. The protest, which lasted for about half an hour, disrupted government operations. The employees also threatened to continue their protests until the ordinance was scrapped. Meanwhile, the protest by employees of the Dhaka South City Corporation, demanding the installation of BNP leader Ishraque Hossain as its mayor, has brought administrative services to a halt. These protests, coupled with concerns raised by the business community and the military, highlight a growing sense of unease in Bangladesh over the policies of the interim government.
A former Bangladeshi beauty queen, Meghna Alam, has been detained for allegedly setting up a honey trap for a former Saudi ambassador in Dhaka, in an attempt to extort USD 5 million. Alam, who runs a charity, was initially detained without charge under the controversial Special Powers Act. Her arrest sparked a media outcry and concerns by rights watchdogs. Alam denies the allegations, claiming the diplomat wanted to marry her. The Saudi embassy has not commented, but media reports suggest the envoy left Bangladesh as the scandal unfolded.
This will be the first time the UN is sending a fact-finding mission to Bangladesh since its independence in 1971 to investigate widespread human rights abuses in the country, according to a UN official.
A bench of the Bangladesh High Court ordered the release on bail of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das, who was arrested in November on charges of defaming the country's national flag. The two-judge bench granted the bail after a final hearing on their previous rule asking authorities why he should not be granted bail. Das, a former ISKCON leader, was arrested at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on November 25.
'It was the hostility of the Yunus regime that made India careful and wary of dealing with them.' 'They gradually backed off and lowered the noise, but the damage was done.' 'Their true colours had been exposed.'
India's fresh restrictions on limiting access to Bangladeshi exports appear to be in response to Dhaka denying certain value-added items from the Northeast to enter that country through the land transit points.
Bangladesh police have filed a case against deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 72 others on charges of hatching a conspiracy to overthrow the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus by waging a civil war, officials and media reports said on Saturday.
UN chief Antonio Guterres, US President Donald Trump, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney were among scores of world leaders who offered condolences to the people of India in wake of the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
There is a "high possibility" of a meeting between Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok, a senior official said. The meeting comes amid strained ties between the two countries, marked by India's concerns over violence against Hindus and a rise of hardline Islamist forces in Bangladesh. Yunus's recent comments about India's northeastern states being landlocked and Bangladesh being the "only guardian of the ocean" in the region have drawn sharp reactions from Indian politicians. However, a Bangladesh official insists that Yunus's statement was misinterpreted.
The US spy chief, now in India, earlier on Monday said the "longtime unfortunate persecution, killing, and abuse of religious minorities like Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and others has been a major area of concern for the US government and President Trump and his administration."
Bangladesh's interim government has formally requested India to extradite deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently in India. The request has been made after Bangladesh issued arrest warrants for Hasina for "crimes against humanity and genocide." However, India has not yet responded to the request. Hasina is accused of using her security forces to oversee the abduction, torture, and murder of hundreds of activists during her time in office. She denies the allegations and claims she is being politically persecuted. The Bangladesh interim government's Chief Adviser, Muhammad Yunus, said he was shocked by the conditions he witnessed at one of the secret jails used during Hasina's regime.
A court in Bangladesh on Thursday denied bail to a Hindu priest and a former International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) leader in a sedition case.
'What signal would we be sending -- that we don't stand by our friends?'
The interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus as the Chief Adviser has asked Bangladesh's envoys in India, Brussels, Canberra, Lisbon, and the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York to return immediately and report to the foreign ministry here as part of the latest reshuffle.
The DG-level border talks between India and Bangladesh, scheduled to be held in Delhi next month, have been postponed following a change in plan by the neighbouring country, official sources said on Friday.
"Yunus has no experience in running a government," the deposed prime minister said adding, "We need to put an end to this lawlessness."
India has summoned Bangladesh's acting High Commissioner, expressing concern over recent statements by Bangladesh authorities that "portray India negatively" and hold New Delhi responsible for internal governance issues. The Ministry of External Affairs said India desires a positive relationship with Bangladesh, but these statements "vitiate the atmosphere" and are "responsible for persistent negativity." The statement comes after Bangladesh's interim government accused deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of "provocative" statements from India that led to unrest in Bangladesh.
Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina has alleged that there was a conspiracy to kill her and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana, the moment she was ousted from power.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the Border Security Force (BSF), central agencies, and the BJP of fanning tension in Murshidabad by allegedly facilitating cross-border influx from Bangladesh. She also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to keep the Union Home Ministry under control. Banerjee has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of three people killed during the violence and directed the state chief secretary to initiate a probe into the role of the BSF.
A group of protesters stormed a book stall in Dhaka, Bangladesh, over the display of books by exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin. The incident prompted Bangladesh's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus to order a probe into the "disorderly behaviour." The incident unfolded at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair on Monday, with protesters surrounding the stall and chanting slogans. Police intervened to restore order, but the protesters then encircled the police control room, keeping tensions high. Following widespread criticism, Chief Adviser Yunus ordered authorities to bring those responsible to justice. The Bangla Academy has formed a committee to investigate the chaos and attack on the publishing house.
Religious structures, Bengali traditions, and 'graffiti' drawn during the July uprising will be included on the currency notes.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is scheduled to visit Bangladesh next week for a foreign secretary-level meeting, amidst ongoing tensions between the two countries. The visit comes after the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus took power in Bangladesh, following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister. The meeting will focus on a range of bilateral issues, including the potential extradition of Hasina and visa-related matters. Tensions between the two nations escalated further with the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in Bangladesh, leading to concerns from India regarding attacks on minorities in the country.
Deposed Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has issued a strong warning against threats to ban her Awami League party, calling the demands "audacious" and accusing Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus of being a "fraud" and "corrupt" for his role in the current interim government. Hasina, who fled Bangladesh in August 2024 following a student-led uprising, claims Yunus assumed power through a "meticulous design" with funding from overseas and misled students and people. She asserts that her Awami League is the legitimate party, with a strong history of fighting for the people's rights, and accuses Yunus and his supporters of having no constitutional basis or people's mandate to rule the country.
Army troops in Bangladesh intensified their patrols on the streets of Dhaka as the country witnessed rising tensions with the newly formed student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) accusing the military of political interference. The NCP staged protest rallies at the premier Dhaka University campus vowing to thwart at any cost a military-backed plot to rehabilitate deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League which was toppled seven months ago in a student-led violent street protest in July-August last year. A key leader of NCP, which was floated last month with widely assumed blessings of Professor Muhammad Yunus, accused the military of political interference over a proposal for inclusiveness that would allow Awami League to participate in the next elections. The military, which is now entrusted with maintaining nationwide law and order with magistracy power, however, did not enter the campus but continued their intensified patrol, particularly in the capital. The NCP convenor Nahid Islam said at the Muslim fast-breaking iftar party that the army or any other state institution had no "authority to propose or make decisions" about politics. He added that in no way "we will allow installation of another 1/11 government" in the country.
Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh will take oath on Thursday, Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said.
Bangladesh has summoned its Acting Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata for urgent consultations following protests over attacks on Hindu minorities. The mission in Kolkata has witnessed multiple protests over the past week by political parties and religious groups condemning the reported atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh. In a related development, the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Agartala, Tripura, suspended all visa and consular services on Tuesday, citing security reasons. The decision followed an incident where protesters breached the mission's premises on Monday to protest the arrest of Hindu spiritual leader Chinmoy Krishna Das in Dhaka.
Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office to 2006 Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus as head of the country's interim government at the Bangabhaban in Dhaka.
Bangladesh interim government's Law Adviser Asif Nazrul has condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's post on X commemorating Victory Day saying, "India was merely an ally in this victory, nothing more."
A Hindu leader in Bangladesh, Chinmoy Krishna Das, had his bail hearing in a sedition case postponed for a month due to the absence of a lawyer to represent him. The hearing was scheduled for December 3rd, but was adjourned to January 2nd, 2024. Das was arrested on November 25th for alleged sedition and has been denied bail since. The incident has sparked protests from his supporters and has highlighted concerns about the safety of minorities in Bangladesh. The postponement of the bail hearing further delays a decision on his release.
The Centre for Democracy, Pluralism and Human Rights (CDPHR) on Friday presented a report on the state of minorities in Bangladesh following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.
Members of minority communities in Bangladesh -- mostly Hindus -- faced at least 205 incidents of attacks in 52 districts since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, according to two Hindu organisations in the violence-hit nation.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri arrived in Dhaka on Monday on a day-long visit to hold talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart, amid strained bilateral ties since August following the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The Bangladesh Supreme Court has stayed a High Court verdict that declared 'Joy Bangla' as the country's national slogan, effectively reversing the decision. The government, which had moved to suspend the High Court's ruling, argued that the national slogan is a matter of policy and not subject to judicial interference. This decision comes amid political turmoil in the country, with the recent change of government and a focus on revising national symbols and holidays.
A key aide to Bangladesh's interim government has urged India to unequivocally recognize the July-August uprising that toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's regime, arguing that this is crucial for rebuilding bilateral ties. Mahfuj Alam, considered a de facto minister in the interim government, criticized India's portrayal of the uprising as militant, anti-Hindu, and an Islamist takeover, and called for a change in approach to understand the "new Bangladesh realities." He stated that bypassing the uprising would be detrimental to relations between the two countries. Alam, whose organization spearheaded the protests against Hasina's government, emphasized the democratic nature of the struggle, which he said was about a "generational and responsible struggle." His statement comes amid strained relations between Dhaka and Delhi, with India expressing concerns over the safety of Bangladesh's Hindu community.
A large group of protesters vandalized and set fire to the residence of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Dhaka during a live online address by his daughter and deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The incident occurred as Hasina was delivering a speech organized by the Awami League's now disbanded student wing Chhatra League, calling upon the countrymen to resist the current regime.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin said he did not have any documentary evidence of Hasina resigning as prime minister before she fled the country on August 5 amidst student-led mass protests.
'The dominance of her party also meant that the institutions became lopsided -- whether it was the bureaucracy or the courts or the military.' 'She centralised power to the extent that you would see her representatives or her party office bearers having overly represented in these institutions.' 'That perhaps would have been the biggest blunder that she committed.'
India has expressed concerns over a rise in violence against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and Pakistan, reporting 2,200 cases in Bangladesh and 112 in Pakistan this year. The Indian government has urged both countries to take measures to ensure the safety of minorities and has highlighted the issue at international forums. The government has also stated that it is monitoring the situation closely and has shared its concerns with the respective governments.
Yunus in his 26-minute speech did not give any deadline for the tenure of his interim government but acknowledged that "everyone is interested to know when our government will leave".
Bangladesh's interim government on Sunday said it will seek Interpol's assistance in repatriating deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina from India, and other 'fugitives', to face trial for alleged crimes against humanity.
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