A former Bangladesh army officer and close aide of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus has suggested that Dhaka should collaborate with China to occupy India's northeastern states if it attacks Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Bangladesh's interim government has distanced itself from the remarks made by Major General (Retd) ALM Fazlur Rahman on his social media account. Rahman's comments come amidst growing tensions between India and Bangladesh following Yunus' remarks in China about India's northeastern states being landlocked and needing Bangladesh's access to the ocean. These incidents have further strained relations between the two countries, with India withdrawing transhipment facilities granted to Bangladesh for exporting goods to the Middle East, Europe, and various other countries.
Invoking her father's sacrifice in founding Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday lashed out at Bangladesh Nationalist Party chief Khaleda Zia and its fundamentalist ally Jamat-i-Islami over their campaign about 'sellout' of the country during her recent India visit.
The two sides inked nearly two dozen pacts in key areas of defence and civil nuclear cooperation after "productive" talks between Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the nation's capital.
A former chief of Bangladesh's premier military intelligence agency on Monday claimed that ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia knew beforehand the 2004 grenade attack plot mainly targeting the then leader of Opposition Sheikh Hasina.
The latest crackdown on senior AL leaders, including its general secretary Abdul Jalil, and Hasina's cousin Sheikh Selim, known to be loyal to her, has dealt her a severe blow.
Top sources in the external affairs ministry suggested the visit would be to a courtesy call to Hasina, an old friend of India who is set to assume power after a landslide victory in the recent elections. However, two major issues -- terrorism and cross-border trade and investment -- may also be discussed as the UPA government has just four months in office before facing the next Lok Sabha elections.
Bangladeshis on Sunday began voting in the general elections expected to be won by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the absence of the main Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) which is boycotting it.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has told a top United States diplomat that despite assurances from the highest level in India, killings and torture of Bangladeshis by Indian border guards is continuing, her press secretary said on Wednesday.
Nearly 650 people have been killed in the recent unrest in Bangladesh between July 16 and August 11, the United Nations Human Rights Office has said in a preliminary report, suggesting a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into reports of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions.
Several Bangladeshis, who have come to Kolkata either for medical treatment or education or other purposes, are now stranded in the city and concerned about the ongoing violence and abrupt change of regime in their country.
Bajrang Dal workers on Sunday showed black flags when the Bangladesh cricket team passed along the Mela Ground ahead of their T20 match against India in Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.
This is the first conversation between Modi and Yunus after he assumed the responsibility following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government.
Over 100 people have been killed in the violence across Bangladesh as chaos reigned supreme hours after Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled the country on Monday, reports said on Tuesday amid signs of return to normalcy.
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.
Bangladesh's former premier Sheikh Hasina Wajed on Thursday left the country, a day after she was "temporary" released under an apparent deal cut with the military-backed government following 11 months in detention on graft charges. Thousands of party activists crowded Dhaka's Zia International Airport where the 60-year-old ailing Awami League leader arrived escorted by heavy security.
"The doctors at the Square Hospital did not want to discharge me, but the hospital management had to send me back at the instruction of the jail authorities," Hasina alleged as she was to brought to the court to face the indictment hearing in a graft case.
India has withdrawn the transhipment facility it extended to Bangladesh for exports to third countries, citing congestion at ports and airports. The decision comes after Bangladesh's interim government halted yarn imports from India and closed three land ports. The move has raised concerns about a downturn in India-Bangladesh relations following political instability and attacks on minorities in Bangladesh.
Shakib, who is considered the greatest cricketer Bangladesh has produced, could not be immediately reached for comment.
It is a book Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the architect of Bangladesh's independence, never allowed his daughter Sheikh Hasina to read when he was alive.
With these four, the strength of the members -- all equivalent to ministers -- in the interim government's advisory council rose to 21.
President Pranab Mukherjee and Bangladesh Prime Minister Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday jointly inaugurated the locomotives and wagons supplied under a $800 million line of credit extended by India, reflecting growing bilateral ties in infrastructure sector.
Addressing the gathering at the programme in Agra, Adityanath said, "There can be nothing bigger than the nation, and when will a nation be strong, when we are united and good."
Following the official announcement of his visit to Bangladesh on 6-7 September, the Prime Minister called Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to say how much he was looking forward to the visit and to renewing contacts with his old friends there.
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.
Bangladesh witnessed calm on Monday, July 22, 2024, after days of deadly clashes, which saw 114 people killed during protests where students demanding that the Sheikh Hasina-led government scrap a controversial job quota system.
A fresh political row has erupted in West Bengal after a person allegedly involved in Bangladesh's August 2024 student protests was found listed as a voter in Kakdwip, triggering sharp Bharatiya Janata Party-Trinamool Congress exchanges over alleged illegal infiltration and manipulation of the voter list in the state.
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.
The development came a day after a senior adviser of the interim cabinet Abdul Matin said 'steps' will be taken against Hasina if she returned home.
Former premier and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina returned to Bangladesh on Thursday after five months of medical treatment in the United States to lead her party in general elections scheduled for next month.
Bangladesh Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has accused the "desperate" opposition of "plotting" against her government after the army foiled a coup plot by some "fanatic" serving and retired military officers.
A "heinous" plot to overthrow the Awami League-led government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by some serving military officers has been foiled and two former officers have been arrested, the Bangladesh army said on Thursday.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has alleged that there were attempts on her life by mixing poison with her food when she was under detention in a sub-jail during the state of emergency.
Possible convergence of interest among China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh may result in serious implications for India's stability and security dynamics, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said on Tuesday.
Shakib was named as an accused in a murder case back home during the political unrest that led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
"Bangladesh is at risk of more sabotage," on the pattern of last weeks bloody mutiny by the nations's paramilitary force, which left 73 people dead, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has warned. "The conspirators are not finished yet," she said while cautioning that her administration will have to remain alert.
Hasina will be on a one-day visit and she will watch the match for some time after ringing the Bell
Bangladesh's interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus is considering resigning after political parties failed to reach a common ground, according to the National Citizen Party (NCP) chief. Yunus, appointed after a student-led uprising toppled the previous government, expressed concerns about his ability to function in the current political climate.
A day after her release from house arrest, Bangladesh's former prime minister and Bangladesh National Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia on Wednesday thanked the people of the country for their 'struggle to make possible the impossible' and said it is not 'anger' or 'revenge' but 'love and peace' which will rebuild the nation.
The Border Security Force (BSF) is set to receive government approval for 16 new battalions, comprising around 17,000 personnel, and two forward headquarters for its western and eastern commands. The move aims to strengthen security along the India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders, respectively. The new battalions and headquarters are part of a larger plan to address evolving security dynamics and challenges in the border regions.
In his first meeting with Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged concerns over the attacks on minorities, including Hindus and conveyed that any rhetoric that vitiated the environment was best avoided.