Ayesha Mir

Muhammad Ibrahim

DHAKA: Bangladesh swore in its new prime minister on Tuesday amid heavy security and widespread celebrations, following a landslide election that marked the country&rsquo;s first national vote since the mass 2024 uprising that ended years of &quot;authoritarian rule.&quot; The capital, Dhaka, was placed under tight security throughout the day, with major roads repeatedly opened and closed to accommodate high-profile movements. Traffic across large parts of the city was severely disrupted, leaving commuters stranded for hours. Following the oath-taking ceremony, supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) poured onto the streets, chanting slogans and holding celebratory rallies. Crowds also gathered outside the parliament complex, lining the road beyond the main gate to witness the historic transition. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, whose five-year term begins immediately, was sworn in by President Mohammed Shahabuddin at a ceremony held at the South Plaza of the National Parliament. Rahman, 60, is the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and former president Ziaur Rahman. He is Bangladesh&rsquo;s first male prime minister in 35 years. Since the restoration of democracy in 1991, the office had alternated exclusively between his mother and her longtime rival Sheikh Hasina. Rahman returned to Bangladesh in December last year after 17 years in self-imposed exile in London, shortly before his mother&rsquo;s death. He has pledged to restore democratic institutions in the South Asian nation of around 170 million people. The BNP and its allies secured 212 seats in the 350-member parliament, giving the party a decisive majority. An opposition alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami won 77 seats, while smaller parties and independents filled the remainder. Of the 300 directly elected seats, voting was held in 299 constituencies. Seven women were elected directly in the 13th national election, six of them on the BNP ticket. An additional 50 seats are reserved for women and allocated proportionally among winning parties. Security, crowds and public mood Earlier in the day, the head of the Election Commission administered the oath of office separately to all newly elected lawmakers. The presence of multiple foreign delegations prompted extensive security arrangements, with checkpoints and police deployments across central Dhaka. Despite disruptions, the atmosphere around parliament was celebratory. BNP supporters waved party flags and described the day as the culmination of years of political struggle and disenfranchisement. Pakistan signals engagement Foreign dignitaries attending the ceremony included Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, an Indian delegation, and representatives from Nepal, Sri Lanka and other countries. Pakistan was represented by Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who said he was attending on behalf of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. &ldquo;I am here to represent the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan at a very historic moment when Bangladesh is making a democratic transition and a new government is being sworn in,&rdquo; Iqbal told Pakistan TV Digital. &ldquo;Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would very much like to visit Bangladesh as early as possible,&rdquo; he added. Iqbal said Islamabad viewed the change in Dhaka as an opportunity to deepen bilateral ties, particularly in trade, investment and people-to-people engagement. &ldquo;There is tremendous opportunity to promote trade between Pakistan and Bangladesh,&rdquo; he said, noting that bilateral trade remains below $1 billion. &ldquo;We look forward to a new journey between Pakistan and Bangladesh, towards prosperity and stability, not only for our region but for our people.&rdquo; Cabinet takes shape A total of 25 full ministers and two state ministers were sworn in as part of Rahman&rsquo;s new cabinet, covering portfolios ranging from finance and home affairs to foreign policy, energy, climate change and social welfare. Key appointments include Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury to finance and planning, Salahuddin Ahmed to home affairs, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to local government, and Khalilur Rahman, a technocrat, as foreign minister. The election was overseen by an interim administration led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, which took charge after Sheikh Hasina was toppled during the 2024 uprising. Hasina&rsquo;s Awami League party was barred from contesting the vote, and all its political activities were suspended during the transition. From exile in India, Hasina rejected the election as unfair. At home, she has been sentenced to death on charges of crimes against humanity related to hundreds of deaths during the unrest. The vote was largely peaceful and was deemed acceptable by international observers, restoring electoral legitimacy after years of disputed polls and political turmoil. With a strong parliamentary mandate, a newly sworn-in cabinet and public celebrations spilling into the streets, Bangladesh&rsquo;s new government begins its term under intense domestic expectations and renewed regional scrutiny.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairman Tarique Rahman (R) takes oath as prime minister during a swearing-in ceremony at the National Parliament building in Dhaka on February 17, 2026. (AFP)

Bangladesh

Tarique Rahman becomes 11th prime minister as Bangladesh swears in new government after landslide election, signaling democratic transition, regional engagement and renewed ties with neighbors, including Pakistan.

Bangladesh swears in new prime minister after landslide election

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: A retired Bangladeshi army chief has testified that Indian intelligence operatives maintained regular access to military intelligence facilities, working from dedicated rooms and providing target lists, according to his statement written for a local news outlet. Retired Gen. Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan disclosed this in testimony before the International Crimes Tribunal-1 and in an article he wrote for Prothom Alo on Monday. He stated that the Indian intelligence operatives worked from dedicated rooms and provided target lists to Bangladeshi forces. His statement came as he appeared as a prosecution witness in war crimes proceedings against former Maj. Gen. Ziaul Ahsan. &quot;Some people from the Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) under the umbrella of Major General (Retd.) Tariq Ahmed Siddique regularly visited the DGFI office and were allowed to work in one of the seven meeting rooms there,&quot; Bhuiyan wrote. The former army chief said RAW would identify individuals as militants and provide lists to Bangladesh&#39;s Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, according to his article. Bhuiyan stated he did not know whether DGFI took effective action on these intelligence reports. Testimony in crimes against humanity case Bhuiyan concluded two days of witness testimony on Monday at the tribunal, which has charged Ahsan with crimes against humanity involving the disappearance and murder of more than 100 people during the previous government led by the Awami League party, according to his published account in Prothom Alo. The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Md. Golam Mortuza Majumder, set Feb. 18 for cross-examination by defense lawyers, as reported in tribunal proceedings. Officers describe paid killings The retired general wrote that he confronted multiple junior officers about killings conducted while assigned to the Rapid Action Battalion, an elite Bangladeshi security force. In one encounter, an officer returning from RAB duty admitted killing six people &mdash; two directly and four others while present, according to Bhuiyan&#39;s article. &quot;I asked him, how much money did you get for each kill? He replied, ৳10,000&quot; &mdash; approximately $85 at current exchange rates &mdash; Bhuiyan wrote. The officer said he donated the money to his village mosque. A lieutenant colonel told Bhuiyan he killed six people on superior orders, according to the article. When Bhuiyan asked whether the officer would follow an order to consume excrement, the lieutenant colonel said killing unarmed civilians was worse, but fell silent when pressed on why he complied. &quot;I asked him, which is worse, killing an unarmed civilian or eating hagu?&quot; &mdash; a Bengali word for excrement &mdash; Bhuiyan wrote in Prothom Alo. &quot;He said, killing an unarmed civilian. I asked him, then why did you do it? He remained silent in reply.&quot; A major who had previously served under Bhuiyan justified killing alleged criminals by calling them &quot;anti-social&quot; with no right to live, according to the article. Bhuiyan wrote that he later saw the same officer in a Facebook post standing with Col. Zia at Shapla Chattar &mdash; a public square in Dhaka &mdash; following a deadly security force crackdown on a religious rally organized by the religious&nbsp;group Hefazat-e-Islam. Body disposal in rivers Bhuiyan wrote that he heard RAB personnel would cut open victims&#39; stomachs, remove intestines, tie bodies with bricks and stones, and submerge them in rivers. The tribunal has charged Ahsan with involvement in 50 killings at the Baleshwar River estuary in southern Bangladesh between 2010 and 2013, according to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the state news agency. Halting officer assignments The former army chief wrote that he stopped assigning officers to DGFI, the Border Guard Bangladesh &mdash; a paramilitary force &mdash; and RAB after determining that so-called &quot;crossfire&quot; killings, a term used to describe extrajudicial executions, would not stop. &quot;Many reminded me that what I was doing was tantamount to rebellion. My only answer was that I would have to answer to Allah on the Day of Judgment,&quot; Bhuiyan stated. He received repeated phone calls from the military secretary to the prime minister requesting officer assignments, according to his article. RAB Director General Benazir Ahmed personally visited Bhuiyan&#39;s office to request officers, but received no commitment, he wrote. Then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina &mdash; who led the Awami League government &mdash; directly asked Bhuiyan to provide officers to RAB during a hotel inauguration in Chittagong, Bangladesh&#39;s second-largest city, according to his account. Bhuiyan wrote that he cited officer shortages and maintained this position until retirement despite continued pressure. Call for institutional dissolution Bhuiyan wrote in Prothom Alo that he wants RAB abolished immediately or all military personnel withdrawn from the force. He also called for dissolving DGFI, writing that the intelligence directorate &quot;has lost its legitimacy to exist after giving birth to a bad culture like a mirror house.&quot; &quot;No matter how much we try to deny it, the army has become corrupt,&quot; Bhuiyan wrote. &quot;We should not waste the opportunity that has come to us for self-purification under any circumstances.&quot; He argued that prosecuting guilty officers would enhance rather than diminish military honor. He wrote that successful accountability would show &quot;the army never spares guilty people.&quot; Indictment details The tribunal indicted Ziaul Ahsan on Jan. 14 on three counts of crimes against humanity, according to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha and the tribunal prosecution. The charges include the July 11, 2011, killing of three people in Gazipur&#39;s Pubail area allegedly in Ahsan&#39;s presence; 50 killings at the Baleshwar River estuary; and another 50 deaths in the Sundarbans &mdash; a vast mangrove forest spanning Bangladesh and India &mdash; and Bagerhat regions between 2010 and 2013 under the pretext of suppressing &quot;forest robbers,&quot; as reported by BSS. Ziaul Ahsan pleaded not guilty when charges were read, according to tribunal proceedings. Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam told the tribunal that investigators have &quot;exceptionally strong evidence&quot; regarding Ahsan&#39;s leadership roles in the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre and RAB, as reported by the prosecution. The trial formally began Feb. 8, with Bhuiyan appearing as the prosecution&#39;s first witness, according to court records.

Retired Gen. Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan testified that Indian intelligence operatives maintained regular access to military intelligence facilities within Bangladesh before the country’s International Crimes Tribunal-1. (Iqbal Karim/Facebook)

His statement comes as he appeared as a prosecution witness in war crimes proceedings against former Maj. Gen. Ziaul Ahsan.

Retired Bangladesh army chief says Indian intelligence had access to military facilities

DHAKA: Bangladesh&#39;s election campaign ended Monday ahead of this week&#39;s vote, with rival parties invoking the 2024 uprising that ended the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina. Tens of thousands of flag-waving supporters attended a succession of rival rallies across the sprawling capital Dhaka, as parties sought to harness the legacy of the mass uprising and pitch competing visions of change for the country of 170 million in Thursday&#39;s election. The Muslim-majority nation will elect a 350-seat parliament, with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)&mdash;led by Tarique Rahman, who returned in December after 17 years in exile&mdash;widely tipped as a frontrunner. The BNP&#39;s key rival is Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh&#39;s largest Islamist party that is led by Shafiqur Rahman and has allied with the National Citizen Party (NCP) that was formed by student leaders who spearheaded the uprising. Prime ministerial hopeful Tarique Rahman appeared confident as he bounced on stage to address a crowd of thousands of BNP loyalists who waved flags and the party symbol, a sheaf of rice, and greeted their leader as if at a rock concert. &quot;The BNP alone has a plan to run the country and the experience to do so,&quot; he said, referring to his late parents, Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia, who both led the nation. &quot;No other parties have that.&quot; Tarique Rahman, 60, better known in Bangladesh as Tarique Zia, assumed leadership of the BNP from his mother, Khaleda Zia, who died in December at the age of 80. Police ringed the stage as he spoke and watched from the tops of tower blocks, surveying the crowd. In his closing speech for the campaign, broadcast on state television, he also reached out to the 10 percent of Bangladeshis who are not Muslim -- the majority of which who are Hindus. &quot;Bangladesh is a land of Muslims, non-Muslims, agnostics, and people from both the plains and the hills,&quot; he said. &#39;Justice&#39;&nbsp;Hasina was overthrown on August 5, 2024, after 15 years in power, and her Awami League party was banned by the interim government from running in the elections, a move criticized by rights groups. The 78-year-old, known for her iron-fisted rule, was sentenced to death in absentia in November for crimes against humanity for the deadly crackdown on protesters in her failed bid to cling to power and remains in hiding in India. Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman, 67, leading a coalition of Islamist parties ideologically aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood&mdash;under the symbol of weighing scales&mdash;also headed packed rallies. &quot;If Jamaat comes to power, extortion and violence will reduce,&quot; said Ashikuzzaman Shaon, a 21-year-old student. &quot;They&#39;ll establish justice.&quot; The Jamaat chief has accused the former ruling party of widespread repression but also warned that new forms of abuse had quickly followed its fall,&nbsp;alleging extortion and corruption by returning political figures. &quot;We want to build a country of unity with everyone on board,&quot; he said Monday, in a speech broadcast on state television. &quot;It will be a country where nobody gets the driving seat because of their family background.&quot; If successful, the former political prisoner could form the first Islamist-led government in constitutionally secular Bangladesh. &#39;Long live the revolution&#39;&nbsp;Jamaat&#39;s ally, NCP leader Nahid Islam, has also accused major parties of quietly sharing the &quot;businesses of extortion and crime&quot; for decades. &quot;If you elect me, I will dedicate myself to the betterment of the area,&quot; Islam said, thanking women supporters. &quot;If we lose, August 5 will also lose,&quot; he added, referring to the day Hasina resigned. Supporters chanted popular slogans from the uprising, including &quot;Long live the revolution!&quot; &quot;Slavery or freedom?&quot; they chanted, replying in unison, &quot;Freedom, freedom!&quot; Among the crowds on Monday was Tota Mia, 58, a rickshaw puller who had attended rallies on all sides and took a pragmatic approach. &quot;I&#39;ve seen everyone,&quot; he said. &quot;And this time I will vote for Jamaat. It doesn&#39;t matter if I eat more or I eat less, I just want peace.&quot;&nbsp;

Asia

Bangladesh's election campaign ended Monday ahead of this week's vote, with rival parties invoking the 2024 uprising that ended the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina

Bangladesh poll rivals rally on final day of campaign

DHAKA: Textile worker Sabina Khatun is in limbo after losing her job during sweeping factory closures, caught up like millions in Bangladesh in the fallout from a 2024 uprising that toppled years of autocratic rule. In the 18 months since the collapse of Sheikh Hasina&#39;s government,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bangladesh-remittance-inflow-surges-51-in-january" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bangladesh</a>&nbsp;has endured political turmoil but also biting economic pain -- with many hoping for a rebound under new leadership after elections on Feb. 12. &quot;I&#39;ve gone to a dozen factories looking for work,&quot; said Khatun, 30, who lost her job last year in garment hub Narayanganj. &quot;There are no openings.&quot; Second-largest producer&nbsp;Bangladesh, the world&#39;s second-largest producer of garments, has seen 240 factories shut since the August 2024 uprising, many of them in the textile industry, according to government data. That has dealt a blow to a major sector that forms 80% of Bangladesh&#39;s export economy. Some of the factories were owned by Hasina&#39;s cronies, who have since fled. Many workers like Khatun&nbsp;have been laid off, and closures are rippling through the wider labor market. &quot;Small markets, stores and low-cost cosmetics shops catering to female garment workers have all disappeared,&quot; said Iqbal Hossain, a trade union leader. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Improvement in economy&nbsp;</h2>The economy has improved since the chaotic aftermath of Hasina&#39;s ouster, but there are wider issues&nbsp;in the country of 170 million people. Salehuddin Ahmed, who holds the finance portfolio in the interim government, said the economy had shifted from the &quot;intensive care unit to the high dependency unit&quot;. Bangladesh&#39;s economy is expected to grow 4.7% this year, up from 3.7% in 2025, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/imf-sees-bangladesh-growth-rebounding-to-47-in-fy2627" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">International Monetary Fund</a>&nbsp;(IMF). Fahmida Khatun, head of the Dhaka-based Centre for Policy Dialogue, said foreign reserves have risen and the banking sector is showing signs of repair. &ldquo;But unemployment is rising, merchandise exports have declined, imports of heavy machinery and raw materials remain weak, and private-sector credit has hit a historic low,&rdquo; she told AFP. &quot;The gradual deterioration of law and order has emerged as the biggest threat.&quot; Trade deal with US&nbsp;In August, Bangladesh struck a trade deal with the United States -- a key market for ready-made garment exports -- scaling back President Donald Trump&#39;s threatened tariffs to 20%. But US orders &quot;remained static,&quot; said Mohiuddin Rubel, former head of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, noting that some new factories had opened. They, however, have had little impact on the labor market, as the unemployment rate remains high. Merchandise exports still fell for a fifth consecutive month in December 2025, and while inflation slightly eased, it continues to erode what people can afford. &quot;We don&#39;t buy fish or meat anymore,&quot; said unemployed textile worker Khatun, who continues her search for a job.&nbsp; &quot;Everyone tells me to come back after the election&quot;. Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, head of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, said the interim government had done little to help the bruised textile sector. &quot;Some of these were big factories employing thousands of workers,&quot; he said. &quot;In some cases, the government sold factory land and assets to clear workers&#39; dues -- but there was no initiative to restart viable factories.&quot; Unemployment is at 4.63%, according to the latest government figures released in May, up from 3.95% recorded during the same period the previous year. &lsquo;We are all waiting for the election&rsquo;&nbsp;Once juggling multiple odd jobs, Helal Uddin now ekes out a living running a food cart. &quot;It&#39;s hard to pay the house rent with the meagre amount I earn now,&quot; the 33-year-old told AFP, gloomy about the &quot;sharp rise&quot; in the price of rice he serves. &quot;The economy is not moving,&quot; Uddin said. &quot;It&#39;s stuck. We are all waiting for the election.&quot; Autocratic Hasina governmentHasina, 78, was once praised for overseeing Bangladesh&#39;s rapid economic rise, with growth topping 7% annually and per capita GDP more than quadrupling since 2000. But she also presided over an autocratic government that crushed dissent, and now faces court cases alleging the looting of national wealth. She is a convicted fugitive in hiding in India, sentenced to death in absentia for crimes against humanity. Economist Fahmida Khatun warned that the new administration will face many challenges. &ldquo;People hope things will improve after the election, but many of the problems are structural,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp; &ldquo;There is no quick fix.&rdquo;

In the 18 months since the collapse of Sheikh Hasina's government, Bangladesh has endured political turmoil but also biting economic pain -- with many hoping for a rebound under new leadership after elections on Feb. 12.

Mired in economic trouble, Bangladesh pins hopes on election boost

DHAKA: Bangladesh said on Sunday it was &quot;surprised&quot; and &quot;shocked&quot; that India had allowed fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to make a public address in New Delhi.&nbsp;Hasina, 78, fled to neighbouring India in August 2024 after a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bangladesh-police-say-student-leaders-killers-fled-to-india" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">student-led uprising</a>&nbsp;ended her iron-fisted 15-year rule. She made her first public speech since then in an audio address to a packed press club in Delhi on Friday.&nbsp;She was found guilty in absentia by a Dhaka court in November of incitement, issuing an order to kill and inaction to prevent atrocities and was sentenced to be hanged.&nbsp;&quot;The government and the people of Bangladesh are surprised and shocked,&quot; Dhaka&#39;s foreign ministry said in a statement.&nbsp;&quot;Allowing the event to take place in the Indian capital and letting mass murderer Hasina openly deliver her hate speech... constitute a clear affront to the people and the Government of Bangladesh.&quot;&nbsp;It said allowing Hasina to make the speech set &quot;a dangerous precedent&quot; that could &quot;seriously impair bilateral relations&quot;.&nbsp;Bangladesh voters go to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bangladesh-launches-campaigns-for-first-posthasina-polls" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">polls on February 12</a>&nbsp;to choose new leaders after a period of turmoil that followed the overthrow of Hasina&#39;s autocratic government.&nbsp;Hasina said in her audio address that &quot;Bangladesh will never experience free and fair elections&quot; under interim leader Muhammad Yunus.&nbsp;More than 100,000 people watched the address, which was broadcast online.&nbsp;Bangladesh has asked India to extradite Hasina, but New Delhi has yet to comment on the request.&nbsp;India&#39;s past support for Hasina has frayed relations between the South Asian neighbours since her overthrow.

Bangladesh condemned India for allowing exiled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to address supporters in New Delhi, warning it set a precedent, hurt bilateral ties, after her conviction and sentencing over abuses following her overthrow.

Bangladesh criticizes India over fugitive leader Hasina's speech

SYLHET: Bangladesh begins official campaigning on Thursday for the hugely anticipated general elections next month, the first since the 2024 uprising ended the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina. The South Asian nation of 170 million people will vote on Feb. 12 for 350 lawmakers, ushering in new leadership after prolonged political turmoil following the overthrow of Hasina&rsquo;s government, reshaping domestic and regional power dynamics. It comes against the backdrop of insecurity &mdash; including the murder last month of a student leader of the anti-Hasina protests &mdash; as well as warnings of a &ldquo;flood&rdquo; of online disinformation. European Union election observers say the vote will be the &ldquo;biggest democratic process of 2026.&rdquo; Mass rallies are expected, with hundreds of thousands of supporters gathering as the frontrunners, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, formally launch their campaigns. Sufi shrineBNP chief and prime ministerial hopeful Tarique Rahman, 60, who returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile, is due to address a string of rallies starting in the northeastern city of Sylhet. Rahman assumed formal leadership of the BNP after the death in December of his mother, 80-year-old former prime minister Khaleda Zia. Bangladesh, home to one of the world&rsquo;s largest Muslim-majority populations, has a significant Sufi following, and parties have traditionally launched campaigns in Sylhet, home to the centuries-old shrine of Shah Jalal. Lines of supporters lined both sides of the streets as Rahman prayed at the shrine on Wednesday night, cheering as his election bus passed by, with his countrywide roadshow of rallies to begin later Thursday. Jamaat-e-Islami, which opposes Sufi mystical interpretations of the Koran, begins its campaign in the capital, Dhaka, in the constituency of its leader, Shafiqur Rahman. Ideologically aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamists are seeking a return to formal politics after years of bans and crackdowns. Since Hasina fled to India, key Islamist leaders have been released from prison, and Islamist groups have grown increasingly assertive. The National Citizen Party (NCP), formed by student leaders who spearheaded the uprising and who have formed an alliance with Jamaat, will also launch their rally in Dhaka. &lsquo;New Bangladesh&rsquo;Muhammad Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate who returned from exile in August 2024 at the behest of protesters to lead a caretaker government as &ldquo;chief adviser,&rdquo; will step down after the polls. Yunus said he inherited a &ldquo;completely broken&rdquo; political system and championed a reform charter he argues is vital to prevent a return to authoritarian rule, with a referendum on the changes to be held on the same day as polling. He says the reforms will strengthen checks and balances between the executive, judicial and legislative branches. &ldquo;If you cast the &lsquo;yes&rsquo; vote, the door to building the new Bangladesh will open,&rdquo; Yunus said on Jan. 19 in a broadcast to the nation urging support for the referendum. Earlier this month, he warned UN rights chief Volker Turk of a &ldquo;flood&rdquo; of misinformation targeting the polls, saying he was &ldquo;concerned about the impact&rdquo; disinformation could have. &ldquo;They have flooded social media with fake news, rumours and speculation,&rdquo; Yunus said, blaming both &ldquo;foreign media and local sources.&rdquo; Relations with neighboring India have soured after Hasina escaped to her old ally, New Delhi, as protesters stormed her palace. Hasina, 78, sentenced to death in absentia in November for crimes against humanity for the deadly crackdown on protesters in her failed bid to cling to power, remains in hiding in India.

TOPSHOT - Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairman Tarique Rahman waves to supporters from a vehicle after visiting the shrine of Sufi saint Hazrat Shahjalal in Sylhet on January 21, 2026, as part of the official launch of his election campaign. (AFP)

 Bangladesh begins official campaigning on Thursday for the hugely anticipated general elections next month, the first since the 2024 uprising ended the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina.

Bangladesh launches campaigns for first post-Hasina polls

DHAKA: A Bangladesh commission investigating disappearances during the rule of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina said Monday at least 287 people were assumed to have been killed.&nbsp;The commission said some corpses were believed to have been dumped in rivers, including the Buriganga in the capital, Dhaka, or buried in mass graves.&nbsp;The government-appointed commission, formed after Hasina was toppled by a mass uprising in August 2024, said it had investigated 1,569 cases of abductions, with 287 of the victims presumed dead.&nbsp;&quot;We have identified a number of unmarked graves in several places where the bodies were presumably buried,&quot; Nur Khan Liton, a commission member, told AFP.&nbsp;&quot;The commission has recommended that Bangladesh seek cooperation from forensic experts to identify the bodies and collect and preserve DNA samples from family members.&quot;&nbsp;In its final report, submitted to the government on Sunday, the commission said that security forces had acted under the command of Hasina and her top officials.&nbsp;The report said many of those abducted had belonged to the country&#39;s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, or the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), both in opposition to Hasina.&nbsp;In a separate investigation, police in December began exhuming a mass grave in Dhaka.&nbsp;The grave included at least eight victims of the uprising against Hasina, bodies all found with bullet wounds, according to Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief Md Sibgat Ullah.&nbsp;The United Nations says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina attempted to cling to power.&nbsp;She was sentenced to death in absentia in November for crimes against humanity.&nbsp;&quot;We are grateful for finally being able to know where our brother is buried,&quot; said Mohamed Nabil, whose 28-year-old sibling Sohel Rana was identified as one of the dead in the grave in Dhaka.&nbsp;&quot;But we demand a swift trial for the police officials who shot at the people during the uprising.&quot;&nbsp;

Bangladesh probe finds 287 people presumed killed during Sheikh Hasina’s rule, with bodies allegedly dumped in rivers or mass graves, as authorities seek forensic help and justice for victims.

Bangladesh says at least 287 killed during Hasina-era abductions

DHAKA:&nbsp;Bangladesh police on Sunday said the alleged killers of popular student leader Sharif Osman Hadi had fled to India, in comments likely to further strain relations with its neighbor. Hadi, a vocal India critic who took part in last year&#39;s mass uprising, was shot by masked assailants in Dhaka earlier this month and later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Singapore. His death set off violent protests with angry mobs torching several buildings, including two major newspapers deemed to favor India, as well as a prominent cultural institution. With protests being held across the country almost daily, pressure has been growing on Bangladesh&#39;s interim government to arrest the killers of Hadi, who was set to contest the general elections in February next year. &lsquo;Killing was premeditated&rsquo;&quot;The killing was premeditated. Those behind it have been identified,&quot; SN Nazrul Islam, a senior Dhaka Metropolitan Police officer, said at a news conference. Suspects Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh left Bangladesh through the Haluaghat border with India shortly after attacking Hadi on December 12, Islam said. They were received at the border by two Indian citizens, who escorted them into the northeastern state of Meghalaya before handing them over to two accomplices. Bangladeshi investigators were in contact with their Indian counterparts, who had arrested the two suspected accomplices, Islam said. &ldquo;We are communicating with Meghalaya police, who have confirmed the arrest of two Indian nationals,&rdquo; he added. Two senior Meghalaya police officers, however, did not comment when contacted by AFP. The Indian foreign ministry had earlier said it rejects &ldquo;false narratives&rdquo; about New Delhi&#39;s involvement in Hadi&rsquo;s killing. Hasina&rsquo;s extradition &nbsp;Ties between the neighbors have deteriorated since the ousted prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, fled the pro-democracy uprising and sought refuge in India. India says it is still considering Dhaka&#39;s requests to extradite Hasina, who was sentenced to death in absentia for orchestrating a deadly crackdown on the uprising.

Hadi, a vocal India critic who took part in last year's mass uprising, was shot by masked assailants in Dhaka earlier this month and later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Singapore.

Bangladesh police say student leader Osman Hadi’s killers fled to India

DHAKA:&nbsp;The heir to Bangladesh&#39;s longtime ruling family and a leader of its most powerful political party, Tarique Rahman, is set to return home after 17 years in exile and ahead of key elections. Rahman, 60, an aspiring prime minister who has lived in London since he fled Bangladesh in 2008 over what he called a politically motivated persecution, is due to arrive in Dhaka on Thursday. Acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), he is expected to take the reins from his ailing mother, 80-year-old former prime minister Khaleda Zia. Despite years of ill health and imprisonment, Zia vowed in November to campaign in the February 12, 2026, elections. But she was hospitalized soon after that pledge, and she has been in intensive care ever since. The elections will be the first since a mass uprising last year ended the 15-year hardline rule of&nbsp;Sheikh Hasina, who was at odds with the BNP. Since Hasina&#39;s fall from power, Rahman has been acquitted of the most serious charge against him: a life sentence handed down in absentia for a 2004 grenade attack on a Hasina rally.&nbsp; He had denied the charges. &lsquo;Fantastic day&rsquo;BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has promised Rahman will &ldquo;arrive among us on the soil of Dhaka&rdquo; on December 25, which he said will be a &ldquo;fantastic day.&rdquo; Rahman, often pictured beside his mother on BNP banners, has long been groomed for leadership. In June, he met in London with Muhammad Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner leading the interim government until the February elections. Rahman, known in Bangladesh as Tarique Zia, carries a political name that has defined his life. His father, Ziaur Rahman, was an army commander. Ziaur Rahman gained influence months after a 1975 coup in which Sheikh Hasina&rsquo;s father -- founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was murdered. &lsquo;Battle of the Begums&rsquo;That fuelled lifelong tensions between the Zia and Hasina families, dubbed the &ldquo;Battle of the Begums&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;begum&rdquo; meaning a powerful woman. Ziaur Rahman was assassinated when his son was 15. The younger Rahman grew up in his mother&rsquo;s political orbit, as Zia went on to become the country&rsquo;s first female prime minister, alternating her terms in power with Hasina. Rahman briefly studied international relations at Dhaka University before entering politics at 23, joining the BNP in its fight against military ruler Hussain Muhammad Ershad, according to his party. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&lsquo;Unnerves many&rsquo;&nbsp;</h2>Still, Rahman&rsquo;s career has been dogged by allegations of nepotism and mismanagement. A 2006 US embassy cable described him as the BNP&#39;s &ldquo;heir apparent&rdquo; who &ldquo;inspires few but unnerves many&rdquo;. Rahman was arrested on corruption charges in 2007 and claimed he was tortured in custody. Reports suggested his release was conditional on leaving politics.&nbsp; Freed later that year, he flew to London in 2008 for medical treatment and never returned. After Hasina swept to power in 2008, her government jailed tens of thousands of BNP members. In 2018, Rahman was again sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for allegedly orchestrating the 2004 attack on Hasina&rsquo;s rally -- a case the BNP called a bid to eliminate the Zia dynasty from politics. In Britain, he kept a low profile alongside his wife, a cardiologist, and their daughter. Since Hasina&rsquo;s ouster, Rahman emerged as an outspoken figure on social media and a rallying point for BNP supporters.

Since Hasina's fall from power, Rahman has been acquitted of the most serious charge against him: a life sentence handed down in absentia for a 2004 grenade attack on a Hasina rally. 

Bangladesh political heavyweight Tarique Rahman to end exile

Pakistan TV Satellite

ISLAMABAD: Bangladeshi activists and journalists have accused India of providing safe havens to terrorists involved in killings as Bangladesh once again erupts in protests after leader of 2024 student-led uprising Sharif Osman Bin Hadi succumbed to his injuries in Singapore. Hadi, who was expected to contest the February elections, was shot in the head on December 12 in Dhaka. He was evacuated to Singapore but could not survive. Pakistan TV talked to a number of journalists and civil society activists who agreed that anti-India sentiments had risen sharply in Bangladesh. Civil society activist and entrepreneur Fahim Mashroor told Pakistan TV that following Sheikh Hasina&rsquo;s ouster and the installation of Dr Muhammad Yunus&rsquo;s interim administration, relations between Dhaka and New Delhi have deteriorated sharply. &ldquo;For the last 15 months, right after Sheikh Hasina was ousted and the new administration under Dr Yunus took over, diplomatic relations have been extremely thorny. The key issue has been Sheikh Hasina being sheltered in India,&rdquo; Fahim Mashroor said. <div class="fr-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Sharif Osman bin Hadi was a very strong voice against Indian hegemony; the person who shot Hadi was a leader of the student union of Awami League and is now in India; anti-India sentiment is rising in Bangladesh. - Journalist from Dhaka Kamaruzzaman<a href="https://twitter.com/mkbablu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mkbablu</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MoIB_Official?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MoIB_Official</a>&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/GjZu7lAIoK">pic.twitter.com/GjZu7lAIoK</a>&mdash; Pakistan TV (@PakTVGlobal) <a href="https://twitter.com/PakTVGlobal/status/2001933630294364180?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2025</a></blockquote></div> He said public anger escalated after the assassination of Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent youth and cultural activist, who was reportedly targeted for his vocal opposition to Indian influence and the Awami League. &ldquo;His cultural activism strongly opposed Indian cultural hegemony, leading many to believe he was targeted because of his views, and that Indian active support cannot be ruled out. This is why public sentiment has taken a strongly anti-Indian turn,&rdquo; he said. Fahim Mashroor further said the assassin&rsquo;s known links to Sheikh Hasina&rsquo;s party and subsequent flight to India, confirmed through CCTV footage, have intensified anti-India sentiment. &ldquo;People in Bangladesh remain extremely angry and firmly believe there is support for such activities through the Awami League and its operatives. There is a widespread perception that not only was the planning done on Indian soil, but that India is also providing safe haven to terrorists after such heinous acts,&rdquo; the civil society activist said. He said this perception of the Bangladeshi society is drawn from India&rsquo;s history of patronage toward Sheikh Hasina during her 15-year rule, when New Delhi was seen as supporting her authoritarian governance for strategic gain. Talking to Pakistan TV, senior journalist from Dhaka MD Kamruzzaman said protests have intensified across Dhaka following the death of Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, particularly among students and young activists. <div class="fr-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Sheikh Hasina and her political associates, hiding in India, have threatened to kill people, especially youth, who are opposed to Awami League. - Civil society activist from Dhaka Fahim Mashroor<a href="https://twitter.com/fahimmashroor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@fahimmashroor</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MoIB_Official?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MoIB_Official</a><a href="https://twitter.com/MoIBBdoffical?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MoIBBdoffical</a><a href="https://twitter.com/PakinBangladesh?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PakinBangladesh</a><a href="https://twitter.com/bdhcpk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@bdhcpk</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bangladesh?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bangladesh</a>&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/KW2ltsp65k">pic.twitter.com/KW2ltsp65k</a>&mdash; Pakistan TV (@PakTVGlobal) <a href="https://twitter.com/PakTVGlobal/status/2001943390834077924?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2025</a></blockquote></div> He said Hadi had been a prominent figure in the movement that challenged nearly 16 years of authoritarian rule of Sheikh Hasina, adding that protesters claim that Hadi had been receiving multiple death threats. &ldquo;His popularity was rising rapidly, and people from all walks of life viewed Hadi as an icon of protest. Unfortunately, he had earlier warned that he had received multiple threats from different unknown numbers,&rdquo; the senior journalist said. He said a key source of public anger stems from reports that the gunman had fled to India. <div class="fr-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The assassins were traced through CCTV footage; police say they fled to India which has made people extremely angry as they believe India is harbouring those responsible. - Civil society activist from Dhaka Fahim Mashroor<a href="https://twitter.com/fahimmashroor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@fahimmashroor</a><a href="https://twitter.com/MoIB_Official?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MoIB_Official</a><a href="https://twitter.com/MoIBBdoffical?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MoIBBdoffical</a>&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/0X0VYv2Yme">pic.twitter.com/0X0VYv2Yme</a>&mdash; Pakistan TV (@PakTVGlobal) <a href="https://twitter.com/PakTVGlobal/status/2001944238800703585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2025</a></blockquote></div> Kamruzzaman said this has fuelled growing anti-India sentiment, with demonstrators accusing New Delhi of sheltering individuals responsible for political violence in Bangladesh. &ldquo;According to protesters, he [Hadi] was targeted primarily because of his stance against the ousted regime and neighbouring India,&rdquo; the Bangladeshi journalist said. He further added that the unrest highlights deepening frustration over external interference and the country&rsquo;s ongoing struggle for democratic sovereignty. Another journalist from Bangladesh Muktadir Rashid told Pakistan TV that the demonstrators accuse India of involvement in Hadi&rsquo;s assassination and harbouring suspects linked to unrest in Bangladesh. He said anti-India sentiment is not new, fuelled over the years by public anger toward Sheikh Hasina&rsquo;s government, which was backed by New Delhi. &ldquo;Anti-Indian sentiment is not new in Bangladesh at all, especially due to Sheikh Hasina&#39;s misrule, which was backed by the Indian government starting from 2014,&rdquo; he said. He said Hadi, a former teacher known for his calls for justice and youth empowerment, enjoyed strong grassroots popularity and was preparing to contest the upcoming elections. Muktadir Rashid said Hadi was shot last Friday, and reports suggest the prime suspect fled across the border into India, an area long associated with organised crime. His death has further ignited resentment against perceived Indian interference in Bangladesh&rsquo;s domestic politics, he added.

SAT News Desk

Bangladeshi activists state that India is sheltering terrorists after protest leader Sharif Osman Bin Hadi died from gunshot wounds, with the suspect fleeing to India.

Articles tagged with "Sheikh Hasina"