Tag: Bangladesh

South Asia’s tussle with terrorism: Overcoming obstacles against rising extremism

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Terrorism remains one of the most pressing issues in the world. The latest Global Terrorism Index (GTI) highlights deaths due to terrorism were at the highest level since 2017 — increasing by 22% in 2023 from 2022. While terrorism in the West has fallen to the lowest levels since 2007, the South Asian countries Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan have a bigger problem.

According to the GTI data released in March 2024, South Asia had the “highest regional average impact from terrorism”. Of the seven countries forming part of the South Asian region, Bhutan is the only country with a GTI score of zero recording no terrorist attacks in the past five years.

The region’s peacefulness also had only improved marginally as per the last Global Peace Index (GPI) released in June 2023, which put the economic impact of violence at $1,395 in South Asia. And, Afghanistan was one of the least peaceful countries with a colossal impact of violence on its GDP at 46.5% in 2022.

Pakistan situation and the India story

Of the South Asian block in the GTI report, Pakistan has been the worst hit. The country saw 490 attacks in 2023. Pakistan jumped three spots to move to a GTI ranking of fourth this year, its worst rank since 2016.

“Pakistan has had a consistently high level of terrorism every year. It may be the only country that has been in the top 10 of the index for every year that we’ve been doing it. And, every year, the majority of that terrorism takes place along the border regions (like Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa),” said Thomas Morgan, Chief Of Research, Global Terrorism Index.

India has marginally improved its position in the GTI to reach a rank of 14 but challenges are prominent. “Over the past decade, there have often been fluctuations in India year-on-year. It’s hard to draw a strong conclusion based on the change from one year to another. Having said that, the trend over the past decade is for a lower level of terrorism,” said Morgan, adding that the country still has the second-highest number of terrorist attacks in South Asia.

It’s also a tricky situation for India as neighbours face high terrorist activities.

Measuring Terrorism In South Asia

Compared to its global peers, South Asia witnessed a decline in the index in 2023, led by a massive fall in terrorist activity reported in Afghanistan. Highlighting the shift in Afghanistan’s ranking in GTI to sixth against the last five years before 2023, Morgan said, “Since the withdrawal of US troops and the Taliban’s takeover, just the overall level of conflict is much lower than it was. That’s not to say that there aren’t other issues like human rights abuses, associated with the Taliban.”

The report added a caveat that terrorism-related incidents by state actors do not come under the ambit of the GTI scoring mechanism.

But this turbulence in Afghanistan’s political regime is bad news for Pakistan and, in turn, for India. The GTI report states terrorist attacks in Pakistan’s border regions have seen intense involvement of militant groups from Afghanistan. Terrorism-related conflicts in Pakistan’s border regions contributed to the majority of attacks in the country and accounted for 96% of Pakistan’s terrorism-related deaths in 2023.

On assessing the average impact of terrorism globally, South Asia remains the worst affected as per GTI. “It’s difficult to estimate the impact of terrorism just by the total number of deaths. Going from say 0 to 100 deaths will increase a country’s score a lot whereas going from 100 to 1,000 deaths won’t increase it by as much. The reason why it’s done that way is to capture the fact that terrorism has this outsized psychological impact, so that in a country which usually experiences no terrorism, having one or two attacks will have an outsized impact on society,” said Morgan.

Tackling Terrorist Organisations

Overall, the Islamic State (IS) remains the deadliest terrorist organisation. IS was responsible for several attacks globally and largely operates via affiliates. Many attacks in places like Pakistan though have occurred without a terrorist group taking responsibility.

“Organisations like the Tehreek-E-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Deobandi are becoming stronger in Pakistan than IS in the region,” said Adil Rasheed, Research-Fellow & Coordinator Of Counter-Terrorism Centre, Manohar Parrikar Institute For Defence Studies & Analyses.

He added that such non-state actors are increasing engagement in global conflicts with groups of non-Wahhabi orientation like Hamas, and Taliban, among others, becoming more influential.

The report distinctively shows a strong correlation between terrorist groups and organised crime. Terrorist organisations like IS have been observed to harbour organised crime as a source of funding or logistical support. “Unlike Wahhabi groups, organisations like the Taliban are seen carrying out trade with China. Similarly, Hamas is seen trading with Iran and Chechen groups are engaging financially with Russia and Ukraine, depicting the role of morphed non-state actors,” said Rasheed.

Although the Taliban is not characterised as a terrorist organisation under the GPI, too, the report says that groups like the Islamic State In The Khorasan or ISK present a strong possibility of conflict escalation with the de-facto regime in Afghanistan.

Economic Turmoils and Terrorism

The report suggests that nations with weak state capability are most likely to see organised crime by terrorist groups. Countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are all wrestling economic turmoils, a phenomenon which is considered a contributing factor towards the proliferation of terrorism.

“Pakistan’s economy is in shambles. The country is imploding politically and socially. Remote areas are susceptible to non-government forces becoming more violent and taking over such areas,” said Rasheed.

The GTI score for South Asia has also improved, in part, due to a reported decline in terrorism-related deaths and attacks in Nepal and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka went down two spots to get a better GTI position of 33 in 2024 and Nepal went down eight spots to get a GTI rank of 45 in 2024.

The situation in another of India’s neighbours, Bangladesh, deteriorated in the index. Bangladesh jumped 14 spots to get a worse GTI rank of 32 in 2024.

A marginal shift in the GTI index for most countries in the South Asia bloc has raised concerns as the region sustains two of the worst 10 GTI score countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Amidst the complex landscape of South Asia, geopolitical dynamics, regional conflicts and economic challenges underscore the nature of the region’s struggle with terrorism. Addressing activities related to terrorism to ensure the region’s sustained development and political stability has become both inevitable and paramount.

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Bangladesh shopping mall fire death toll climbs to 46, PM Hasina says there were no fire exits

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A six-storey shopping mall that caught fire in the Bangladeshi capital had no fire exits, the country’s prime minister said Friday, as the death toll climbed to at least 46 and rescuers continued to search for more victims.

The fire started late Thursday in a restaurant on the first floor of the Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall in downtown Dhaka. More than a dozen firefighting units were deployed.

Firefighters rescued survivors and pulled out bodies, and by early Friday, at least 43 people were confirmed dead. Three injured people died later, said Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen. He said the toll could rise further as at least a dozen critically injured people were being treated in two state-run hospitals.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her shock at the loss of lives and said that it was a result of negligence.

“What could be more painful than this?” she said, speaking at an unrelated event in Dhaka.

“We always request our architects, at least when they design homes or buildings, (to) keep a small open balcony, a fire exit or ventilation. But architects … will not design that properly and also the owners do not want to leave an inch of space,” she said.

One survivor said people escaped by heading to the building’s roof.

“I knew about the fire when it was at the first floor. We moved to the roof of the building. Around 30 people were there. After the fire was under control, fire service personnel broke into one side of the roof and rescued us,” Mohammed Siam said.

Forty-one victims have been identified and 38 of the bodies have been handed to their families, said Bacchu Mia, who is in charge of a police outpost at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

“Overnight many families waited here for their loved ones. It’s a heartbreaking scene as they desperately looked for their family members who died in the tragedy,” Mia said.

Five members of one family were among the dead, while the toll also included students, teachers and two reporters. The fire broke out at the beginning of the country’s weekend and many people were dining.

A fire department team entered the charred building Friday morning to see if there were more bodies, and forensic experts began looking for evidence.

The cause of the fire has not been determined. But the fire service department said the building owner was served at least three times with notice to correct the building’s fire extinguishing system.

Bangladesh has a history of such fires in commercial buildings in Dhaka and outside. Experts say lax monitoring and violation of building codes by construction companies and owners have proved deadly.

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Arakan Army says it has taken control of township bordering India and Bangladesh

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A powerful ethnic armed group fighting Myanmar’s military that is based in the country’s western state of Rakhine has seized a township bordering India and Bangladesh, the group declared on Monday, confirming accounts by local residents and media.

Paletwa is the first township reported to fall to the Arakan Army, which launched surprise attacks beginning in mid-November on military targets in Paletwa, which is in Chin state, and townships in Rakhine. Paletwa is just north of Rakhine and borders both Bangladesh and India.

Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the Arakan Army, told The Associated Press on Monday that the entire Paletwa region has become a “Military Council-free area,” referring to the ruling military government.

“The administrative mechanism and clutches of the military council have come to an end. The administration, security and the rule of law for Paletwa region will be implemented as needed,” Khaing Thukha said in text messages.

The military government made no immediate comment.

The Arakan Army is a member of the armed ethnic group alliance that recently gained strategic territory in the country’s northeast. Along with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army — operating together under the name of the Three Brotherhood Alliance — it launched a coordinated offensive on October 27 in northern Shan state along the border with China.

That offensive has posed the greatest battlefield challenge to Myanmar’s military rulers since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. The alliance says it has seized more than 250 military outposts, five official border crossings and a major city near the Chinese border, along with several important towns.

The Arakan Army is the well-trained and well-armed military wing of the Rakhine ethnic minority movement, which seeks autonomy from Myanmar’s central government. Rakhine is where a brutal army counterinsurgency operation in 2017 drove about 740,000 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority to seek safety across the border in Bangladesh. Rakhine is also known by its older name of Arakan.

The Arakan Army first said late Sunday night that it gained complete control of Paletwa township. The group also released photos of its guerrillas taking pictures in front of the township’s general administration office, the police chief’s office, the fire office and the municipal office.

Myanmar’s independent national and Rakhine media outlets reported on Monday about the capture of Paletwa, citing the Arakan Army.

A resident interviewed by phone said that Arakan Army had taken control of Paletwa town after intense fighting between the group and military that broke out last week. He spoke on the condition of anonymity, because he was afraid of being arrested by either side in the conflict.

He said that he and most of the town’s residents left from Paletwa early this month to take shelter in nearby villages, and just a handful stayed behind. He said access to the internet and cellphone services in the area was almost entirely cut off as the fighting raged.

Another resident who left the town earlier said he hasn’t been able to reach family members believed to still be in Paletwa by cellphone since early January.

Paletwa, whose location on the border gives it strategic importance, is where the Arakan Army first established a foothold in 2015 to fight the against the army. However, most of Paletwa’s inhabitants are from the Chin ethnic minority, and there have been tensions over the group’s operations there.

However, the Chin have been a major force in the resistance against the military since the army seized power in 2021, so they now share a common enemy with the Arakan Army.

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From exile to eminence: Sheikh Hasina secures fourth straight term as Bangladesh PM

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has achieved an unprecedented fourth consecutive term as her Awami League party secured a resounding majority in the general elections. The Awami League clinched 223 seats out of the 300-member Parliament.

The Jatiya Party, the main opposition, managed to secure only 11 seats, while the Bangladesh Kallyan party won in a single constituency. Independent candidates emerged victorious in 62 seats, with the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and the Workers Party of Bangladesh each winning one seat.

Securing a landslide victory in the Gopalganj-3 constituency, Hasina, 76, who also serves as the president of the Awami League, has now won her eighth term as a Member of Parliament. With this triumph, Sheikh Hasina is poised to become the longest-serving prime minister in Bangladesh since its independence.

#WATCH | Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addresses the media at her residence Ganabhaban in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

She was elected as the Prime Minister for the fifth time in the general elections conducted yesterday. pic.twitter.com/RELohNIkAa

— ANI (@ANI) January 8, 2024

Daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War, Hasina spent her early life in Tungipara in the then East Bengal and later in Segunbagicha when the family moved to Dhaka. She entered politics as the vice-president of Eden College’s Students Union in 1966-1967.

Tragedy struck in 1975 when Hasina lost her family to a military coup, with her mother, three brothers, and father being killed by a group of young army personnel. At the time, Hasina, her husband Wazed Miah, and her sister were in Europe. Seeking political asylum, she lived in exile with surviving family members for six years under the protection of then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Ziaur Rahman’s military government initially barred Hasina from returning to Bangladesh. However, she came back in 1981 after being elected president of the Awami League. Despite participating in the 1986 general elections under martial law imposed by President Hussian Muhammad Ershad, Hasina and her eight-party alliance resigned a year later, paving the way for a fresh election under a neutral government.

This effort eventually succeeded, and Bangladesh returned to a parliamentary form of government in 1991.

Sheikh Hasina first became prime minister in June 1996, completing a term marked by political unrest. Following her defeat in the 2006 elections to Zia and the BNP, she faced arrest during the 2007 emergency but was released in 2008 when the emergency was lifted.

Making a triumphant return, she secured a significant victory in the 2008 general elections and continued her political dominance with a landslide win in the 2019 polls.

Hasina earned acclaim for her adept handling of the world’s most significant refugee crisis, with over a million Rohingyas seeking refuge in Bangladesh following their escape from persecution in neighbouring Myanmar during a 2017 army crackdown in their homeland.

Beyond her political achievements, Hasina is a mother to a daughter specialising in mental health and a son who serves as her ICT affairs adviser, bringing expertise in information and communication technology. Her late husband was a nuclear scientist, adding another dimension to her family’s history.

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Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina extends her rule in polls shunned by rivals

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will retain her title as the world’s longest serving female head of government after her party swept more than half of the parliament seats in an election boycotted by her opponents and voters.

Hasina’s Awami League party won at least 157 of 299 seats for a simple parliament majority, according to two major television networks citing polling data. The election for one seat was postponed.

The Election Commission has put the turnout at about 40%. It’s a sharp drop from the 80% participation in polls in 2018, as voters heeded a campaign by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party to shun the election and draw attention to the sweeping crackdown her government carried out in the run up to the polls.

The vote was the culmination of a monthlong campaign beset by daily street protests, the jailing of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus and viral videos of ruling party leaders pushing voters to cast ballots or risk losing government benefits.

Dhaka was deserted with heavy security around voting centers and there were few reports of clashes between opposition supporters and police officials. In a sign the country was still on edge, Hasina, who is also the president of the Awami League, asked supporters not to organize rallies to celebrate the victory, according to party official Sayem Khan.

Hasina was upbeat during the polling, telling voters to exercise their democratic rights. “I’m determined to make sure that democracy continues,” she told reporters. “Without democracy, development work can’t continue.”

The 76-year-old leader is expected to hold a post-election briefing on Monday at 3 p.m., local media reported.

Hasina, who is set for a fourth straight term in power, has overseen one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and lifted millions out of poverty as part of her development agenda — achievements often overshadowed by her turn to authoritarianism.

Still, the economy is struggling with dollar shortages, which has prompted Moody’s Investors Service and others to downgrade Bangladesh’s credit ratings. The government was earlier forced to turn to the International Monetary Fund for $4.7 billion in emergency loans after the pandemic and soaring commodity prices depleted foreign exchange reserves.

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Bangladesh goes to poll amid boycott by main Opposition BNP

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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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 BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) which is boycotting it.

Voting began at 8 am local time and will continue till 5 pm.

A total of 119.6 million registered voters are eligible to vote at Sunday’s polls in more than 42,000 polling stations, according to the country’s Election Commission.

The voting is being held in 299 out of the 300 constituencies. The election to one seat will be held later due to the death of a candidate.

More than 1,500 candidates from 27 political parties are contesting in the election besides 436 independent candidates.

Over 100 foreign observers, including three from India, will monitor the 12th general election, which is being held under tight security.

More than 7.5 lakh members of law enforcement agencies and security forces have been deployed to ensure law and order during the polls.

The election commission said it expected the results to start flowing from early on January 8.

Prime Minister Hasina cast her vote at Dhaka City College polling centre at 8:03 am local time. Her Daughter Saima Wazed also accompanied her.

Hasina, 76, has been in power since 2009 and her Awami League won the last election in December 2018.

The BNP boycotted the 2014 election but joined the one in 2018.

Prime Minister Hasina’s ruling Awami League (AL) is expected to win for a straight fourth time as the main Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of former premier Khaleda Zia, 78, who is under house arrest as a convict of graft charges, boycotted the polls.

The 27 political parties that are contesting the elections include the opposition Jatiya Party (JAPA). The rest are members of the ruling Awami League-led coalition, which experts dub as ”satellite parties.”

The BNP is observing a 48-hour nationwide general strike which began at 6 am on Saturday and will end at 6 am on Monday. It has called upon voters to shun the election to mark the beginning of an end of what it calls a ”fascist government.”

As part of its vote boycott campaign, BNP has been calling countrywide general strikes. It has enforced intermittent transport blockades and strikes for the past three months. The party has been claiming no election under the incumbent government would be fair and credible.

BNP spokesman Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said the strikes were aimed at pressing for their demands for ”resignation of the illegal government, establishment of a non-party neutral government and release of all party leaders and activists from prison”.

Ahead of the elections, Hasina’s government arrested tens of thousands of rival politicians and supporters, a move which rights groups have condemned as an attempt to paralyse the Opposition.

Fifteen other political parties are also boycotting the election that is being watched globally.

The boycott as well as fear of violence can keep a large number of voters away from voting.

”What’s the point of going to the polling centres when the election is nothing but a battle between two groups of the same party? We all know Awami League will win the race at the end of the day,” The Daily Star newspaper quoted Md Monir Hassan, a resident of Dhanmondi, as saying.

Monir also fears violence.

On Saturday, at least 14 polling stations in Bangladesh were set on fire, including one on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka.

On Friday night, at least four people were killed and many others injured as arsonists set a running train on fire in Dhaka. Overall, nine people have lost their lives in eight incidents of arson on trains since November 16.

Additionally, at least five people have been killed in clashes and attacks on rival rallies since the official start of the election campaigns on December 18.

The ruling party has done everything it could to make the election look participatory and competitive. It allowed party leaders to join the polls in droves as ”independent” candidates. As a result, in every seat, two or more AL candidates are pitted against each other.

The AL also formed dedicated teams across the country to bring as many voters as possible to the polling centres to ensure high turnout in efforts to garner international support.

”Come to the polling centres without fear and cast your vote to exercise your constitutional rights. Don’t bow down to any intervention and intimidation,” AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader told a press conference on Saturday.

”I will ask them (people) to come (and vote) as it is a beautiful day. It is a winter morning, and everybody is excited and eagerly waiting (to cast their votes),” said Bangladesh actor and Awami League leader Firdous Ahmed.

Former Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Sakhawat Hussain termed Sunday’s polls a unique one compared to the previous two elections.

”This time the election is taking place between candidates from the same party in the name of independents and dummies. As a result, voters are less interested in the polls,” said Sakhawat.

He also said some parties that joined the race are not well-known, while some are facing existential crisis.

”So, it is a unique model election … Results of the election are certain, everybody knows who is going to win. The only thing that is uncertain is who will be in the opposition bench,” he added.

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Apparent arson on a train in Bangladesh kills 4 ahead of tense Sunday election

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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An apparent arson fire on a train in Bangladesh’s capital killed four people late Friday and added to the country’s extreme tension ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections that the opposition is seeking to boycott and disrupt with a general strike.

The fire rapidly raced through four coaches in the passenger train in what one police official called an attack aimed at scaring people ahead of the voting, though authorities did not immediately name any individuals or groups as suspects.

Bangladesh frequently has violence surrounding elections, and Sunday’s voting comes amid an increasingly polarized political culture led by two powerful women — current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former premier Khaleda Zia, an opposition leader currently under house arrest.

Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party and other opposition groups are boycotting, saying elections wouldn’t be free or fair under Hasina. They had demanded she step aside and let a neutral caretaker government administer the polling, but her government insisted there was no provision in the constitution for such a move.

The fire on the train broke out as it was moving toward Dhaka’s main railway station about 9 p.m., Rakibul Hasan, a duty officer of the Fire Service and Civil Defense, told The Associated Press by phone. At least four bodies were recovered from inside the train, police told reporters at the scene.

Mahid Uddin, an additional police commissioner with the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said the fire was “clearly an act of sabotage” aimed at scaring people ahead of the election. He did not name any political party or groups as suspects, but said police would seek those responsible.

Seven firefighting units were sent to the scene to douse the blaze, Hasan said.

Campaigning for the elections officially came to an end Friday morning. The Election Commission announced polling would be held in 299 constituencies out of 300 across the country on Sunday. The election in one constituency was postponed after an independent candidate died of natural causes.

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, a senior joint secretary general in Zia’s party, has urged people not to vote on Sunday and called for a 48-hour general strike beginning 6 a.m. on Saturday and ending 6 a.m. on Monday.

On Friday morning, Rizvi led more than 100 opposition leaders and activists who were holding sticks and chanting anti-government slogans as they marched in the capital’s Karwan Bazar area.

“People will not accept this illegal election. People will not accept this election of looters,” Rizvi said during the march.

Hasina addressed the nation in a last televised campaign speech Thursday night, urging people to head to ballot stations.

“If I have made any mistakes along the way, I ask your forgiveness. If I can form the government again, I will get a chance to correct the mistakes. Give me an opportunity to serve you,” she said.

Earlier on Thursday, Hasina, addressing a huge campaign rally at Fatullah near Dhaka, urged all to maintain peace across the country.

At least three people have been killed in violence attributed to political clashes since the campaign officially began Dec. 18. Bangladesh has a history of violence during elections and this year’s election is drawing international attention.

The U.N. Secretary-General’s Associate Spokeswoman Florencia Soto Nino in New York said Wednesday: “We’re watching the process closely, and we hope that all elections happen in a transparent and organized manner.”

Critics have accused Hasina of systemically suffocating the opposition by implementing repressive security measures. Zia’s party claimed that more than 20,000 opposition supporters have been arrested. The government said those figures were inflated and denied arrests were made due to political leanings, but rather for criminal charges such as arson and vandalism.

Nearly 1.6 million people — half of them security personnel — will oversee the election, with 119.1 million registered voters eligible to vote in more than 42,000 polling stations, the commission said. Troops have also been deployed across the country to assist when needed under the supervision of magistrates, a common practice in Bangladesh during general elections.

The Election Commission said Thursday that about 300 foreign observers, more than 70 of them are foreign journalists have been authorized to monitor and cover the election.

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Bangladesh’s forex reserves stand at $17.20 billion, little short of the IMF’s relaxed target

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $17.20 billion at the end of December 2023, falling short of the relaxed target of a minimum of $17.78 billion set by the IMF, according to media reports on Wednesday.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $4.7 billion loan for Bangladesh in January last year and fixed a minimum Forex Reserve, also called the Net International Reserve (NIR) of $26.81 billion by December 2023 end.

However, that target was later relaxed to $17.78 billion, $19.27 billion for March and $20.11 billion for June, The Daily Star newspaper reported quoting the IMF document.

We set a target to keep an NIR of more than $17 billion till December 31 and we fulfilled the goal because the NIR stood at $17.20 billion on Sunday (December 31), the daily quoted Bangladesh Bank Executive Director and Spokesperson Md Mezbaul Haque as saying. Our net reserve is close to the IMF target and this is not mandatory to fulfill the goal, Haque added.

Pointing out that the forex reserve increased in December 2023 compared to November 2023, an economist said, Bangladesh would have to maintain the momentum in the coming months to secure the remaining instalments from the IMF.

Leading Bengali daily, Prothom Alo, quoted sources at the Bangladesh Bank and reported an even lesser NIR of $16.75 billion and said, prior to the December shortfall, the Bangladesh Bank had also faced a failure in September. Subsequently, the IMF revised the amount following a request from the Bangladesh side. However, the authorities were unable to retain that reduced amount at the end of December as well.

Referring to the January 7 general elections, the daily further reported that the Bangladesh side informed the IMF that meeting the targets of reserve and tax revenue will be possible after the parliamentary elections, which, it said, prompted the global lender to relax the loan conditions. The Dhaka Tribune newspaper said, Even though most of the country’s banks are in a dollar crunch, Bangladesh Bank has collected dollars from various banks to maintain reserves as per IMF conditions.

In addition to import control, Bangladesh Bank has succeeded in preserving reserves as a result of multi-faceted activities to encourage a sending of remittances through banking channels, continued growth of export income, and quick loan disbursement from the IMF, it said even as it maintained that the IMF target was $17.48, which the country’s central bank exceeded. Bangladesh had received the second instalment from the IMF in October 2023 after it had met all but two conditions set by the Washington-based lender, the Dhaka Tribune said, adding, that during a review meeting then, the IMF team had found that Bangladesh had not achieved the reserve and revenue collection targets.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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Sheikh Hasina announces Awami League’s poll manifesto, pledges to build ‘Smart Bangladesh’

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Bangladesh Prime Minister and ruling Awami League’s president Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday launched her party’s poll manifesto, pledging to build a Smart Bangladesh if elected for a fourth consecutive term in the January 7 general elections, being boycotted by the main opposition BNP. Come; once again allow us to serve you by voting for the boat’, the election symbol of the Awami League, Hasina, along with senior party leaders and sympathisers, said while unveiling her party’s poll manifesto in a crowded press conference.

You vote for us; we will give you development, peace, and prosperity, Hasina, 76, said, adding that her party does not believe in rhetoric, but implements whatever it promises. The Awami League coined Smart Bangladesh: Development is visible, now employment will enhance as the theme for the manifesto, setting 11 priorities for building a modern, technology-oriented country, and pledges to modernise the healthcare sector with a universal health system.

“In the 2008 election manifesto, we announced Vision 2021, which was a charter of change. We successfully ran the country after overcoming hundreds of hurdles by winning the 2014 and 2018 elections,” Hasina said. Meanwhile, ailing former premier Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is carrying out an anti-election street campaign, calling for intermittent strikes and transport blockades, saying no election under the incumbent government would be fair or neutral.

The BNP has also called for civil disobedience against the Hasina-led dispensation, urging people not to pay taxes and utility bills to press its demand for a non-party interim government for election oversight by amending the country’s Constitution. The BNP is boycotting the election after its demand for an interim non-party neutral government to organise the voting was rejected by the government. The party had boycotted the 2014 election but took part in 2018 polls, which party leaders later said was a mistake alleging that the voting was marred with widespread rigging and intimidation.

Launching the manifesto, Hasina criticised the Opposition, saying, Whenever the election comes, an anti-liberation, anti-Bangladesh, and anti-development circle becomes active with a leap of conspiracy. She said ahead of the polls every time, the Opposition appeared in the political landscape to grab the state power through back doors and if unsuccessful, they jump on the people in the spirit of revenge.

They want to intimidate the public through arson, vehicle burning, bombing, sabotage, or terrorist activities. This time was no exception, Hasina said. Since October 29, the BNP has been holding intermittent nationwide strikes and transport blockades. According to a media tally, 11 people died, 386 vehicles were torched, and four trains were derailed from tracks in the past two months in political violence. Police arrested thousands of opposition activists and figures, including de-facto BNP leader and party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, over charges of violence.

Hasina alleged that BNP is hatching conspiracies from abroad, in an apparent reference to the party’s acting chairman and Zia’s son Tarique Rahman who has taken refuge in the UK to evade jail terms. Several Bangladeshi courts declared Rahman a fugitive as he took refuge in the UK to evade jail terms for several criminal charges, including a grenade attack on a rally of the then-opposition Awami League in 2004 in which 24 people were killed.

Hasina narrowly escaped the attack, which also wounded some 500 of her party leaders, activists and supporters. Zia, 79, was also convicted and jailed on two graft charges with a 17-year jail term. However, she is now in a hospital with multiple health issues.

The US and other major Western countries called for dialogue between the ruling Awami League and particularly with the BNP to ensure an inclusive and credible election, which, however, saw no headway due to reluctance from both sides. With the BNP boycotting the election, and no other credible opposition party against it, Hasina’s Awami League is likely to gain an upper hand and likely to form the government for the fourth consecutive term.

BNP’s boycott of polls had initially exposed the Awami League to a challenge of legitimising the January 7 polls as the Jatiya Party (JAPA), which is officially or technically the main opposition in the current Parliament, was also reluctant to take part in the upcoming elections. However, earlier this month, Awami League decided to spare 26 out of the 300 parliamentary seats to JAPA in an apparent effort to persuade the party to take part in the January 7 elections in BNP’s absence, while its nominees withdrew their candidature from these seats.

Political analysts opined that the JAPA’s previous stance of unwillingness to contest the polls was a bargaining technique. Awami League also left six seats to its partners in the 14-party ruling alliance — three seats to left leaning Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JASOD), two to the Workers Party and one to another Jatiya Party faction called JP.

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Cyclone Midhili: IMD issues heavy rain alert for West Bengal, Odisha

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The deep depression over Bay of Bengal has intensified into cyclonic storm ‘Midhili’ and is moving towards the coast of Bangladesh at a speed of 17 kmph, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD). The cyclonic storm is expected to cross Bangladesh coast close to Khepupara with wind speed of 60-70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph during the night of November 17 and early hours of November 18, according to the weather agency.

The weather forecaster predicted light to moderate rainfall in many places across coastal West Bengal and Odisha as it grazes past the Sunderbans, with isolated heavy rain in some areas on Friday due to the impact of the cyclonic storm.

“CS Midhili over Northwest and adjoining Northeast BoB lay about 250 km ENE of Paradip, 180 km ESE of Digha and 180km SW of Khepupara. Likely to move N NE and cross Bangladesh coast close to Khepupara with wind speed of 60-70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph during night of 17th Nov, 2023,” IMD tweeted.

In view of worsening weather, IMD advised the fishermen to not venture into the sea till Saturday to avoid rough sea conditions.

Odisha’s Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) has put all the District Collectors on alert in the wake of the cyclone in the Bay of Bengal. “We do not want to take any chance and therefore put the state machinery on alert for any eventuality,” Satyabrata Sahoo said.

The cyclonic storm is expected to continue moving towards the north or northeast direction and it will make a landfall between Mongla and Khepupara areas of the neighbouring country by Friday night or early Saturday morning.

The cyclonic storm has been named as ‘Midhili’, as per the name proposed by Maldives. The names to the cyclones are assigned in a sequence by countries that are affected by them in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.

According to IMD Scientist Uma Shankar Das, there will be no direct impact on Odisha as the cyclonic storm is moving towards the Bangladesh coast, reported PTI.

VIDEO | “The deep depression that formed today morning in the Bay of Bengal moved in a north-northeast direction. It is about 320 km south-southeast of Paradeep. We are expecting the system to further intensify into a cyclonic storm in the next 24 hours and likely to cross the… pic.twitter.com/bzN6rGRow3

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 16, 2023

The weather agency also predicted light to moderate rainfall in several states, including the isolated heavy rain in parts of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, on Friday and Saturday. Besides these states, it is expected that heavy rainfall might also occur in south Assam and east Meghalaya on Friday and Saturday.

Meanwhile, Mizoram government on Friday sounded an alert following heavy rain in the northeastern state. Mizoram shares a 318-km-long border with Bangladesh.

According to IMD forecast, Tamil Nadu is also likely to witness light to moderate rainfall at some places with isolated heavy rainfall till November 20.

Midhili is going to be the third cyclone in the northern part of Bay of Bengal following Tej and Hamoon in the last one month. Also, this is the second deep depression during this season.

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