United News of Bangladesh

A Rangpur court on Monday placed Habibur Rahman Selim, who was arrested for his alleged involvement in inciting violence during an attack on the homes of the minority community in Gangachara upazila of Rangpur, on a three-day remand. Judge of the Rangpur Senior Judicial Cognizance Court-1, Krishna Kamal Roy passed the order after rejecting his bail petition filed by his lawyer, said court inspector Aminul Islam. Journalist arrested for ‘instigating violence’ in Rangpur Earlier, police produced him before the court amid tight security with five day remand prayer. Members of Bangladesh Army arrested Habibur Rahman Selim, a correspondent for a local daily ‘Dainik Juger Alo’ from his home in Chawdapara village early Sunday. According to police and local sources, Selim is accused of provoking attackers during the July 26 incident in Betgari union, which followed outrage over a social media post by a Hindu youth allegedly defaming the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Some 22 dwelling houses were vandalised and looted in Balapara village of Gangachara upazila on that day.  On July 29, a case was filed against 1200 people in this connection.  So far, six people have been arrested in this connection, said OC Al Imran.  

A European Union pre-election observation team is set to visit Bangladesh in mid-September to assess the electoral environment ahead of the 13th parliamentary election, Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said on Sunday. “A pre-election observer team of the European Union will visit in mid-September. It will include three international and four local observers,” he said, citing a formal communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received earlier in the day. The EC Secretary made the remark while talking to reporters about the electoral preparation at his office in the city’s Nirbachan Bhaban. US-EU trade agreement eases tensions but raises costs for businesses and consumers He said the EU team would observe the pre-election environment and assess the EC’s readiness for the upcoming parliamentary polls. Audit Reports Akhtar Ahmed informed, as per legal provisions, registered political parties are required to submit the audited financial statement (audit report) of the immediate past calendar year by July 31. Of the 51 registered parties, 30 have submitted their audit reports, while 15 have sought an extension of the deadline and the rest six ones are newly registered. Among the newly registered parties, one party responded saying that they are still not yet eligible to submit an audit report based on last year. Five other parties neither responded, he said. Now this statistical update will be forwarded (from EC Secretariat) to the Commission which will decide on further action, said the EC Secretary. Party Registration The EC received 148 applications for new political party registration by the June 22 deadline, of which three were duplicates, leaving 145 valid applications. All the 145 parties were asked to submit additional documents to rectify inconsistencies. “Eighty parties have submitted their documents. Six sought time extensions. Fifty-nine did not respond. We will place these cases before the Commission for further instructions,” Akhtar said, adding that the submitted documents are now under review to verify compliance. Voter Lists The EC is preparing to publish two supplementary voter lists by August 10 — one listing newly registered voters and another for deceased voters whose names will be removed. The draft supplementary list of newly eligible voters—those born on or before January 1, 2007—along with a draft list of deceased voters will be published on August 10, he said. The Commission will accept applications regarding corrections, voting address changes, or removal of ineligible or deceased voters from the two draft lists until August 21. After scrutiny, eligible names will be included, and names of the deceased will be dropped accordingly. The final electoral rolls list, including the supplementary data, will be published on August 31. The EC Secretary said three separate voter lists will be released this year –  the first one was published on March 2 last, the second one to be published on August 31 and the third one for newly eligible voters based on a fresh cut-off before the announcement of the next election schedule. Now there are some 123.7 million (123732274) voters throughout the country, according to the latest finalised voter list published on March 02 last.  

Former Chief of Bangladesh Army, Lieutenant General (retd) M Harun-Ar-Rashid Bir Protik, was found dead at the Chittagong Club guest house on Monday morning. The 77-year-old had travelled to Chattogram on Sunday to appear before a court in a graft case linked to Destiny Multipurpose Co-operative Society Ltd, according to police citing family sources. Body of missing sand quarry worker recovered in Sylhet He had checked in at the guest house upon arrival. When there was no response from his room for an extended period the next morning, club officials grew concerned and alerted the police, said Mohammad Mahfuz, Assistant Commissioner of Chattogram Metropolitan Police (Kotwali zone). Officers forced the door open and discovered his body inside. It was later sent to the Combined Military Hospital in Chattogram. Harun-Ar-Rashid served as Chief of Army Staff from 2000 until June 16, 2002. He is survived by wife, one son, one daughter and many relatives. His cousin, Professor Dr Najmun Nahar, said no postmortem would be conducted, and he will be laid to rest at the family graveyard in Katirhat village of Hathazari upazila, following a namaz-e-janaza at Chittagong Cantonment.

Referring to 1971 issues with Pakistan, Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Monday said each issue would be on the table for discussions as Dhaka is set to receive his Pakistani counterpart on August 23. Bangladesh, Pakistan express solidarity with Palestine "Each issue will be on the table," Adviser Hossain told reporters when asked whether Bangladesh will raise the issues of seeking public apology by Pakistan and due compensation. Talking to the journalists at the Foreign Service Academy, Hossain said the interim government is approaching in a "pragmatic way" in terms of its relations with Pakistan, stressing that everything will be on the table for discussion during Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan Ishaq Dar's scheduled visit later this month. During Foreign Secretary level talks in Dhaka on April 17, Bangladesh raised historical unsettled issues with Pakistan, including a formal public apology for the atrocities committed against Bangladesh during 1971 War of Liberation by the Pakistan forces and pending financial claims from Pakistan. These issues need to be resolved for having a solid foundation of our relations, said then Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin. Responding to a question, Adviser Hossain, said Bangladesh does not decide how India develops its relations with Pakistan and the same way India does not decide how Bangladesh develops its relations with Pakistan. Hossain said they do not want to see one aspect of relations gets stuck for another aspect of the relations. Bangladesh sees willingness from the Pakistan side to remain engaged on those issues as the talks began between Dhaka and Islamabad after 15 years. Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on August 23 to discuss ways to strengthen coordination with Bangladesh. Dhaka to urge Beijing for lower interest rates, extended repayment period: Touhid Hossain He will have a bilateral meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on August 24 in addition to his other engagements. His previous scheduled visit to Bangladesh in April was postponed. The visit was postponed amid escalating tensions between Pakistan and India following a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. “Owing to unforeseen circumstances, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan is unable to undertake the visit to Bangladesh on 27-28 April 2025,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan at that time. Later, the two sides finalised new date through mutual consultations. In July last week, Bangladesh and Pakistan expressed deep concern over the ongoing Israeli aggression and the worsening humanitarian crisis in Palestine, reiterating their unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people and their just cause. The message was conveyed during a meeting between Ishaq Dar and Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Hossain, held on the sidelines of the International Conference on the Two-State Solution at the United Nations. This was their fourth meeting since October 2024. They also reviewed bilateral ties and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening political, economic and cultural cooperation, while exploring ways to enhance connectivity and people-to-people exchanges, the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka said. The two sides agreed to undertake high-level visits in the near future.  

The proposed ‘Dhaka Central University’ for   seven government colleges will hold 40 percent of the classes online and the remaining 60 percent in person. “It will be an interdisciplinary and hybrid university where 40 percent of the classes will be held online and 60 percent in-person. All examinations will be conducted in person,” said Md Mojibur Rahman, Additional Secretary (routine charge) of the Secondary and Higher Education Division, at a press conference at the Secretariat on Monday. Students of seven colleges withdraw protest proprammes The briefing was arranged to inform the media about the progress in establishing the proposed university for the seven colleges. Mojibur Rahman said all the students will study non-major courses during the first four semesters. In the next four semesters, they will take major courses based on their chosen discipline. “Students will be allowed to change their discipline at the beginning of the fifth semester if they meet certain conditions but campus transfers will not be permitted,” he said. The academic and research activities will be organised based on four schools, spread across the seven colleges. ·        School of Science: Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College, Begum Badrunnesa Government Women’s College ·        School of Arts and Humanities: Government Titumir College ·        School of Business: Government Titumir College ·        School of Law and Justice: Kabi Nazrul Government College and Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College The main campus of the proposed university will be set up at a centrally convenient location, Mojibur Rahman said. He said the colleges will continue offering higher secondary education, and education cadre officers will remain posted there. Once the university is fully operational teachers for the tertiary level will be appointed following university recruitment standards, he said. Students of DU and seven colleges clash The ordinance for establishing the new university is expected to be issued within this year and the upcoming admission process will follow the existing procedures. The Additional Secretary said the proposed university’s academic and administrative affairs will be governed by an academic council, a senate, and a syndicate. The university will appoint a proctor along with one male and one female deputy proctor at each of the seven colleges, making a total of 14 deputy proctors. Five of the seven colleges will continue operating higher secondary sections. Undergraduate and higher secondary students will share campus facilities through a time, space, and resource-sharing model, he said. “All students will receive laptops and essential accessories in their first year and arrangements will be made to provide low-cost internet services,” he added. When asked about the status of current teachers, UGC member Prof Tanzimuddin Khan said, “The fundamental nature of the colleges will remain unchanged. They will continue as colleges, and existing teachers will remain in their posts under the current structure. Once the university is fully functional, its academic structure will be separate from the colleges. University teachers will be appointed through standard university recruitment processes. Eligible college teachers may apply and join the university through the existing process if they wish.” The seven colleges—Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College, Begum Badrunnesa Government Women’s College, Government Titumir College, Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College, Kabi Nazrul Government College, and Government Bangla College—were affiliated with the National University in 1992. In 2017, to address academic and administrative challenges under the National University, the colleges were affiliated with Dhaka University. Later, students demanded that the affiliation be revoked due to worsening problems and instead called for a new independent university to govern the colleges. On October 24 last year, a committee was formed to evaluate the students’ demands. A high-level expert committee recommended the formation of a university for the seven colleges and submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Education. University Grants Commission Chairman Prof SMA Faiz, interim administrator of the seven colleges and Dhaka College Principal Prof. AKM Elias were, among others, present at the press conference.

Stressing the government’s ongoing efforts to recover illegal arms and improve the law-and-order situation, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Monday said the nationwide special drive will continue until the national election. “Although we haven’t been able to recover all the arms that have gone missing, efforts are going on. This special drive is being carried out across the country and will continue until the election,” he told reporters after a meeting of the Law and Order Core Committee at the Secretariat. He said mob violence will come down to zero and no leniency will be shown in such cases. The election will be held under the current law enforcement agencies and it will be conducted smoothly, the adviser said. The Adviser emphasised that discussions at the meeting covered all aspects of national security, including recent incidents and potential future challenges. People-friendly policing key to restoring public trust: Home Affairs Adviser “We focus particularly on drug-related crimes, which have become a major issue. While many Yaba smugglers are being held, the big players are still at large. We are working to bring them under the law,” Alam Chowdhury said. Asked whether there was any security concern surrounding August 5, he replied, “You are better judges of how things were on August 5 after the Awami League had left office. Compare that with today. Whether there’s been any improvement is for you to assess.” Admitting that the law-and-order situation in Bangladesh has never matched international standards, he said they could not reach that level but prayed for the future government to do so. On public concerns over unrest, especially on August 5, Alam Chowdhury dismissed any fear, saying, “There’s no reason to panic. All programmes will be held peacefully, InshaAlah. We just need your cooperation in covering these events responsibly.” On election-related violence, he reaffirmed that the government is training forces and increasing deployment to maintain peace. 92 arrested, 216 looted arms recovered from Sept 4 to Sept 25: Police HQ In response to concerns about unequal police protection, the adviser said all parties receive security based on vulnerability assessments provided by agencies and media inputs.

Bus services on Sylhet-Sunamagnj road have been suspended as an indefinite strike is underway centring a scuffle between students of Sunamganj Science and Technology University (SSTU) and a bus employee over fare on Sunday. Sources said some university students boarded a bus from Sunamganj town to their temporary campus in Shantiganj on Sunday. An argument over fares broke out between the students and transport workers, leading to scuffle. The transport workers allege that students vandalised the bus and assaulted the driver and helper. Workers blocked the Sylhet-Sunamganj highway for two hours on Sunday afternoon, halting traffic on both ends. CNG-run autos on indefinite strike in B’baria over police harassment Although police intervention ended the blockade by 5pm, transport workers announced an indefinite strike on Monday demanding justice. Only buses on the Sylhet-Sunamganj route are not operating, not in the entire region, said Sylhet District Bus and Minibus Workers’ Union Joint General Secretary Ali Akbar Rajon. They will continue the strike until their demands are met, he said.

Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Monday slammed a section of economists for their reluctance to see any positive move of the country's economy and urged them to see things with inner eyes. “There are some junior economists, they do not see anything at all, I know them all very well, I have been teaching since 1970, and all of them are my students. If you want to see, you need to have eyes, inner eyes,” he said. The Adviser was speaking at a seminar on activities of income tax, VAT and Customs in the 2025-26 budget and inauguration of the e-return submission for the 2025-26 fiscal. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) organised the programme at its headquarters with its chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan in the chair. Dr Salehuddin asked the young economists of the country to change their attitude and recognize good things. “It needs an attitude, if we do not want to see, then we will not see anything,” he said. He also admitted that there are many mistakes of this government, but if anyone encourages the good things it brings in a positive move for all concerns. “This is not right that you will tell anything mixing your imaginations. Whatever, we have independence (to say anything), they will continue to say.” Bangladesh’s private sector credit growth dips below 7% amid economic uncertainty  The Finance Adviser urged the mass media to focus on the positive side of the government in a bigger way. “Let’s see the mistakes less, always try to see the glass is half-full rather than half-empty,” he said. Regarding the e-return of the income tax issue, he highly lauded the NBR for this great job. “NBR is the centre point of the revenue, trade and commerce, it is not only to collect revenues, but also facilitate the trade and commerce of the country,” he said. Dr Salehuddin mentioned that time has come to ensure the transparency and accountability of everything. The Adviser, who was the central bank governor during BNP-Jamaat regime, said whatever the law enacted by the government, it might be deviated due to the men behind who will implement that. “Those people might have anger or affection on anything, this has to be averted,” he asked the NBR officials. Dr Salehuddin appreciated the NBR officials for their rigorous tasks to gather revenue for the country saying that everyone lauded NBR, even the Chief Adviser. Meanwhile, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has made online submission of income tax returns mandatory for all individual taxpayers across the country, except for senior citizens aged 65 years or above, physically incapable or taxpayers with special need subject to submission of certificates, Bangladeshi taxpayers residing abroad and legal representatives of deceased taxpayers. According to the NBR, from August 4, 2025, all individual taxpayers will be able to submit their returns for the 2025-26 tax year online through the NBR’s e-return platform. (www.etaxnbr.gov.bd). The exempted categories will, however, retain the option to submit paper returns if they wish. Any individual taxpayer unable to submit online returns due to registration-related technical problems may, upon submitting a written application with proper justification to the concerned Deputy Commissioner of Taxes, be allowed to file paper returns with the approval of the Additional or Joint Commissioner of Taxes. The deadline for such applications is October 31, 2025. Bangladesh's exports hit $48 billion in FY25, marking 8.58% growth Last year, when NBR introduced mandatory online return submission for taxpayers under certain jurisdictions, employees of all banks, and employees of selected multinational companies, more than 1.7 million taxpayers filed their returns online. Taxpayers can conveniently pay their taxes from home through bank transfer, debit card, credit card, bKash, Rocket, Nagad, or other mobile financial service apps while filing their returns online. To facilitate the process, NBR has deployed dedicated teams to provide round-the-clock assistance through its call center and other electronic support channels to resolve any issues faced by taxpayers in filing their returns.

Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecast light to moderate rain in all divisions, including Dhaka, in next 24 hours commencing 9am on Monday. ”Light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely to occur at most places over Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions and at many places over Khulna, Barishal and Chattogram divisions with moderately heavy to very heavy falls at places over the country,” according to the BMD. Day and night temperature may fall slightly over the country. Maritime ports of the country have been advised to lower signal, read the met office updates.  Rains likely in Dhaka, other divisions: BMD The axis of monsoon troughs runs through Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal to Assam across northern part of Bangladesh. One of its associated troughs extends up to North Bay. Monsoon is active over Bangladesh and moderate over the North Bay.

A Jashore court on Sunday sentenced three people to death and another to two years in jail in a case over the killing of a three-wheeler driver in Bagherpara upazila of the district around five years back.   Jashore Additional District and Sessions Judge of the 2nd court Jayanti Rani Das passed the order in the presence of one of the death-row convicts; said the court’s Additional Public Prosecutor SM Abdur Razzak. Those sentenced to death are Jewel Khan, son of Jahangir Khan of Rampur village in Shalikha upazila of Magura, Harun-or-Rashid, son of Selim Hossain of the same upazila, and Alamin, son of Hazrat Ali, a resident of Uttar Lalitadah village in Jashore Sadar. They were fined Tk 40, 000 each while only Harun was present during the delivery of the judgment. Besides, Russell Mollah, son of Sultan Mallik of Shabuj Nagar village in Pirojpur Sadar, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. He was also fined Tk 10, 000, in default of which he will suffer three months’ more in jail. According to the case statement, three-wheeler driver Al Amin, a resident of Harishpur village under the Shalikha upazila of Magura, went missing since he went out of home for work on December 9 in 2021. Man gets death penalty for violating daughter in Manikganj His vehicle was recovered by Chasda police  in Jashore a day after his missing. On the same day, locals spotted his body lying along a road in Budhopur village under Bagherpara upazila. On December 11 of the same year, the victim’s father Mostafizur Rahman filed a case accusing some unidentified people with the police station concerned. On December 25, police arrested four accused and submitted the chargesheet against them on December 14 in 2022. The convicts hijacked the vehicle after killing Al Amin and sold it to Russell, according to the chargesheet.