International

A young Bangladeshi woman smiles as her two fellows apply coloured powder on her face during celebrations of a festival in Dhaka.

Electricity producer Summit Power International plans to list on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) by April, what is likely the first company from Bangladesh to offer shares in the city-state, as it seeks to raise funds to invest in assets across Asia. Bangladesh’s economic growth soared by 7.28% in the financial year that ended in June 2017 and its population is expected to climb to over 185mn people by 2030. Together with Pakistan and India, the country is making South Asia a hotspot for liquefied natural gas (LNG) demand, attracting investment from gas producers and power plant builders after years of the country being considered an energy backwater. “The stock market in Bangladesh is small and our financial demands are much larger... Singapore seems to be becoming a global financial market, so it looks like a good place to list in,” Muhammed Aziz Khan, chairman, Summit Group, the conglomerate that owns Summit Power, said in an  interview in Singapore. SGX has granted Summit Power eligibility to list on the exchange, Khan said. SGX declined to confirm the company’s eligibility since the exchange does not typically comment on potential listings, a spokeswoman said. Summit Power is likely to be the first Bangladeshi firm to list in Singapore; however, the SGX declined to comment. The company has appointed Citigroup, DBS and UBS as global coordinators, Khan said. However, Khan declined to give a value of the initial public offering (IPO), saying the information was confidential. Summit Power has about a 13% share of Bangladesh’s electricity generation market, operating 15 power plants with a combined capacity of about 1,200 megawatts (MW). Summit is also developing Bangladesh’s second floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) to handle LNG imports, with the ability to regasify and add 500mn cubic feet per day (cfd) of natural gas to the  national grid. The facility will be located in the Moheshkhali region in the Bay of Bengal is expected to be ready by early next year, said Khan. Overall, the Summit Group conglomerate had revenue last year of around $500mn from the energy unit as well as its other businesses including port services, communications, hospitality and industrial parks. Still, the Summit Power unit plans to invest huge sums in projects over the next five years, including in LNG assets in Bangladesh as well as power projects across Asia, Khan said. “We are looking to invest substantially in the near future and have a robust multi-billion pipeline of projects over the next five years,” he said, without saying how the projects would be funded. Summit, along with Norway’s Hoegh LNG, is also looking to build a regasification unit in the port of Payra, about 194km (121 miles) south of the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, that could send out 1bn cfd of gas, an industry source familiar with the matter said, declining to be named due to the  confidentiality of the plans. With up to 30% of the over 160mn people in Bangladesh lacking access to electricity, Summit hopes to invest in projects to meet that expected increase in demand, said Khan. Bangladesh will require about 7mn tonnes of LNG by 2022 and similar volumes of coal by 2024, Khan said. “These infrastructure projects are capital intensive and require a lot of money to  implement them,” he said. Summit is also looking to expand into power plant projects outside of Bangladesh. It has bid for a 330-MW plant in Sri Lanka and is studying the markets in Vietnam and Indonesia to tap potential growth, Khan said. Muhammed Aziz Khan, chairman, Summit Group.

Bangladesh’s High Court has accepted petitions by imprisoned former prime minister and main opposition BNP chief Khaleda Zia seeking bail and challenging a five-year jail term given to her by a lower court on graft charges. The 72-year-old three-time former prime minister was sentenced by Dhaka’s Special Court on February 8 in connection with the embezzlement of 21mn taka ($250,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust, named after her late husband Ziaur Rahman, a  military ruler-turned-politician. “The (two-judge) bench accepted the petitions and fixed Sunday for hearing her bail prayer particularly,” a High Court official told newsmen. He said the bench comprising judges M Enayetur Rahim and Shahidul Karim simultaneously stayed fine of 21mn taka ($1=80 taka) that the trial slapped on Zia alongside the prison term and asked authorities concerned to forward the case records in 15 days for hearing on the appeal petition. The High Court order came as Zia s counsels filed two petitions two days after the defence counsels challenged her conviction against the lower court verdict. Zia s lawyers earlier said in their 1,223-page prayer they cited 25 grounds for her acquittal alleging that the verdict was politically motivated to debar her from contesting upcoming elections, an allegation denied by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government. Political analysts feared the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) was facing political crisis after Zia s conviction, which is likely to disqualify her from  contesting elections. The BNP had boycotted the general election in 2014 and spearheaded a protracted street campaign enforcing a nationwide blockade coinciding with its first anniversary that saw some 500 people dead in arson attacks. Zia, however, appears to be seeking to contest the next polls set for December this year. BNP secretary-general Mirza Falhrul Islam Alamgir last week told a protest rally that the party would not take part in polls discarding Zia saying “no national election will be held without BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia”. But Prime Minister Hasina said her government could do nothing if BNP again decides to boycott the upcoming polls. “The elections will be held in due time,” she added.

Bangladesh is racing to turn an uninhabited and muddy Bay of Bengal island into home for 100,000 Rohingya who have fled a military crackdown in Myanmar, amid conflicting signals from top Bangladeshi officials about whether the refugees would end up being stranded there. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said earlier this week that putting Rohingya on the low-lying island would be a “temporary arrangement” to ease congestion at the camps in Cox’s Bazar, refuge for nearly 700,000 who have crossed from the north of Myanmar’s Rakhine state since the end of August last year. However, one of her advisers told Reuters that, once there, they would only be able to leave the island if they wanted to go back to Myanmar or were selected for asylum by a third country. “It’s not a concentration camp, but there may be some restrictions. We are not giving them a Bangladeshi passport or ID card,” said H T Imam, adding that the island would have a police encampment with 40-50 armed personnel. British and Chinese engineers are helping prepare the island to receive refugees before the onset of monsoon rains, which could bring disastrous flooding to ramshackle camps further south that now teem with about 1mn Rohingya. The rains could start as early as late April. Hasina’s adviser, Imam, said the question of selecting Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar to move to the island was not finalised, but it could be decided by lottery or on a volunteer-basis. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement: “We would emphasise that any relocation plan involving refugees would need to be based on and implemented through voluntary and informed decisions.” Humanitarian agencies criticised the plan to bring Rohingya to the island when it was first proposed in 2015. Aid workers who spoke to Reuters said they remain seriously concerned that the silt island is vulnerable to frequent cyclones and cannot sustain livelihoods for thousands of people. But work on the project has accelerated in recent months, according to architectural plans and two letters from the Bangladesh navy to local government officials and contractors seen by Reuters. A year ago, when Reuters journalists visited Bhasan Char — whose name means “floating island” — there were no roads, buildings or people. Returning on February 14, they found hundreds of labourers carrying bricks and sand from ships on its muddy northwest shore. Satellite images now show roads and what appears to be a helipad. Floating Island, which emerged from the silt only about 20 years ago, is about 30km from the mainland. Flat and shape-shifting, it regularly floods during June-September. Pirates roam the nearby waters and kidnap fishermen for ransom, residents of nearby islands say. The plans show metal-roofed, brick buildings raised on pylons and fitted with solar panels. There will be 1,440 blocks, each housing 16 families. Chinese construction company Sinohydro — better known for building China’s Three Gorges Dam — has begun work on a 13km flood-defence embankment for the $280mn project. A Sinohydro engineer on Bhasan Char, reached by telephone later, said the company had “confidentiality agreements” and that questions about construction on the island should be referred to the Bangladesh government. HR Wallingford, a British engineering and environmental hydraulics consultancy, is advising the project on “coastal stabilisation and flood protection measures”, the company told Reuters in a statement earlier this month. “The coastal infrastructure design is expected to include a flood defence embankment protecting the development area to international standards, set back from the shoreline,” it said. The company referred further inquiries to the Bangladesh Navy. Omar Waraich, Deputy South Asia Director for rights group Amnesty International, said there was “no one in the humanitarian community we spoke to who thought this was a good idea”. “This is a silt island that only emerged into view recently,” he said. Residents of nearby Sandwip island, which is larger and less remote, say monsoon storms regularly kill people, destroy homes and cut contact with the mainland. However, a senior member of the prime minister’s staff, Director General Kabir Bin Anwar, said humanitarian organisations critical of the plan were “absolutely wrong because they don’t understand the topography” of Bangladesh. The government was building cyclone shelters on the island, he said, adding that there were salt-tolerant paddies and people living there could fish or graze cows and buffalo. Anwar also dismissed concerns about delivering basic aid to the island. “We don’t need help from any foreign NGOs or local NGOs. We can feed them,” he said. Bangladeshis living on nearby islands are critical of their government’s efforts for the Rohingya. Belal Beg, 80, who was born on Sandwip island, said there was resistance to settling Rohingya on Bhasan Char because huge numbers of Bangladeshis are displaced by coastal erosion each year with no measures taken to protect them. “We should first care for our own people but the government is deciding to give shelter to immigrants,” Beg said. Many Rohingya also reject the idea of moving to an island even further from Myanmar, which many of them have called home for generations. Jahid Hussain, a Rohingya refugee at Chakmakul refugee camp in Bangladesh, said he had fled Myanmar to save his life and would not risk it by living on Bhasan Char. “I would rather die right here,” he said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday directed Bangladesh Army to uphold democracy and constitution and contribute more to building a happy and prosperous Bangladesh. “The army will have to keep up the trend of democracy and constitution and make more important contributions to establishing a modern, developed and prosperous Bangladesh,” she told the 6th Reunion of the Bangladesh Army Engineer Corps at the Engineer Centre and School of Military Engineering (ECSME) at Qadirabad Cantonment in Natore. Sheikh Hasina also asked the members of Bangladesh Army to keep a “constant vigil” to face any internal and external threats for safeguarding the country’s constitution and sovereignty. “You will have to also remain alert so that the country’s law and order is maintained...we want to ensure peace and security of the people and terrorism, militancy and drugs don’t destroy the society,” she said. The PM added: “We want to put Bangladesh on a dignified position of the world and to achieve the goal, all will have to work together.” The prime minister inspected a spectacular parade of a smartly turned out contingent of the Army Engineering Corps and took the salute. Lieutenant Colonel Fariduddin was the parade commander. Ministers, the premier’s advisers, parliament members, the chiefs of three services and high civil and military officials were present on the occasion. Earlier on her arrival at the ECSME Parade Ground, the prime minister was received by Chief of Army Staff General Abu Belal Mohamed Shafiul Huq and the colonel commandant and the commandant of the ECSME. Sheikh Hasina said she has a strong family bond with Bangladesh Army as her two brothers — Shaheed Sheikh Kamal and Shaheed Sheikh Jamal — were members of the army. “My youngest brother Sheikh Russel also wanted to join the army,” she said and mentioned with an emotion charged voice that her three brothers were brutally killed on August 15 in 1975. The prime minister said her government took various measures for turning the professional armed forces into world-standard modern forces which are inspired with the spirit of the Great War of Liberation. She said Bangladesh earned independence under the great leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1971 through the Liberation War. She said Bangabandhu had started work to build the war-ravaged Bangladesh taking the entire nation with him and framed a defence policy to build a strong and trained army suitable to an independent country. “We’ve kept the continuity of the development and expansion of Bangladesh Army by enacting the Armed Forces Goal-2030 in the light of the Defence Policy framed by the Father of the Nation,” she said. The premier said her previous government during 1996-2000 tenure made massive development and welfare of Bangladesh Army. “In the last nine years, we’ve increased the capabilities of the force side by side with making infrastructural change,” she said. Sheikh Hasina said the army was equipped with sophisticated arms and equipment alongside establishing new infantry divisions and brigades. “We’ve set up armoured, composite and para commando brigades as well as Bangladesh Infantry Regiment,” she said. To modernise and make the force time-befitting, she said, modern vehicles, helicopters and arms have been inducted into it. Sheikh Hasina said the Engineer Construction Brigade and the Div Engineer Battalion have already been formed, while a process for formation of the RE Battalion and the Div Engineer Battalion is underway. Later, the prime minister attended the annual commanders’ conference of the Army Engineer Corps.

Bangladesh paid rich tributes to the martyrs of the 1952 historic Language Movement with the clock striking 00.01am yesterday marking ‘Amar Ekushey’ (Immortal Ekushey February), the Language Martyrs Day and International Mother Language Day. The great Language Movement, a significant event in the nation’s history, was aimed at establishing the right of the mother tongue as well as protecting self-entity, and culture and heritage. President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led the nation in paying the homage by placing wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minar at one minute past midnight. On February 21, 1952, students and the common people in Dhaka took to streets in protest against the then government’s denial of Bangla as the national language and imposition of Urdu as the only official language. Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar and other language movement leaders were killed in police firings on this day in 1952 when students came out in a procession from the Dhaka University campus breaching section 144 to press home their demand for the recognition of Bangla as a state language of then East Pakistan. Being a source of ceaseless inspiration, Amar Ekushey (Immortal Shaheed Day) inspired and encouraged the nation to a great extent to achieve the right to self-determination and struggle for freedom and the Liberation War. With the passages of Language Movement, the nation got the recognition of Bangla as its mother tongue and attained its long cherished independence in 1971.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday laid emphasis on maintaining distinctive characters of Bangla language and the country’s culture and tradition while moving ahead to cope with the global pace. “We need to make sure we must not forget our language, culture and tradition. We may have to learn many languages, many things and use newer technologies, but we’ll have to uphold our own distinctive characters. We can move ahead maintaining all this,” she said while presenting Ekushey Padak (awards) at Osmani Memorial Auditorium. She said the Bangalee, as a nation, has many things to be proud of. “We’ve to preserve those, and publicise those for the future generation.” Hasina said this should be done so that no one of the Bengalee nation could forget the tradition and culture of the country. “We must uphold the distinctive characters of our  culture, tradition and heritage.” The prime minister said the new generation must know the nation’s glorious history to be prepared to face the future challenges as Bangladesh will never bow down to others.  She said that after returning to power in 2009, her government has taken numerous projects and programmes since for the overall development of the country and the fate of people. “That’s why we’ve regained our dignity that was lost after 1975, we’ll gain further in the global arena keeping up that  dignity,” she said. The prime minister mentioned that she delivers her address in the UN General Assembly in Bangla every year following the footprint of Bangabandhu. Congratulating the Ekushey Padak recipients, the prime minster hoped that the award will inspire the future generation to do even greater works for people who would learn from them and follow their footsteps. She said the greatest Ekushey is the symbol of grief, strength and glory in the life of every Bangali. On this day in 1952, many valiant sons of the soil, including Rafiq, Shafique, Salam, Jabbar and Barkat, sacrificed their lives for protecting the dignity of the mother tongue. Referring to the development taken place in the last eight years in various sectors that made Bangladesh a ‘role model’ for development in the world, Hasina hoped that her government would turn Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2021 and a developed one by 2041.

Bangladesh has agreed to sell a large stake in its stock exchange to a Chinese consortium, an official said yesterday, rebuffing a rival bid from India that raised political sensitivities. The Dhaka Stock Exchange on February 10 had approved the Chinese offer to buy a quarter of the bourse’s 1.8bn shares, but Bangladesh’s financial regulator asked it to “further scrutinise” the decision. “The board has reconfirmed its decision about approving the Chinese consortium’s bid as it is higher than its nearest competitor’s,” said stock exchange spokesman Shafiqur Rahman after the meeting Monday evening. The Mumbai-based National Stock Exchange had offered 15 taka ($0.18) per share during the tender process this month. China’s Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges made a joint higher bid of 22 taka per share, or $122mn, and offered additional technical support worth nearly $37mn. The intervention by the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission in the sale sparked allegations in local media that it was trying to favour India. The Bangladesh office of Transparency International, the Berlin-based corruption watchdog, issued a statement “strongly condemning” what it called unethical and illegal meddling. The regulator – which at the time defended its final authority to override decisions made by the stock exchange – was not immediately available for comment. The competing bids have exposed tensions in Bangladesh as it juggles growing interest from China against longstanding ties with its huge neighbour India. New Delhi threw its weight behind the 2014 elections that returned Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to power, despite boycotts by the opposition who feared the vote would be rigged. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has made big investments in Bangladesh and Indian companies have won multi-billion contracts in key sectors in recent years. But increasingly it must counter China, which has also courted India’s arch-rival Pakistan and strategic Indian Ocean nations including Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Xi Jinping in October 2016 became the first Chinese president to visit Bangladesh in more than three decades, signing deals worth more  than $20bn. But there have been setbacks, with Bangladesh last month blacklisting a top Chinese construction firm for allegedly trying to bribe a senior government official.

Opposition leader and former Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia on Tuesday filed an appeal to the higher court challenging the verdict that sentenced her to five years in jail in a corruption case. Sanaullah Miah, Zia's lawyer, told DPA that he had filed the appeal on her behalf, saying she was not involved in any corruption over the establishment of Zia Orphanage Trust. The former premier and head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has been in jail since February 8, when a lower court convicted her for misappropriation of funds meant for orphans. The lawyer accused the Anti-Corruption Commission of bringing false charges against Zia and expressed confidence that she will be released upon appeal. Her counsel also plans to file a separate petition for bail.

Representatives from Bangladesh and Myanmar will meet today to discuss the repatriation to Myanmar of more than 6,500 Rohingya Muslims trapped on a strip of unclaimed land between the two countries, Bangladeshi officials said. “It is about taking them back to Myanmar,” Relief and Refugee Repatriation Commissioner Mohammad Abul Kalam, said yesterday. “They are on the zero line and actually on the  Myanmar side.” However, several officials contacted in neighbouring Myanmar said they were not aware of plans for a meeting, which Kalam said would take place on the “zero line” near a place called Gundum. A spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which will not be involved in the talks, said the agency was concerned the Rohingya may be forcibly returned to Myanmar without due consideration for their safety. Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state and crossed into Bangladesh since last August, when attacks on security posts by insurgents triggered a military crackdown that the United Nations has said amounts to ethnic cleansing, with reports of arson attacks, murder and rape. Buddhist-majority Myanmar denied the charge and says its security forces are fighting a legitimate campaign against “terrorists” it blames for the attacks on the security forces. The vast majority of Rohingya who fled are in camps at Cox’s Bazar on the southern tip of Bangladesh, but several thousand who arrived in a buffer zone along the border are now stuck. Bangladesh security forces have been instructed not to let these Rohingya cross the border, and many of them have said they would rather stay there to avoid becoming refugees in  Bangladesh. The no-man’s land, which is about the size of 40 soccer pitches, used to be an area of paddy fields, but is now dotted with the tarpaulin and bamboo shacks of displaced Rohingya. “We are concerned about the reports of pressures directed at this group of people at the border,” said Caroline Gluck, UNHCR senior public information officer at Cox’s Bazar. “People who fled violence and discrimination in Myanmar should not be forced to return against their will,” she told Reuters in a message sent on Saturday. Bangladesh’s Kalam said there was no timeline for repatriations, that anyone going back must do so voluntarily and that Myanmar must provide a safe environment for their return. “We cannot send them forcibly,” he said. Most Burmese consider the Rohingya as unwanted immigrants from Bangladesh, and the army refers to them as “Bengalis”. Myanmar has said it will accept back people holding “national verification” registration cards. This card, which falls short of offering citizenship, has been rejected by Rohingya community leaders who say it treats life-long residents like new immigrants. A leader of the Rohingya group in the buffer zone, Dil Mohammed, said in a text message: “Our no-man’s land camp demands are that there must be a safe return, we need security and all basic rights, including citizenship.” He said the group would never accept the national verification card, that its members must be allowed to return to their own homes, paid compensation for losses and damage, and provided with protection from a UN mission. Gluck said the UNHCR was concerned that conditions in Rakhine state were not yet safe for voluntary returns, adding, “We urge both governments to ensure that any return is based on informed consent and takes place in safety and dignity.”

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the next national elections will be held as per the constitution, no matter who are joining it and who are boycotting it. The prime minister was speaking to reporters about the outcome of her recent official visit to Italy and Vatican City. Hasina said the government has nothing to do if BNP does not participate in the upcoming general elections. “It is a political decision. We have nothing to do if BNP participate in the next general  elections,” Hasina said. About Khaleda Zia’s imprisonment in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, the prime minister said close aides of Khaleda Zia filed the case against her and the court has given judgment. She also criticised Bangladesh National Party (BNP) for dropping section seven from its charter and making Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of the party. “Has the BNP plunged into a severe setback? Don’t they have any leader (except Tarique), who could be the acting chairman of the party,” the prime minister said. Tarique Rahman himself is a convicted fugitive and he has been made acting chairman of BNP by dropping the section seven from the party constitution before the judgment of the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, Hasina noted. Tarique Rahman left the country during the last caretaker government regime giving an undertaken that he would not involve in politics, Hasina mentioned.  The prime minister went to Italy on Sunday last on a four-day official visit to attend the meeting of Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) as one of its keynote speakers at the invitation of IFAD president Gilbert F Houngbo. At the invitation of Pope Francis, Hasina also visited the Holy See (Vatican City) and held meetings with the Pope and secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Court to decide fate of Zia: Ruling Awami League (AL) general secretary Obaidul Quader said Zia’s participation in the upcoming national election is under the jurisdiction of court. “The court will decide whether Zia could contest the parliamentary polls...this is not a matter of politics of the ruling party,” said Quader. The AL leader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said the removal of section 7 from the party’s constitution before the verdict is very ‘mysterious’. “The nation is yet to have an answer why BNP has dropped section 7 from its constitution,” he added. According to section 7 (e) of the party constitution, if a person is convicted as per 1972 presidential order, declared bankrupt, proved unbalanced, known as corrupt or notorious in society, he or she is disqualified from being member of the national council, the national executive committee, the standing committee or member of executive committee at any level. The person will also be disqualified from being nominated by the party to contest the national election. It is not possible to amend the party’s constitution without holding any council. “But, BNP has brought amendment to give licence to the convicted and corrupt leader (Tarique Rehman),” the minister said.  “We didn’t get any answer from BNP why they’ve made a corrupt and convicted leader their party’s acting chairman,” said the AL leader. “Dropping section 7 will be appeared as having painful thorn for BNP,” Quader said adding, “BNP itself is creating a crisis. They’ll fall into a trap.”

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan yesterday said that Bangladesh has taken effective measures to locate and bring back the convicted fugitive killers of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for execution of the court verdict. A taskforce was formed by the government on March 28, 2010 headed by Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Haq to bring back the convicted fugitive killers, he said, while replying to a starred question from treasury bench member  Amina Ahmed in the parliament. “The government has undertaken necessary steps to send information along with photograph to different airports through Interpol to identify and locate fugitive killers of Father of the Nation for execution of the court verdict,” Khan added. He said the government confiscated 16.94 acres of land owned by Khandker Abdur Rashid and 1.15 acres of land owned by Rashed Chowdhury. Besides, law firms have already been engaged by the government in the United States of America (USA) and Canada for bringing back the fugitive convicted killers Abu Rashed Chowdhury from USA and Noor Chowdhury from Canada, the minister said. He also said that red alert has been issued to locate and arrest the convicted fugitive killers by Interpol, while the government requested countries concerned not to grant citizenship applications by the convicted killers. To another question, the home minister said there are a total of 15,919 convicted prisoners in different jails in the  country. “Out of the total convicted prisoners there were 15,374 males and 545 females as of February 1, 2018,” he said, this, while replying to a starred question from treasury bench member AKM Jahangir in the  legislature. The minister said the government has opened 13 jails after repair across the country since 2009, adding, “Eight more jails are under construction and initiatives have been taken to construct more six jails during the current financial year.” He informed the House that the government has also a plan to construct four more prisons including Jessore, Rangpur, Rajshahi and Pabna in the country during the next fiscal year. Replying to another starred question from treasury bench member MA Malek, Asaduzzaman Khan said, “Currently Bangladesh has two extradition treaties for exchanging criminals. India and the United Arab Emirates are under the treaty.”

The repatriation of Rohingya refugees sheltered in Bangladesh may take further time as the verification of the first-batch list of Rohingya, handed over by Bangladesh, depends on Myanmar as there is no specific timeframe to complete it. Besides, a favourable and safe environment in Rakhine state, which is necessary for the much-sought reparation, is yet to be created though Bangladesh has handed over the first-batch list to start the repatriation of Rohingya, observes the international community. According to them, the Rohingya living in Bangladesh are yet to get back their confidence to return to their homeland as they still fear further attack on them. “The causes of their flight have not been addressed, and we have yet to see substantive progress on addressing the exclusion and denial of rights that has deepened over the last decades, rooted in their lack of citizenship,” said United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. He made the observation while making his statement at the United Nations Security Council briefing on Myanmar in New York on Tuesday through videoconferencing from Geneva. M Saiful Islam, a Rohingya who came to Bangladesh on September 14, told newsmen, “If our demands are met, we’re willing to go back.” He said they must be given citizenship in addition to ensuring a safe place for them to live in. “We want to go back to our own land; we don’t want any temporary shelter,” Saiful added. Saiful, who used to work for a non-government organisation in Rakhine, said the Rohingya people must be given compensation as well for the losses they had suffered. Bangladesh has handed over a list of 1,673 families of 8,032 Rohingya to Myanmar to start the first phase of repatriation of the Rohingya people living in Bangladesh to their homeland in Rakhine.  “We’re not aware of it (handing over the list of 8,032 Rohingya) but came to know about it from media,” Saiful said. Commissioner of Cox’s Bazar Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission (RRRC) Abul Kalam said they are working on the ground to complete the necessary works before starting the repatriation. Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Kamal said the Myanmar side has cordially received the list and Myanmar would scrutinise it and then send it back to Bangladesh. Asked about any timeframe for Myanmar to complete scrutiny, Kalam said, “It depends on them. There’s no specific timeframe.” A government official said though there is no specific date for the repatriation but Myanmar showed sincerity and are taking preparations to take their nationals back. Another Rohingya, Hafez Ahmed, from Balukhali-2 camp said none of their demands has been met yet and still people are coming to Bangladesh from Myanmar which shows there is no safe environment in Rakhine state. “We want our citizenship. This must be given. We don’t want to go back now,” he said, adding that he came to know about handing over of first list through BBC radio. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary General, said the underlying point is that any return needs to be voluntary and should not be the forced one. “Well, you know, the possibility is that the situation right now is not conducive...I think as the High Commissioner for Refugees said recently, it’s not conducive to the voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees,” he said. The UN Spokesman said repatriation needs to be voluntary and it needs to be done within existing law. “They should not go back to camps. They need to go back to their homes, the homes that they were forced to leave.” A government official said Bangladesh remains engaged internationally for continuing international pressure on Myanmar to take back their  nationals from Bangladesh. Bangladesh has also encouraged member states of the European Union to put pressure on Myanmar to ensure the peaceful and sustainable return of forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals from Bangladesh to their homes in Rakhine state. A meeting between Bangladesh and Myanmar will be held in a Myanmar district on February 20 to take back over 6,000 Rohingya now staying along the zero line.

Senior BNP leader Moudud Ahmed yesterday alleged that the government was delaying the delivery of the certified copy of the verdict against Khaleda Zia only to prolong her stay in jail. Moudud warned that people will give a befitting reply through ballots to the government’s ‘vengeful attitude’ towards Zia. “The verdict was pronounced on February 8, but we still didn’t get a certified copy of it. They (government) are resorting to a ploy to keep Khaleda in jail as long as they can,” the BNP leader said. Moudud, a BNP standing committee member, said the government’s popularity is on the wane for showing a vengeful attitude towards Zia. He said they will move the apex court to file an appeal against the verdict and seek bail for her as soon as they get the certified copy of the verdict. The former law minister hoped that the court will grant bail to Zia. He alleged that Zia was jailed with a ‘false allegation of misappropriating orphans’ money to defame and belittle her. “The government won’t be able to make any political gain with it.” He said people – even many Awami League supporters – did not like the way Zia was sent to jail and the government is treating with her. Moudud said they will continue their movement alongside taking preparations for the next general election. “We must join the next election as people  want it.” “We’ll carry out the movement and create an atmosphere to force the government to hold the next national election under a non-party neutral administration. Only Awami League will face the dire consequences in that poll,” he added. The BNP leader alleged that Zia has been kept in solitary confinement at the abandoned old Dhaka Central Jail violating the existing jail code, law and the constitution. He said the government has created a political instability by taking Zia to jail. “The government is solely responsible for it. They’ve shut all the doors to a political understanding through it.”  Moudud said their party has now two challenges – bringing Zia out of jail and forcing government to take proper steps – for arranging a credible election. He said people think the national election cannot be held in a free and fair manner under a political government. “People also won’t allow anyone to hold any election without the participation of Zia and BNP.” The BNP leader said it will be a blunder of the government if it thinks it can weaken their party with repressive acts. Earlier at a press conference, BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi alleged that the court is not giving the certified copy of the verdict due to government ‘obstruction’. As per the rule, he said, the court should provide the certified copy of the verdict within five days of delivering it. “But they’re violating the rules. It has manifested that the government’s interference in the judiciary.” He said the government’s delaying the process of providing the verdict copy also exposed that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her special envoy HM Ershad are the masterminds behind Zia’s conviction. Rizvi said people have a perception that the court is buying time now to amend the verdict as per Awami League’s directions.

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia is unlikely to be released from jail soon as the former premier is facing arrest warrants in five out of 37 cases filed against her in connection with various charges, including arson and graft. Talking to newsmen, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said Khaleda Zia is facing a number of cases and arrest warrants have already been issued against her in some cases in the meantime. “The lower court has sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment in connection with the Zia Orphanage Trust case while the trial proceedings of the Zia Charitable trust case are nearing completion. The lower courts have already issued an arrest warrant against her in the meantime. So, it is the matter of court as to whether or not she will come out of jail very soon,” Kamal said. The home minister added that the government would not revive any case filed against her in the past in connection with various charges, including arson and corruption. Khaleda is yet to receive the certified copy of the verdict of the lower court that sentenced her to five years’ rigorous imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust case. After receiving the certified copy of the verdict, the BNP chief will file an appeal with the High Court (HC) seeking bail in the case. If she secures bail from the HC, the Anti-Corruption Commission may appeal to the Supreme Court against the HC order. So, the completion of all procedures will take time, which is why the BNP chief is unlikely to come out of jail very soon, as many lawyers explained about her bail on condition of anonymity. ACC lawyer Mosarraf Hossain Kajol said there is no specific timeframe for the court to provide the certified copy of the verdict. However, it is the right of the accused to secure a certified copy of the verdict within a short time. “Khaleda may have prayed for a certified copy of the verdict. I hope she will receive the certified copy of the verdict very soon,” Hossain added. Sanullah Miah, one of the counsels for the BNP chief, said they would file the appeal with the HC after receiving the certified copy of the lower court’s verdict. “We are yet to receive the copy of the lower court verdict. After receiving the copy, we will move the High Court,” he said. Legal experts opined that the BNP chief may not come out of jail very soon, if, in the meantime, the government makes her shown arrested in five cases, in which she faced arrest warrants from the various lower courts. If the government does so, the BNP chief would have to secure bail in those cases, they opined. According to the pro-BNP lawyers’ data, the BNP chief is now facing a total of 37 cases, and police have submitted charges in a total of 17 cases. Of the cases, four were filed during the tenure of the Army-backed government that ruled between 2006 and 2008. The cases were filed with respect to corruption in cases related to Barapukuria Coal Mine, GATCO, NIKO and the Zia Orphanage Trust. Among the 37 cases, the lower court yesterday sent the BNP chief to jail after sentencing her to five years’ imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust case. The lower courts have also issued arrest warrants against her in five cases as she did not appear before the court in accordance with its orders. On October 9 last year, a Comilla court had issued an arrest warrant for Khaleda Zia and 45 others in the explosives case filed in connection with the 2015 arson attack on a bus in Chouddagram, which left eight people dead. On January 2 this year, another Comilla court issued an arrest warrant for the BNP chairperson in a murder case filed in connection with the 2015 arson attack on a bus in Chouddagram upazila that left eight people dead. Eight people were killed and at least 20 others injured when miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at a bus at Chouddagram’s Jogmohanpur on February 3, 2015, during the BNP-led alliance’s nationwide anti-government movement. Two cases—one under the Explosive Substances Act and another for murder—were started against 56 people, including Khaleda, over the incident. On August 30, 2016, Gazi Zahirul Islam, former joint general secretary of the Dhaka Union of Journalists, filed the case against Khaleda for allegedly celebrating a fake birthday on August 15 every year. A Dhaka court has earlier issued an arrest warrant against Khaleda in connection with the case. AB Siddique, president of the pro-government Bangladesh Jananetri Parishad, filed the case with the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s court on November 3, 2016, accusing Khaleda and her late husband and former president Ziaur Rahman of undermining the country’s map and national flag. The court issued an arrest warrant against Khaleda in the meantime. On October 12 last year last year, a Dhaka court issued an arrest warrant against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia in a case filed for undermining the country’s map and national flag. According to the case statement, Khaleda Zia had formed a coalition government with Jamaat-e-Islami in 2001. She appointed Jamaat leaders Motiur Rahman Nizami and Ali Ahsan Mohamed Mujahid as ministers and handed over the map and the national flag of independent Bangladesh to them even though they had fought against the country during the country’s Liberation War in 1971. It will take a long time for the BNP chief to secure bail from the HC in all five cases if the government makes her shown arrested in all these cases, according to the lawyers who were consulted.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders and supporters attend a protest and hunger strike against the verdict in a corruption case against party chairperson Khaleda Zia, in Dhaka yesterday. Thousands of opposition supporters staged rallies across the country for the release of their jailed leader Zia and demanding free and fair elections.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged development partners for investing in sustainable rural economies to ensure resilience to agricultural crisis as the inclusive and sustainable rural transformation holds key to eliminate poverty and hunger. “The development partners have to be a little more generous in order to eliminate poverty and hunger. The world appears to me to be ready now for it. I would like to urge you for investing in sustainable rural economies,” she said. Prime Minister Hasina made the call while delivering the keynote speech at the IFAD’s governing council held at the headquarters of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome with its president Gilbert Foussoun Houngbo in the chair. The theme of the session was ‘From fragility to long-term resilience: Investing in sustainable rural economics’. Hasina said, “We believe that in order to ensure resilience, investment in rural economy is a key factor. This, we believe, cannot be achieved without global partnership and co-operation.” Noting that sustainability cannot be achieved without creating long-term resilience she said, “A comprehensive sustainable rural economy requires investment in the development of the rural social fabric and  climate resilience.” Focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030, Prime Minister Hasina said, “Inclusive and sustainable rural transformation is the key to reaching the goals of poverty elimination, hunger elimination and leaving no one behind.” Mentioning that Bangladesh having over 160mn people is the most densely populated country in the world, she said it is poised to achieve the SDG goals well ahead of 2030 and it estimates that poverty will be eradicated altogether by 2024. But Bangladesh faces other formidable challenges as it is likely to lose 40% of its productive land by 2080 if sea levels rise 65cm only. “Changes in crop production due to the impact of climate change will increase the number of people living in poverty. Therefore, significant resources must be tapped in order to ensure better adapted and resilient agricultural practices,” she added. Talking about the remarkable achievement of Bangladesh, Hasina said the country has been very lucky with stable governance for almost a decade. “We formulated our strategy of socio-economic growth very carefully over a period of about four years. And then we tried to implement it in the last nine years.” Fortunately, she said, the development partners came forward with eager and generous hands and jointly made the proud progress. Noting that IFAD’s model of mutual help and partnership is very different from that of other UN agencies and organisations she said, “We sincerely believe that this ideal model will work in the promising future that is  before mankind now.” Regarding how to respond to a combination of adverse developments Hasina mentioned the success story of Bangladesh. “First of all, let me tell you that the natural resilience of Bangladeshi people to any crisis did not allow the build-up of a food crisis in a year of climatic vagaries and reduced food production in the country.” She said the resolve of Bangladeshis to tighten the belt, encounter difficulties with confidence and seek alternative ways of meeting the crisis enabled the country to overcome and  succeed. “Bangladesh had about a decade of self-sufficiency in food and then this year there was an unexpected shortfall due to untimely and recurrent flooding. Some adjustment in import policy immediately made food readily available to the consumers.” She mentioned that Bangladesh has increased its food production from 11mn tonnes in 1971 to 39mn tonnes in 2017 although one-third of arable land has been lost in the meantime. “From 2008 it has been an increase of 9mn tonnes. This was possible as we reached agri-inputs to the farmers with heavily subsidized prices, and soft and collateral-free loans were made available to the landless farmers.” Hasina said that Bangladesh used all options that ICT could offer to overcome the crisis. “At present ICT is helping Bangladesh to accelerate the efficiency and precision of research, particularly on issues related to climate change.” Noting that Bangladesh is fourth largest producer of sweet water fish in the world, she said the total fish production reached up to 4.13mn metric tonnes in 2016-17 due to fisheries-friendly policies. “This has contributed to self-sufficiency in fish production.”

Thousands of Bangladeshi opposition supporters staged rallies across the country yesterday demanding the release of their jailed leader Khaleda Zia and free and fair elections. Zia, twice prime minister in the Muslim-majority nation of 160mn, was imprisoned for five years last week for embezzlement, sparking riots from supporters who rejected the verdict as politically motivated. The leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is expected to appeal but the conviction may affect her ability to stand in a general election slated for December. Thousands of BNP activists in cities across Bangladesh joined hands in a march calling for Zia’s immediate release from a prison in Dhaka. “We want her immediate release and a free and fair election,” BNP secretary-general Fakhrul Alamgir said outside the national press club in Dhaka where more than 5,000  gathered. Zia, 72, is expected to be freed on bail once the appeal has been lodged but her supporters fear Bangladesh’s ruling party will try and keep her detained on other charges. She is accused of dozens of other criminal violations including corruption and violence. One of her lawyers, Zainul Abedin, said authorities were attempting yesterday to hold Zia in connection with an arson attack in 2015. Alamgir said at least 4,300 opposition officials had been arrested in the past fortnight as police sought to offset resistance ahead of Zia’s sentencing. A party vice chairman and two former ministers were among those detained, he added. Police have not commented on the arrests. Zia is a former ally-turned-archrival of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The BNP boycotted the general election in 2014 that saw Hasina return to power, but Zia is expected to contest the upcoming poll in December. Her son Tarique Rahman, who lives in exile in London, has been named as the acting opposition chief, despite being convicted and jailed in absentia for ten years on the same  charges as Zia. Last month prosecutors sought the death penalty over his alleged role in a deadly 2004 grenade attack that injured Hasina. Zia and her son were detained by an army-backed government in 2007 and spent a year and a half in detention pending trials for alleged corruption.

Bangladesh Law Minister Anisul Huq yesterday said court and the election commission (EC) will take the final decision whether BNP chief Khaleda Zia will be able to participate in the upcoming national elections. “The government is not scared of any threat. The law will take its own course ... the government has no control over it,” he said. The minister was replying to queries from reporters about Zia’s participation in the upcoming election after he inaugurated a training course for the district and sessions judge or equivalent judicial officers. Mentioning that the government does not want to keep anyone out of the parliamentary election, the law minister said if anyone cannot participate in the election because of the constitution and law, then the government has nothing to do with it. Anisul said there are certain procedures after BNP chairperson’s verdict and they can appeal to the High Court seeking bail. “The independent judicial system will take action according to the appeal,” he added. While inaugurating the five-day training course, Anisul said the government is working for infrastructural development in judicial sector and this course is one of these processes. The minister also urged the judges to increase the reputation of judiciary through quick, neutral and honest judgment. Last week, chief election commissioner (CEC) Nurul Huda said the national election will not be inclusive without the participation of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). “Definitely, BNP has an important position in the county’s politics. The election won’t be a participatory one without their participation. I had said it earlier and still I’m saying so,” said the CEC. Huda also said the election commission (EC) always wants the participation of all the political parties in the national election and they will be able to avail the same facilities. The EC will conduct the election in a neutral manner, he promised.

Britain’s foreign secretary said he would raise the case of two Reuters journalists detained in Myanmar with the country’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, on Sunday, referring to a report they authored on violence against minority Rohingya Muslims. “It is vital the public knows what happened and the world knows what happened in Rakhine and who was responsible,” Boris Johnson said in Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh. “Talking just to some of my fellow foreign ministers from around the world, there is so much confusion still, and I think the role of journalism in setting the record straight is absolutely vital,” Johnson said. Nearly 690,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state and crossed into southern Bangladesh since August, when attacks on security posts by insurgents triggered a military crackdown that the United Nations has said may amount to genocide. A Reuters special report published this week laid out events leading up to the killing of 10 Rohingya men from Inn Din village in northern Rakhine state who were buried in a mass grave after being hacked to death or shot by Buddhist neighbours and soldiers. Asked about the evidence Reuters had uncovered, government spokesman Zaw Htay said on Thursday, before the report was published: “We are not denying the allegations about violations of human rights. And we are not giving blanket denials.” If there was “strong and reliable primary evidence” of abuses, the government would  investigate, he said. The United Nations on Friday described the details of the Reuters report as “alarming” and joined the United States in calling for an investigation into the violence in the state. The Reuters investigation of the Inn Din massacre was what prompted the arrest of two of the news agency’s reporters. Burmese citizens Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were detained on Dec. 12 for allegedly obtaining confidential documents. Prosecutors are seeking to charge Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo under Myanmar’s Official Secrets Act, which dates back to the time of colonial British rule and carries a maximum 14-year prison sentence. Referring to the Reuters report, Johnson said: “It’s an extremely brilliant piece of reporting, providing a very, very important testimonial which I will be bringing up tomorrow, you can be sure, with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and others. I’ll also be raising the case of the two detained Reuters journalists.” “It’s clear this is ethnic cleansing,” Johnson said, adding that observers and monitors should be allowed into northern Rakhine so a base of evidence can be built. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has faced heavy international criticism for not taking a higher profile in responding to the strife in Rakhine state.