Supporters of Bangladesh's ex-Premier Khaleda Zia rally demanding general election by December
Tens of thousands of Bangladeshi students rallied in Dhaka, demanding a general election by December amidst growing discontent with the interim government. The rally, organised by groups linked to the BNP, follows weeks of political tension and calls for elections from various factions.
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Tens of thousands of students and youths from a leading Bangladeshi political party rallied in the capital, Dhaka, on Wednesday, calling for a general election in December as discontent grows with the interim government appointed after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August.Activists from three groups linked to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party , or BNP, headed by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia gathered on the streets outside its party headquarters, under heightened security.Wednesday's rally was held after weeks of political tensions after interim leader and Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus threatened to quit and the influential military chief publicly declared his support for an election in December.Zia, who has been suffering from ill-health for several years, recently returned to Bangladesh after four months of medical treatment in London, putting further pressure on Bangladesh's interim government to call an election."We have come here to respond to the call for the unity of the young people. We want democracy, we want election. Next election should be held soon, not later than December," Jahangir Hossain, a student activist, told The Associated Press. "We are united for democracy."Hasina, Zia's archrival, has been in exile in India since she was toppled last year by a mass uprising. Her party, the Awami League, was also banned by the interim government.The BNP's acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, Zia's elder son, addressed the rally later on Wednesday by video link from London, where he is in exile.Detailing his party's future plans for youth and others, Rahman reiterated his call for the next elections to be held in December and asked his supporters to prepare."The polls must be held by December. It has to take place within December," he said.The interim government has been shaken by a series of protests, including by civil servants, primary school teachers and employees at the national revenue service in recent weeks. Many, including New York-based Human Rights Watch, accuse the government of failures in prosecuting organized crime figures responsible for killing and injuring hundreds of people. The rights group in a statement this month blamed the interim administration for legislative initiatives that undermine fundamental freedoms,Business bodies have also criticized Yunus over the weakness of the economy and labor unrest.When Yunus came to power, he promised to make reforms in areas including the election law, women's rights and general administration, but the process has been slow and his critics believe he is using delaying tactics to remain in power.The 10 months of rule under Yunus also marked a visible rise of influence by Islamists in the Muslim-majority country, which is governed largely by a secular constitution and legal system. A fatigued military, which has been out of barracks since July last year to maintain law and order, is unhappy because of the delay in returning to democracy.The BNP recently met with Yunus and reiterated its demand for an election in December, saying that if Yunus quits, the country will find an alternative leader. But Yunus' associates later said he was staying.Yunus promised to hold an election by June 2026, depending on the extent of reforms it has undertaken. The BNP, which is hopeful of forming the next government with the absence of Hasina's Awami League, said the pace of implementation of reforms should not be an excuse to delay the election and argued that the reform is a continuous process.
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News18
40 minutes ago
- News18
'9th Time In 20 Days': Jairam Ramesh Asks PM Modi To 'Speak Up' On Trump's Ceasefire Claims
Last Updated: On Friday, Trump reiterated that he had stopped India and Pakistan from engaging in a full-blown conflict and averted a nuclear confrontation The Congress is at it again. Two days after questioning the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Donald Trump's claims of having brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, the Grand Old Party once again asked PM Modi to 'speak up" as the US President repeated his assertions. On Friday, Trump reiterated that he had stopped India and Pakistan from engaging in a full-blown conflict and averted a nuclear confrontation. 'We stopped India and Pakistan from fighting. I believe that could have turned out into a nuclear disaster, and I want to thank the leaders of India and Pakistan, and I want to thank my people. 'Also, we talk trade, and we say we can't trade with people who are shooting at each other and potentially using nuclear weapons. They're great leaders in those countries, and they understood and they agreed, and that all stopped, and we're stopping others from fighting. Also, because ultimately, we can fight better than anybody, we have the greatest military in the world. We have the greatest leaders in the world…" The US President's statement gave fresh ammo to the Congress, with party MP Jairam Ramesh saying it was the '9th time in 20 days" that Trump had repeated the sequence of events but the prime minister had maintained silence on the issue. This is the 9th time in 20 days, across 3 countries and 3 cities. Donaldbhai keeps repeating the same sequence of events of how he got the 4-Day India-Pakistan war to stop – US intervention and the use of the trade instrument to stop nuclear escalation. The equivalence of India… — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) May 31, 2025 'This is the 9th time in 20 days, across 3 countries and 3 cities. Donaldbhai keeps repeating the same sequence of events of how he got the 4-Day India-Pakistan war to stop – US intervention and the use of the trade instrument to stop nuclear escalation. The equivalence of India and Pakistan gets reiterated yet again. President Trump's Commerce Secretary has made exactly the same claims in his submission to the New York-based Court of International Trade on May 23rd. But Donaldbhai's friend Mr. Narendra Modi continues to ignore his claims with absolute silence. Why doesn't the PM speak up?" Ramesh asked on X. This is not the first time Ramesh has trained his guns on the government's radio silence on the issue. Earlier, the Congress leader said: 'Our Prime Minister does not want to hear about tariffs; our Prime Minister only wants to hear 'Tareef' (praise). So, the PM is silent on this. The Prime Minister has not said anything." He also slammed the US President for hyphenating India and Pakistan, saying: 'India's economy has increased 10 times in comparison to Pakistan's economy, but both of them have come in the same boat. How can this happen?" THE CEASEFIRE India, in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, pounding terror launchpads linked to outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad in Pakistan and PoK and killing more than 100 terrorists. A rattled Pakistan responded with attempts to launch a military action, resorting to cross-border shelling, drone assaults, and even military strikes. However, India's air defence system and armed forces thwarted these attempts. After four days of intense cross-border fighting, India and Pakistan arrived at a ceasefire understanding on May 10, with Trump announcing the truce. WHAT TRUMP SAID The US President had claimed that India and Pakistan agreed to reach a 'full and immediate" ceasefire after mediated talks, claiming that he used 'trade to a large extent" to broker the ceasefire. 'I said let's make a deal, let's do some trading. Let's not trade nuclear missiles. Let's trade the things you make so beautifully. And they both have very powerful leaders, strong leaders and it all stopped. Hopefully it will remain that way," he had said. However, the external affairs ministry slammed Trump's offer to mediate on Kashmir and his claim of having used trade to prevent a 'nuclear war", saying that the military action under Operation Sindoor was 'entirely in the conventional domain". While addressing a press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, 'I refer to you the position made clear on May 13. From the time Operation Sindoor commenced on May 7, the issue of trade or tariff did not come up in any of these discussions. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar had also clarified it was established directly through DGMOs." Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: May 31, 2025, 09:04 IST News politics '9th Time In 20 Days': Jairam Ramesh Asks PM Modi To 'Speak Up' On Trump's Ceasefire Claims
The Print
43 minutes ago
- The Print
Pahalgam, Pakistan generals, pitches—what readers wrote to us in May
I did think of writing about ThePrint's coverage of Operation Sindoor in this piece but decided against it since the April column had dealt with our reporting on the Pahalgam terror attack. Operation Sindoor, launched by India against terrorist targets in Pakistan on 7 May, has been the story of the month. Instead, this column will feature readers' comments that I have received over the past few months. However, before we get down to the compliments and the complaints—and even a few curses—let me just say that ThePrint spent days and several nights covering all angles of Operation Sindoor, the subsequent military battle between India and Pakistan, the 10 May ceasefire, and the domestic and international impact of these actions. Up to 14 ThePrint journalists were sent to Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab to report from the ground during the four-day conflict. In-depth analysis of India's defence capabilities, its strategic gains, and the long-term consequences of its strikes were also covered extensively. The Opinion section of the website had military and diplomatic experts explain what many consider a defining moment in India's strategy against terror, as articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation, in which he outlined a 'new normal' policy. There's no space to mention all the good work done at ThePrint in May. But I would like to cite one story that best illustrates the teamwork which contributed to ThePrint's 'war' effort in significant ways. The breaking story came from ThePrint's science writer, Soumya Pillai. Her report of 9 May—'Orders for Pahalgam satellite images from US firm peaked two months before attack'—was perhaps the only story in the news media to provide proof of the planning behind the Pahalgam attack, and to link it to Pakistan. To quote from the story: 'Two months before terrorists killed 26 people in Kashmir, a top US-based space tech company saw an unprecedented spike in orders for high-resolution satellite images of Pahalgam and its surrounding areas… These high-resolution images are often used by defence agencies for monitoring troop movements, weapon installations, and infrastructure development…' Pillai wrote that the company, Maxar Technologies, first received orders for images of Pahalgam in June 2024 '…just months after Maxar acquired a new partner: a Pakistan-based geo-spatial company linked to federal crimes in the US.' That's pretty plausible evidence, right? Congratulations, Soumya Pillai. Also, while we are in a self-congratulatory mood, three journalists from ThePrint have won the Justice Media Award 2024-25. Apoorva Mandhani, Bismee Taskin, and Khadija Khan have been recognised 'for their contributions towards enhancing public understanding of justice and the legal system.' Read all about it here. Also Read: ThePrint's in-depth ground reports are now multimedia-interactive. 2025 vision board In the words of readers Right, now it's to the readers' mail. Readers had many issues on their minds, and India's conflict with Pakistan was just one of them. Articles and comments on the latter were submitted: 'Will Pakistan attack India again?' asked one reader on 15 May, adding that there was a complete blackout in his city — '…as per TV news there is a danger that Pakistan may attack India again?' he wrote. Then there was an article titled 'IMF's $2.3 billion loan to Pakistan: A history of bailouts casting shadows on the Fund's credibility in combating the financing of terrorism'. Another piece was 'How Pakistan wins the war it never fights'. One reader had a bright idea: why not collaborate on a documentary about Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who has been very vocal in his support for the Modi government's actions. In 'Proposal to explore Shri Shashi Tharoor as a potential PM candidate', the reader said Tharoor is '…a unique and compelling leader on the national stage'. A more sombre submission was an article titled 'How the Pahalgam attack reflects India's descent into communal darkness'—and this piece, 'Faith didn't kill them. Fanaticism did' from a Class 11 student, which in his words '…emphasises the need for unity while rejecting communal narratives.' We had other submissions too on Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor, but unfortunately, we've been unable to publish them given the volume of expert views we did carry on these topics. But thank you for your interest, readers— we do appreciate it. I also received a few complaints. Some readers objected to individual opinion pieces. In response to journalist and TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose's piece 'After Operation Sindoor, let's choose truth over TV theatre', a reader wrote: (she is) 'quite one-sided and full of anti BJP rhetoric without much rational thought… Is criticism the default option of Ms Ghose come what may?' Objections to tone, length, ads More criticism came our way on articles written about other subjects. I was in the firing line for recent Tele-Scope columns. One reader began gently enough: 'There are three people in total at ThePrint whom I have very high regard for: U, Mr Gupta, and Snehesh… (But) I was extremely disappointed by your article today… you sounded less like a serious journalist, more like the alleged rabid Islamist Rana Ayyub or the congress doormat (to quote Mr Amit Malviya) Rajdeep Sardesai… Unfortunate!!!' What had upset him so was this article. A ground report on the sex lives of college students got a lot of reader interest—and some criticism. A worried reader thought the piece was 'avoidable' as '…the publication of such report perhaps will serve as an encouragement to other young readers… and more members of other sex will be hence victimized.' My reply was that the 'secret' lives ought to brought out into the open so that the public becomes aware of the need to create a healthy environment for normal, sexual behaviour. A really angry mail came from students of the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences regarding the article 'World's largest indigenous school in Odisha is a jail; we're all monkeys, says a tribal student'. They expressed 'immense pain' and a 'deep sense of betrayal'—'Have you ever visited our campus? Have you spoken to us, the children of KISS, before labelling our home as a 'jail'?' they wrote. 'Your article reeks of prejudice, ignorance, and insensitivity.' ThePrint replied with a point-by-point rebuttal of the allegations. For example, nowhere in the article did ThePrint claim it had entered the KISS premises—we had no permission to do so. We did speak to students, parents, and alumni, and the story cites a report by the National Human Rights Commission in 2025: 'The KIIT University and KISS have both been unable to comply with the law and failed to provide safety and security to their students.' Quite often, I receive backhanded compliments that are actually complaints. Like this one: 'I'm a long-time reader of your journal, and I find its reporting better and truer than the propaganda churned out by Godi media…' Great. But then: 'On the other hand, your journal does suffer from certain handicaps… Some of the articles are too long… they fail to hold my interest. For instance, the article by Manasi Phadake (sic), 'How big stars and bloated blockbusters are bleeding Bollywood dry', is way too long…' Finally, the reader has a word of advice: 'What you need is a good Editor who will ruthlessly trim the fat…' Personally, I found Phadke's article informative and the data it presented, persuasive. ThePrint has a very competent editing team who do 'ruthlessly trim the fat' but I have passed this on to them, nevertheless. Readers frequently complain about advertisements interrupting their reading of articles: 'I admire print journalism… it would be ideal if the articles could be printed without any ads interfering,' wrote in a reader. I wish we could all enjoy an ad-free experience but financial imperatives dictate otherwise. So, apologies, but please bear with us. Also Read: How ThePrint's small newsroom brought you Pahalgam from every angle, minus the noise Conversations—and compliments I also receive mail that is neither complimentary nor critical. Readers simply want to share their views. One reader, for example, wrote about 'When truth breaks its bones in the fall from power'—'The battle between truth and power is not new, but its stakes have never been higher…'' And this, on taxes: 'Taxed for earning. Taxed for spending. Taxed for saving'. 'You work 12 hours a day / Income Tax cuts your salary. You go shopping /GST slaps your bill. You save and invest /Capital gains eats your reward… You die. And they're considering inheritance tax next.' A very long mail arrived in the mailbox on the ruling party, titled: 'Hallo — all the Lordships of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India: please DO NOT UNDER-ESTIMATE the RSS of BJP…' Some readers ask for our opinion — or rather that of Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta: 'One thing which is not talked about a lot is that Gen. Munir is the first general of Pakistan Army who was commissioned (in 1986) when Zia was firmly in control of the army. Gen. Zia was in his conservative avatar, transforming Pakistani society… What are your thoughts on this? Would this mean the coming crop of generals from Pakistan would be more radical and conservative Islamists than their predecessors?' Finally, let me share a few compliments. The first — 'Thank you all for your reporting on the Pehalgam (sic) attack… Unlike some other channels, you guys have not tried to portray it Hindu vs Muslim. I felt that all your reports were subtly trying to tell the readers that it's a terrorist act effected by Pakistan and Indian Muslims are together in this with the rest of India.' And there's this one: 'Dear The Print (sic) team and Mr Shekhar Gupta, Thank you for doing what you are doing and please continue. I have been a big fan… of The Print. I have been diligently consuming important information pieces, and have been referring to The Print articles/videos anytime I needed a reliable source of information. Thank you for your non-hyphenated journalism.' Thank you, readers, for your continuing faith in ThePrint. Shailaja Bajpai is ThePrint's Readers' Editor. Please write in with your views and complaints to (Edited by Asavari Singh)
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
PM Modi meets Pahalgam terror attack victim's family members in Kanpur, consoles them
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met the family of Shubham Dwivedi, the Kanpur-based businessman who was among the 26 people killed in the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting was held at the Air Force Station, Chakeri, as the prime minister offered condolences and expressed solidarity with the bereaved family. Shubham Dwivedi's parents, Sanjay and Seema, along with Shubham's wife Aishanya, were present during the meeting. Shubham and Aishanya were married on February 12 this year. Modi spent time with the family, acknowledged their pain and said the nation would forever honour the courage and sacrifice of Shubham. He reassured them of the government's support and shared their sorrow, stating that such acts of terrorism would not weaken the country's resolve. Following the interaction, Aishanya said, 'It felt as though someone had placed a hand over my head.' 'The prime minister spoke with great empathy and told me that the country is proud of Shubham. His sacrifice will not be forgotten.' She also said Modi reiterated the government's commitment to ongoing anti-terror operations and made clear that the fight against terrorism would continue with full force. Aishanya told the prime minister that the attack appeared intended to disrupt the improving situation in the valley. 'Things were getting better in Kashmir, and perhaps the attackers came to undo that progress,' she said. 'They asked our religion before they shot. They wanted to divide us, to create hatred between Hindus and Muslims.' She added that Modi listened intently and responded with understanding. 'The pain was visible on his face,' she said. 'He also consoled my father-in-law, placing a hand on his shoulder.' Speaking after the meeting, Sanjay Dwivedi expressed gratitude for what he called the government's strong and timely response to the attack. 'We are grateful that the Prime minister took the time to meet us and expressed such deep sorrow,' he said. 'He promised that this fight against terrorism will continue until it is rooted out.' The meeting concluded with Modi assuring the family that he would meet them again soon. 'He said there was little time today, but he will come again. That gave us strength,' said Dwivedi.
