
BNP demands release of detained Baloch women
The BNP has demanded the immediate release of detained Baloch women as it vowed to continue its protests till its demands are accepted.
Addressing a rally in Quetta on Friday, BNP President Akhtar Mengal said the Baloch people had endured 75 years of injustice, declaring that the party would not back down until their legitimate demands were acknowledged and addressed.
"The prisons are not new to us. We will not back down," Mengal asserted.
He slammed the government for stopping the BNP's long march at Lak Pass, Mastung and barring the party from entering Quetta.
The BNP-M rally drew a large crowd of flag-waving supporters, chanting in support of Baloch rights and reaffirming their commitment to continue nationwide protests.
The public gathering came on the heels of a series of demonstrations demanding the recovery of missing persons.
Strict security arrangements were put in place across the city, with a heavy police presence. Despite a tense atmosphere, the event remained peaceful and concluded without incident.

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Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
Proxy war
EDITORIAL: During his recent visit to Quetta accompanied by Army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed a grand jirga of tribal elders, highlighting the issue of terrorism backed by India he called 'fitna al-Hindustan' — a reference to insurgent groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which have been involved in a series of high-profile terrorist attacks targeting the security forces, Chinese interests — especially those tied to CPEC — as well as innocent civilians from other provinces. A few days ago, a suicide bombing on a school bus in Khuzdar claimed six lives, four of them children, and wounded 40 other children. In his conversation at the jirga, the Army chief said that Indian-sponsored proxy war is no longer hidden; it is an open malicious act of terrorism waged on our people, our progress, and our peace. 'We have concrete proof of India's hand behind terrorist networks operating in Balochistan', he averred, adding 'these nefarious attempts of the enemy will fail.' As a matter of fact, India's role in fomenting terrorism has been an open secret since the ultra-Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. A while ago, his national security advisor had publicly declared his government's new 'Offensive Defence Strategy' aimed at destabilising Pakistan by waging hybrid warfare — inflicting harm on this country without engaging in a direct military confrontation. This the Indian government has been doing by providing funding, arms and training to BLA and other such groups through its intelligence agency RAW operatives, like the naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was arrested while aiding and instigating acts of terrorism in Balochistan. After the humiliating setback suffered in its 'Operation Sindoor' against Pakistan, the Modi government has an even stronger urge to try and undermine Pakistan via its proxies, some of whom have no hesitation to show the connection. The day after cessation of hostilities on May 10, BLA openly asked, in a press release, India to take action against Pakistan, promising to act along with other Baloch militant groups as its 'military arm' on the western side. India hurts Pakistan to achieve its strategic objective of weakening a traditional rival by exploiting its fault lines. But the current approach to the security environment in that troubled province, to say the least, is unproductive. Use of force for the past two decades has not helped resolve the situation, and calls for course correction. What is needed is a multi-dimensional approach to address longstanding grievances of the Baloch people, which play into the hands of hostile forces. It is good to note that in his speech to the jirga PM Sharif emphasised the need for talks to bring back those 'misled' by terrorists, and redress the wider issues plaguing the province. That though can happen only if true representatives of the Baloch people are duly empowered to hold meaningful talks with leadership of the dissidents. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025


Express Tribune
a day ago
- Express Tribune
Bangladesh's growing predicament
Steps taken by the interim government of Dr Mohammad Yunus like banning Awami League, removing the picture of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rehman from currency notes and erasing from textbooks the role of Awami League in freedom struggle reflect a paradigm shift in Dhaka's narrative about a political party which spearheaded the country's freedom movement. Around a year has passed since Dr Yunus took the reins of government following the exit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from power and her taking refuge in India. Finally succumbing to pressure, Dr Yunus announced the holding of general elections in April 2026. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) which suffered Sheikh Hasina's wrath for more than 15 years initially supported the Yunus regime but then took an aggressive stance against it, urging Yunus to announce elections at the earliest. Why has BNP, a beneficiary of Sheikh Hasina's exit from power, turned against Dr Yunus? What is the future of the banned Awami League? How are the fault lines in Bangladesh related to its economy, politics, governance, military and India are deepening its predicament? Dr Yunus has recently made it clear that elections will be held in April 2026 but his opponents are not ready to trust him and allege that he is trying to prolong his rule by amplifying controversial issues like banning Awami League, giving space to Islamist political parties and groups and relying too much on China for supporting the country's economy. In order to gain some credibility for his regime, Dr Yunus in late 2024 established reform commissions aimed at bettering institutions so that meaningful general elections could be held. On February 8, 2025 Dhaka Tribune reported the formation of six reform commissions - on Constitution, Election Commission, Police Reform, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Public Administration and Judiciary. The reports on the commissions were also published on the Cabinet Division's website. The reform commission about political parties held several meeting but remained inconclusive. It was a gigantic task for the Yunus regime to reform centres of power as he lamented that Bangladesh is in a quandary because of rampant corruption, nepotism as well as politicisation of bureaucracy, judiciary, education and economy. Unfortunately, the reform commissions failed to move ahead. BNP alleged that the Yunus regime was trying to gain time under the cover of reform commissions. One needs to analyse Bangladesh's growing predicament amidst the announcement of elections in April 2026 from three angles. First, the credibility of the Yunus regime is questionable because it does not have any legal or constitutional status nor does it enjoy the public mandate. The only legitimacy is has is that when Sheikh Hasina fled to India and her government collapsed, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh allowed the President to take oath from Dr Mohammad Yunus as the caretaker Chief Adviser. In order to win some legitimacy, Yunus should have gone for a public referendum, but he continued as the head of the government and pledged to hold elections after reforming institutions latest by June 2026. Later on, he advanced the election date to April 2026. Critics argue that instead of focusing on the economy, governance and reforms, Yunus has conducted 11 foreign tours during the 10 months of his rule so far. The Yunus regime supporters, like the newly formed National Citizens Party (NCP) of student leader Nahid Islam and Jamaat-i-Islami, feel concerned about the growing popular chagrin against the caretaker government. Initially, the Yunus regime tried to take advantage of the Awami League government's repression against the protesting students that resulted in the killing of more than 1,400 people. Second, Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman who was supportive to the Yunus regime and provided him space to run the government is now giving a different message. In his neutral and professional position, the Army Chief cannot remain oblivious to ground realities. He has also called for early elections. According to AFP, addressing officers of Bangladesh military on May 21, the Army Chief said, "Bangladesh is passing through a chaotic phase. The situation is worsening. The structure of the civil administration and law enforcement agencies has collapsed and failed to reconstitute." He called for holding general elections by December 2025 in order to pull the country from the prevailing crisis. This clearly means loss of military support to the Yunus regime and its further fragility. Third, India is closely watching the current political situation in Bangladesh. New Delhi is exerting pressure on the Yunus regime to abandon what it perceives as anti-Indian stance. A section of the Indian media and the Modi government leave no issue to criticise the Yunus regime - whether it is the banning of Awami League, reported construction of an airbase with the Chinese assistance in north Bengal's city Lal Monirhat, Dhaka's growing rapport with Pakistan or the rise of Islamist forces in Bangladesh. Dhaka criticises New Delhi on why it has allowed Sheikh Hasina to launch hostile tirade against the Yunus regime and why despite official request it has not handed her over to Bangladesh. Bangladesh also accuses India of using the 'Hindu' minority card to blame the Yunus regime. Decades of deep-rooted influence of India's RAW in Bangladesh - permeating in academia, civil society, bureaucracy, judiciary and other segments of society - is making it difficult for the Yunus regime to take an independent position. Surrounded by three sides from India and economically dependent, Bangladesh is trying to get space by reaching out to China and other countries. In order to penalise Bangladesh over its refusal to follow a pro-India stance, Delhi has imposed trade restrictions so that Dhaka capitulates. In order to deal with its growing predicament, the Yunus regime has announced general elections to be held in April 2026, but one is not sure to what extent Bangladesh will be able to ensure transparent elections within the next 10 months. The coming months will be decisive regarding the approach of the caretaker government and political parties to deal with coming elections.


Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Express Tribune
Bangladesh announces elections in April 2026, says Yunus
'The government has been doing everything necessary to create an environment conducive to holding the election,' says Yunus Listen to article Bangladesh will hold elections in early April 2026 for the first time since a mass uprising overthrew the government last year, interim leader Muhammad Yunus said Friday. The South Asian nation of around 170 million people has been in political turmoil since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted by a student-led revolt in August 2024, ending her iron-fisted rule of 15 years. 'I am announcing to the citizens of the country that the election will be held on any day in the first half of April 2026,' said Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner who leads the caretaker government. Political parties jostling for power have been repeatedly demanding Yunus fix an election timetable, while he has said time is needed as the country requires an overhaul of its democratic institutions after Hasina's tenure. 'The government has been doing everything necessary to create an environment conducive to holding the election,' he added in the television broadcast, while repeating his warning that reforms were needed. 'It should be remembered that Bangladesh has plunged into deep crisis every time it has held a flawed election,' he said, in a speech given on the eve of the Eid al-Adha holiday in the Muslim-majority nation. 'A political party usurped power through such elections in the past, and became a barbaric fascist force.' Hasina's rule saw widespread human rights abuses, and her government was accused of politicising courts and the civil service, as well as staging lopsided elections. The interim government had already repeatedly vowed to hold elections before June 2026, but said the more time it had to enact reforms, the better. Reform of 'utmost importance' The key Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), seen as the election frontrunner, has in recent weeks been pushing hard for polls to be held by December. Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, in a speech to officers in May, also said that elections should be held by December, according to both Bangladeshi media and military sources. Days after that speech, the government warned that political power struggles risked jeopardising gains that have been made. 'Those who organise such elections are later viewed as culprits, and those who assume office through them become targets of public hatred,' Yunus said on Friday. 'One of the biggest responsibilities of this government is to ensure a transparent… and widely participatory election so that the country does not fall into a new phase of crisis,' he added. 'That is why institutional reform is of utmost importance.'