Latest news with #AntiTerrorismAct
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Luari Sharif shrine dispute echoes in Badin
A group of men, allegedly associated with one of the contested custodians of the Luari Sharif shrine in Badin district, reportedly assaulted journalists by attacking Badin Press Club on Monday. The club's president stated that armed men forcefully entered the club at a time when some people belonging to an opposing group of the custodians were addressing a press conference. The armed men wanted to stop the press conference. He said that the armed men climbed the club's walls to enter the place. He, however, felt relieved that the attackers could not get close to Mir Tariq Talpur and others who were speaking at the press conference. Talpur's group is said to be at loggerheads with Pir Muhammad Sadiq Qureshi's group. Memon lamented that though the police promptly reached the club on their complaint, they stood as spectators instead of trying to control the situation. Separately, a meeting of journalists at the club denounced the attack and demanded immediate action against the attackers by arresting them and charging them in an FIR under provisions of the Anti Terrorism Act. Though the incident's FIR could not be registered by the evening, police detained at least seven people who have been blamed for the assault.
CNN
14-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's party barred from election
Bangladesh's Election Commission has cancelled the registration of the former ruling party of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, preventing it from participating in the next national election, which is expected to be held by June next year. The decision on Monday came hours after the country's interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus issued an official notification banning the Awami League party and its affiliated bodies from conducting activities online and elsewhere. Monday's formal notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs was issued two days after the interim Cabinet decided to ban all activities of the party under the country's Anti-Terrorism Act until a special tribunal concludes a trial for the party and its leaders. In the notification, the government said it outlawed all activities 'including any kind of publication, media, online and social media' as well as 'any kind of campaign, procession, meeting, gathering (or) conference until the trial of the leaders and activists … is completed.' It said the decision was effective immediately. Separately, the Election Commission said Monday it would not allow the Hasina-led party to contest the next election. Political parties must be registered with the Election Commission to take part in elections. A government adviser said Monday that anyone who posts comments online in support of the Awami League party would face arrest. On Sunday, the Awami League accused the interim government of 'stoking division' and trampling on 'democratic norms' by banning its activities. It said in a statement that the ban 'stoked division within society, strangled democratic norms, fueled ongoing pogrom against dissenters and strangled inclusivity, all undemocratic steps.' The Awami League is one of two major parties in Bangladesh, which has a fractious parliamentary democracy with a violent history of coups and political assassination. Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh's independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, fled the country on Aug. 5 last year and has been in exile in India since then along with many senior party colleagues and former Cabinet minsters and lawmakers. They have been accused of killing protesters during an uprising against Hasina's 15-year rule in July-August last year. The United Nations human rights office said in a report in February that up to 1,400 people may have been killed during three weeks of anti-Hasina protests. But the Office of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights recommended in a report to 'refrain from political party bans that would undermine a return to a genuine multi-party democracy and effectively disenfranchise a large part of the Bangladeshi electorate.' The Awami League, which led a nine-month war against Pakistan for independence in 1971, has been under severe pressure since Hasina's ouster. Protesters have attacked and torched many of its offices including its headquarters in Dhaka. It accuses the interim government of sponsoring mobs to attack the homes and businesses of their activists and leaders. It said thousands of its supporters have been arrested across the country and that many have been killed. Yunus has said the next election will likely be held either in December or in June next year.
CNA
13-05-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Ousted Bangladesh PM Hasina's party barred from election as party registration suspended
DHAKA: Bangladesh's Election Commission has suspended the registration of ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League, effectively barring the party from contesting the next national elections. The move comes after the interim government of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus banned all activities of the Awami League under the Anti-Terrorism Act after days of protests. The government cited national security threats and a war crimes investigation underway against the party's top leadership over the deaths of hundreds of protesters. 'With the home ministry's ban on all activities of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations, the Election Commission has decided to suspend the party's registration,' Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told reporters late on Monday (May 12). Under Bangladesh's electoral laws, a political party must be registered with the Election Commission to participate in national polls. The suspension means the Awami League – which led the country for more than 20 years – is now officially disqualified from contesting future elections unless the ban is lifted and the registration restored. The Election Commission also prohibited the party and its affiliates from conducting any political activities, including publications, media appearances, online and social media campaigns, processions, rallies, or conferences, until the International Crimes Tribunal completes its proceedings. Hasina, credited with turning around the economy but accused of human rights violations and the suppression of dissent, won a fourth straight term in 2024, but the poll was boycotted by the main opposition, whose top leaders were in jail or in exile. The country has seen rising tensions and protests in recent months, after deadly protests forced Hasina to flee to India in August 2024 and an interim government led by Yunus took charge. Yunus, who is not aligned to any party, has pledged reforms and said national elections could be delayed until 2026 and that he is not interested in running. India said on Tuesday that it was concerned by the ban on the Awami League, as well as the "curtailment of democratic freedoms" and "shrinking political space" in Bangladesh. "We strongly support the early holding of free, fair and inclusive elections in Bangladesh," Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a media briefing. Political parties, including former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party, have also demanded an early poll and return to a democratically-elected government. The newly formed student-driven National Citizen Party, which emerged from last year's uprising that toppled Hasina, wants polls only after reforms are implemented. The unrest began in July with student protests against public sector job quotas, but morphed into one of the deadliest periods of political violence since independence in 1971.
Associated Press
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Bangladesh's interim government strips former ruling party of registration, barring it from polls
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh's Election Commission has cancelled the registration of the former ruling party of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, preventing it from participating in the next national election, which is expected to be held by June next year. The decision on Monday came hours after the country's interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus issued an official notification banning the Awami League party and its affiliated bodies from conducting activities online and elsewhere. Monday's formal notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs was issued two days after the interim Cabinet decided to ban all activities of the party under the country's Anti-Terrorism Act until a special tribunal concludes a trial for the party and its leaders. In the notification, the government said it outlawed all activities 'including any kind of publication, media, online and social media' as well as 'any kind of campaign, procession, meeting, gathering (or) conference until the trial of the leaders and activists … is completed.' It said the decision was effective immediately. Separately, the Election Commission said Monday it would not allow the Hasina-led party to contest the next election. Political parties must be registered with the Election Commission to take part in elections. A government adviser said Monday that anyone who posts comments online in support of the Awami League party would face arrest. On Sunday, the Awami League accused the interim government of 'stoking division' and trampling on 'democratic norms' by banning its activities. It said in a statement that the ban 'stoked division within society, strangled democratic norms, fueled ongoing pogrom against dissenters and strangled inclusivity, all undemocratic steps.' The Awami League is one of two major parties in Bangladesh, which has a fractious parliamentary democracy with a violent history of coups and political assassination. Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh's independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, fled the country on Aug. 5 last year and has been in exile in India since then along with many senior party colleagues and former Cabinet minsters and lawmakers. They have been accused of killing protesters during an uprising against Hasina's 15-year rule in July-August last year. The United Nations human rights office said in a report in February that up to 1,400 people may have been killed during three weeks of anti-Hasina protests. But the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner of Human Rights recommended in a report to 'refrain from political party bans that would undermine a return to a genuine multi-party democracy and effectively disenfranchise a large part of the Bangladeshi electorate.' The Awami League, which led a nine-month war against Pakistan for independence in 1971, has been under severe pressure since Hasina's ouster. Protesters have attacked and torched many of its offices including its headquarters in Dhaka. It accuses the interim government of sponsoring mobs to attack the homes and businesses of their activists and leaders. It said thousands of its supporters have been arrested across the country and that many have been killed. Yunus has said the next election will likely be held either in December or in June next year.
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Bangladesh's interim government strips former ruling party of registration, barring it from polls
Bangladesh's Election Commission has cancelled the registration of the former ruling party of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, preventing it from participating in the next national election, which is expected to be held by June next year. The decision on Monday came hours after the country's interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus issued an official notification banning the Awami League party and its affiliated bodies from conducting activities online and elsewhere. Monday's formal notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs was issued two days after the interim Cabinet decided to ban all activities of the party under the country's Anti-Terrorism Act until a special tribunal concludes a trial for the party and its leaders. In the notification, the government said it outlawed all activities 'including any kind of publication, media, online and social media" as well as "any kind of campaign, procession, meeting, gathering (or) conference until the trial of the leaders and activists … is completed.' It said the decision was effective immediately. Separately, the Election Commission said Monday it would not allow the Hasina-led party to contest the next election. Political parties must be registered with the Election Commission to take part in elections. A government adviser said Monday that anyone who posts comments online in support of the Awami League party would face arrest. On Sunday, the Awami League accused the interim government of 'stoking division' and trampling on 'democratic norms' by banning its activities. It said in a statement that the ban 'stoked division within society, strangled democratic norms, fueled ongoing pogrom against dissenters and strangled inclusivity, all undemocratic steps." The Awami League is one of two major parties in Bangladesh, which has a fractious parliamentary democracy with a violent history of coups and political assassination. Hasina, the daughter of Bangladesh's independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, fled the country on Aug. 5 last year and has been in exile in India since then along with many senior party colleagues and former Cabinet minsters and lawmakers. They have been accused of killing protesters during an uprising against Hasina's 15-year rule in July-August last year. The United Nations human rights office said in a report in February that up to 1,400 people may have been killed during three weeks of anti-Hasina protests. But the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner of Human Rights recommended in a report to 'refrain from political party bans that would undermine a return to a genuine multi-party democracy and effectively disenfranchise a large part of the Bangladeshi electorate.' The Awami League, which led a nine-month war against Pakistan for independence in 1971, has been under severe pressure since Hasina's ouster. Protesters have attacked and torched many of its offices including its headquarters in Dhaka. It accuses the interim government of sponsoring mobs to attack the homes and businesses of their activists and leaders. It said thousands of its supporters have been arrested across the country and that many have been killed. Yunus has said the next election will likely be held either in December or in June next year.
