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Times of Oman
28-05-2025
- Business
- Times of Oman
"Sooner elections are held in Bangladesh, the better," says adviser to former PM Khaleda Zia
Dhaka: An adviser to former Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia said the sooner elections are held in Bangladesh, the better. The adviser also noted that the Army Chief has expressed concern about holding elections by December, as troops currently deployed for civilian and policing duties would prefer to return to their barracks. "No clear roadmap concerning when the election will be scheduled has been given. You know that the people of this country, for the last 16 years, have not had the scope to vote freely. The expectations of the people are very high. Today, those who are 35-36 years old have never voted in their lifetime. There is a big expectation that people must have the right to vote. I think the sooner, the better," Retired Major General Fazle Elahi Akbar, Defence and Security Adviser to the Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, said. "I see the election is imminent. It is a matter of time, and people are expecting that there should be an election and there should be a party elected by the people who take into hand the problem that the country is facing," he told ANI in an interview. The Army Chief and the three defence forces Chiefs of Bangladesh attended the inauguration of Akbar's Think Tank, Foundation for Strategic and Development Studies (FSDS), in a rare ceremony. He does not consider Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman's recent speech on Army Officers Address, expecting elections by December, as a power struggle with the interim government. "I think to say there is a power struggle is a little too much. After all, it's a government, the Army is an important institution, and the interim government is equally very important and very crucial. Army chief, I think the reason for his saying is that, after all, his troops are on the streets. No army in the world would like to do a job that is exclusively civil and policing in nature. In such a situation, the army chief has raised his voice concerning the integrity and standard of discipline to preserve the discipline and the professional competence of the military. He would like his troops to get back into the barracks and go back to business as usual," Akbar said. Whether the election will be credible without the participation of the Awami League is a burning question that people have been discussing. However, Akbar believes that the Awami League is not in a position to participate in the vote. "Is Awami League prepared to come and face the public and campaign for the election? I think this is an objective or the vision, the proposal is unattainable. Awami League is not in a position right now, even if the election is held within the next year or so. It is a utopic idea. It is better to let the Awami League rest and face the judiciary," Akbar, the Chairman of FSDS, said. He said that overthrowing Sheikh Hasina's government was not the sole achievement of the students and that they would not be able to form a people's political party, keeping their representatives in the government. "The political parties in the last 16 years fought the battle and created the ground. But certainly it is the students who ultimately show up at the final. They share courage, share unity, and share spirit that brought the Hasina regime down. So I have full respect for them," Akbar said. "But I would like to caution them, don't form a king's party by means with the support of the government. Historically, in Bangladesh, no king's party has survived. They must be very careful whether to form a king's party or the party of the people. The present demand is that the people who are in the cabinet and also part of the new party should not," he added. When asked whether Bangladesh's economy has weakened since the removal of Sheikh Hasina as Prime Minister, Akbar said, "Statistically, the answer is yes. After all, the previous regime syphoned out USD 50 billion. A country like this has a small economy, still sustaining itself with that. The interim regime has a memo of tasks to get the economy back. We have to have loan repayment. The economy is suffering because investment is also not coming. Most of the investors did not come. So, all these statistics show that the GDP is already below 5 per cent and in the future it will go to around 3 per cent. This is a very big challenge".
Times of Oman
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
"Question about Yunus resigning was complete drama to divert attention," says former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh
New Delhi: Former High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Veena Sikri on Sunday claimed that the speculation about Bangladesh interim government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus resigning was "complete drama" to distract from the statement of Bangladesh Army chief about conducting elections. "The question about Muhammad Yunus resigning was a complete drama. He had no intention of resigning at all, and in fact, he never said himself that he would resign," the former High Commissioner told ANI. Saying that on May 21, Bangladesh army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman had held discussions with other army officers in which they insisted on conducting elections at the end of 2025. "It was just a drama meant to divert attention away from what the army chief and all the army officers had said to him. On the 21st of May, the army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman had invited all the army officers and the discussion was held with all the army officers and then he came out with five points and in those five points there was one very clear point that the army is insisting that elections must be held in Bangladesh by the end of this year," she said. She said that earlier, after the ousting of Sheikh Hasina, it was the Army General who agreed that Yunus could be sworn in as head chief advisor, but the interim government has no authority to do reform. "This is only an interim government and not even a caretaker government. They have no authority to do reform, do they have authority to change the constitution, they have no such authority," she said. Earlier on May 24, Yunus quashed all rumours about his resignation or leaving the country, as an unscheduled meeting of the Advisory Council was held on Saturday, after the National Economic Council meeting. The meeting discussed the three primary responsibilities--elections, reforms, and justice--assigned to the interim government. "The interim government will listen to the statements of political parties in this regard and clarify the government's position," the Advisory Council said in a statement after the meeting. The meeting was held at the Planning Commission in the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area of the capital under the chairmanship of Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus. The meeting discussed in detail how the normal working environment is being disrupted and doubts and suspicions are being created in the public mind by making various unreasonable demands, motivated and extra-judicial statements and programs in the discharge of these responsibilities, the statement said. "The Advisory Council believes that greater unity is needed to keep the country stable, advance the election, justice and reform work and permanently prevent the arrival of dictatorship in this country," it added. The statement said that the interim government will listen to the statements of political parties in this regard and clarify the government's position. Several political parties, including Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), have been demanding parliamentary elections by December. However, the National Citizens Party (NCP), a new party led by students who led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, wants fundamental reforms before the elections. The interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, is allegedly supporting the NCP. The BNP activists have taken up a protest in front of Jamuna, the residence of the Chief Adviser, in Dhaka, demanding the removal of two student advisers from the interim government's cabinet.
Wall Street Journal
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
India and Pakistan Step Up Attacks as U.S. Seeks Ways to De-Escalate
The confrontation between India and Pakistan intensified Saturday, with each accusing the other of strikes against military and civilian sites overnight as the U.S. sought ways to reduce the risk of the two nuclear-armed rivals tipping into full-blown conflict. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to his counterparts in India and Pakistan and to that country's army chief on Friday, to urge the clashing nations to resume direct talks 'to avoid miscalculation.'
