Speaking at the 4th Bangladesh Economic Conference on Saturday, he said facilities such as bonded warehouses and back-to-back LC (letter of credit) mechanisms will be opened up for emerging export sectors.

“We want to create more export-earning sectors like RMG in the coming days, and it will be included in our election manifesto,” he added.

Mr. Khasru said the BNP aims to create 10 million jobs within the first 18 months of its government if elected.

“It requires funding, and we have chalked out a plan for where the money will come from,” he said.

“We don’t want to put more pressure on banks, which are already under strain. We plan to revitalise the capital and bond markets for long-term investment,” the BNP leader added.

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The home ministry issued a gazette notification in this regard which will come into force immediately.

The notification states that the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing affiliated with the Awami League, has been involved in activities that undermine public safety, including murder, torture, systematic oppression in student dormitories, seat trading, tender manipulation, rape, and sexual harassment during various periods following Bangladesh's independence, particularly during the last 15 years of authoritarian rule. Substantial evidence of these activities has been published in major media outlets, and some of the organisation's members have been convicted in court for their involvement in terrorist activities.

During the anti-discrimination student movement that began on July 15, Chhatra League members launched frenzied and indiscriminate armed attacks on protesting students and the general public, resulting in the killing of hundreds of innocent students and civilians and endangering the lives of countless others.

The government has sufficient evidence to prove that even after the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, the Bangladesh Chhatra League has continued to engage in conspiratorial, destructive, and provocative activities, as well as various acts of terrorism.

In light of this, the government has declared the Bangladesh Chhatra League banned under Section 18(1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009, and has listed the organization as a prohibited entity in Schedule 2 of that law.

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A team of detectives arrested him, Rezaul Karim Mallic, additional commissioner of Detective Branch of Police, told media this morning.

He also said details of the arrest would be disclosed later.

Several cases were filed against him after the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government on August 5.

Last month, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) decided to launch an inquiry into Khan.

Khan, also a former MP from the Madaripur-2 constituency, was previously summoned by the ACC in 2014 over allegations related to irregularities in plot allocation and the accumulation of illegal assets.

His affidavit for the 11th parliamentary election revealed substantial wealth, including two cars, 96 bhori of gold belonging to his wife, two buses, an SUV, a microbus, and a 10-katha plot of land from Rajuk, registered under his wife's name.

Khan also served as the chairman of the standing committee of Ministry of Liberation War Affairs.

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During the phone call initiated by Biden, "The two leaders expressed their shared concern over the situation in Bangladesh and emphasised the restoration of law and order and ensuring the safety of minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh," said a readout issued by the Indian Prime Minister's Office on Monday.

Besides Bangladesh, Modi and Biden had a detailed exchange of views about various regional and global issues, it added.

The two leaders reiterated their commitment to strengthen further the cooperation in multilateral fora, including the Quad and they agreed to remain in touch, according to the readout.

This was the first time Modi and Biden spoke to each other on the issue of Bangladesh since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister, according to the Daily Star report.

Hasina resigned and escaped to India on August 5 in the face of weeks of street protests led by students.

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U.S. diplomats had publicly harangued the 76-year-old Hasina for jailing thousands of her rivals and critics ahead of an election scheduled for last January. The Biden administration had sanctioned a Bangladeshi police unit under Hasina’s command accused of carrying out extrajudicial abductions and killings and had threatened imposing visa restrictions on Bangladeshis who undermined democracy or committed human rights abuses, reports the Washington Post.  

But in a series of meetings, Indian officials demanded that the United States tone down its pro-democracy rhetoric. If the opposition were allowed to gain power in an open election, Indian officials argued, Bangladesh would become a breeding ground for Islamist groups posing a threat to India’s national security.

 “You approach it at the level of democracy, but for us, the issues are much, much more serious and existential,” said an Indian government adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private talks. “There were a lot of conversations with the Americans where we said, ‘This is a core concern for us, and you can’t take us as a strategic partner unless we have some kind of strategic consensus.’”

Ultimately, the Biden administration substantially softened its criticism and shelved threats of further sanctions against Hasina’s government, disappointing many in Bangladesh. U.S. officials say it was a calculated decision that had little to do with Indian pressure. Many details of the bilateral discussions and U.S. deliberations have not been reported previously.

Now, after protesters defied the army’s curfew orders and marched on Hasina’s official residence, compelling her to flee to India, policymakers in both New Delhi and Washington are forced to confront whether they mishandled Bangladesh.

“There is always a balancing act in Bangladesh, as there is in many places where the situation on the ground is complicated and you want to work with the partners you have in a way that is not inconsistent with what the American people expect,” said a U.S. official, who like several others interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s diplomatic sensitivity.

In the months leading up to the January election, divisions emerged within the U.S. government over how to handle Bangladesh. Some in the U.S. State Department, including then-Ambassador Peter Haas and other embassy officials, argued for a tougher stance against Hasina, particularly since President Joe Biden had campaigned on a foreign policy plank of restoring democracy, people familiar with the matter said. Haas, who has since retired, declined to comment.

Other U.S. officials felt there was little to be gained from further alienating Hasina and risking the safety of U.S. diplomats, including Haas, who had received threats from Hasina’s followers.

Some White House officials also considered the downside of antagonizing India, which made a series of appeals to the U.S. that it moderate its pressure on Hasina, including when Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in November in New Delhi, according to the people familiar with the matter. Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval also played a key role in presenting the Indian case during a visit to Washington that autumn, one of those people said.

“The U.S. approach to Bangladesh was always one that tried to both be consistent with our values — and we spoke about those publicly on many occasions — but also pragmatic about the reality that the situation in Bangladesh was very complicated and that there were a number of interests that we had there and that other countries had there,” said the U.S. official. “We needed to try to find a constructive way to engage with that administration, as we do in all places. So our policy was much more about trying to strike a balance between both of those things.”

For India, the dramatic developments in Bangladesh have turned a spotlight on its decade-long, all-in bet on Hasina, even as she grew autocratic and unpopular. For the United States, the episode has highlighted a growing dilemma: While India is seen by the Biden administration as a crucial partner in countering China, India itself is increasingly viewed by its smaller neighbors in South Asia as a meddling, aggressively nationalist power under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In January, after Hasina claimed victory in a one-sided election with many of her opponents in jail or in hiding, Indian officials endorsed the election results, fueling calls from the Bangladeshi opposition for a boycott of Indian imports. Last year, in the tiny Indian Ocean country of the Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu rose to power as president by campaigning on an “India Out” platform. And in Sri Lanka, anti-Indian sentiment flared this year after Modi claimed on the campaign trail that his opponents gave India’s rightful territory cheaply away to Sri Lanka.

 “The U.S. has built its relationship with India and has this tendency to defer to its wishes in the region, and probably nowhere was that more evident than Bangladesh,” said Jon Danilowicz, a retired U.S. diplomat who served as deputy chief of mission in Dhaka. “But the risk is like Iran 1979: If you’re seen as colluding with the dictator, when the dictator falls, you’re left playing catch-up.” (The United States strongly backed the autocratic shah of Iran before he was overthrown during the Islamic Revolution.)

Now, Danilowicz added, “New Delhi and Washington have to show some humility and acknowledge they got Bangladesh wrong by not siding with the Bangladeshi people and their democratic aspirations.”

U.S. officials have strongly disputed the characterization that they were swayed by Indian lobbying. Blinken had led efforts to reduce violence and encourage a fair and free election in its run-up, said a State Department official. “Both Sheikh Hasina herself and opposition leaders said the Secretary’s steps reduced violence,” the official said. “After the elections, which were neither free nor fair, some criticized the U.S. for not imposing more restrictions on Bangladeshis, falsely attributing this to Indian influence.”

After Hasina’s ouster, which followed weeks of unrest in which hundreds of protesters were killed, Indian officials have publicly changed tack and expressed willingness to work with whoever comes to power. Last week, Modi sent his “best wishes” to Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Prize-winning banker who took charge of Bangladesh’s interim government, even though he criticized India for backing Hasina. Yunus has called for new, free and fair elections once stability is restored in the country.

The State Department endorsed Yunus, with spokesman Matthew Miller saying the United States hoped to see “the Bangladeshi people decide the future of the Bangladeshi government.”

Aside from the United States, India had simultaneously warned other Western governments about the dangers of the opposition Bangladeshi Nationalist Party (BNP) returning to power. “It was intense,” recalled an official from a Western country allied with the United States. “They started briefing Western governments that Bangladesh could become the next Afghanistan, that the BNP could lead to instability, violence and terror.”

Indian officials say they have reason to feel burned by the Bangladeshi opposition. During the rule of Hasina’s rivals, the BNP, in the mid-2000s, militants smuggled weapons to attack northeast India and trained in camps inside Bangladesh with the help of Pakistani intelligence, Indian officials say. Indian and U.S. officials say this experience with BNP rule explained why India had been so adamant on keeping Hasina in power for 15 years.

In recent days, Indian officials have warned that the Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist political party, could gain power, and Indian media have reported on a spike in attacks on Bangladesh’s Hindu minority population in the days since Hasina was deposed.

BNP leaders, who could win if elections are soon held, say they have met Indian officials in recent years to mend ties and assure them that India — and Hindus in Bangladesh — would be safe if India stopped propping up Hasina and the BNP returned.

“We’ve been in touch with India, trying to tell them, ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,’” said Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, a senior BNP leader. “We have tried to assuage whatever concerns India has. It would be stupid for both sides to carry the baggage of the past.”

As India grapples with the shock of suddenly losing one of its closest allies, Indian foreign policy circles and media have been awash with speculation that Washington orchestrated the removal of Hasina, who has long had a chilly relationship with the United States. U.S. officials have staunchly denied the claim.

Others in New Delhi say India was to blame for propping up an autocrat for so long. A former senior Indian national security official said it made sense, in theory, to support Hasina, but New Delhi did not grasp the situation on the ground.

“Everybody who came from Dhaka were giving the same feedback that anti-India feelings are at an unprecedented level, yet we calculated that she has full control over the administrative and coercive arms of the state,” the former Indian official said. “We thought repeated attempts to destabilize the government have failed, so she will manage again. The truth is, the whole thing just needed a spark to set the whole house on fire.”

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Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, currently taking refuge in India, has broken her silence by accusing foreign powers like the US of playing a hand in her ouster.

This comes days after the Indian government said it was analysing the possibility of a “foreign hand” behind the political crisis in Bangladesh.

“I could have remained in power if I had left St. Martin and the Bay of Bengal to America,” she said in a message conveyed to her Awami League supporters Saturday, seen by The Print, an Indian media.

The Hasina government saw strained relations with the US for many years. Ahead of January’s elections this year, she said “a white man” had offered her a smooth return to power in exchange for an airbase.

In her latest statement, Hasina, the longest-serving prime minister in Bangladesh’s history, warned the new interim government not be “used” by such foreign powers.

The 17-member advisory council, which includes four members who lean towards the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and three affiliated with the Jamaat-e-Islami, took oath Thursday night, the Indian media reported.

The Bangladesh Parliament was dissolved earlier this week, after army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced Hasina’s resignation shortly after she fled the country.

“I resigned so that I did not have to see the procession of dead bodies. They wanted to come to power over your (students’) bodies, I did not allow it. I came with power,” read Hasina’s statement.

“Maybe if I was in the country today, more lives would have been lost, more wealth would have been destroyed,” she added.

She is also expected to address the media while in India next week.

Over 300 people died in weeks-long student protests against Hasina. The US, UK Canada and other countries have called for investigations into the deaths of students. With the new interim government in Dhaka, Washington said it hopes it will “chart a democratic future” in Bangladesh.

The US is also Bangladesh’s largest foreign direct investor.

‘I will return soon’

In her message to supporters and party cadres, she vowed to return to the country, though accepting her defeat.

 “I will return soon inshallah.  The defeat is mine but the victory is [that of] the people of Bangladesh,” she stated.

 “I removed myself, I came with your victory, you were my strength, you did not want me, I myself then left, resigned. My workers who are there, no one will lose morale. Awami League has stood up again and again,” she added.

 The former prime minister also accused people of distorting her words.

 “I want to repeat to my young students, I never called you Razakars…My words have been distorted. A group has taken advantage of your danger. ,” she said in the message.

The term ‘Razakar’ is considered to be derogatory in Bangladesh as it refers to ‘volunteers’ who collaborated with the Pakistan Army during Bangladesh’s 1971 war for independence.

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In an exclusive interview on Friday, Mr Wazed said that his mother does not want to live in exile and would like to go back to Bangladesh. He also insisted that Ms Hasina wanted to retire for the last two terms as prime minister, but did not rule out her return to active politics. 

"I spoke with her (Ms Hasina) last night. She has no plans as of yet. She's staying put. All the rumours about her applying for visas or asylum... none of those are true. What she really wants is to eventually go back to Bangladesh. Whether that's to be in politics or to retire, it doesn't matter. It's her home. She has grown up there. This was going to be her last term anyway, she's 76 years old. She wants to retire in her village home in Tungipara (in south Bangladesh). That has been her dream. She does not want to live in exile outside Bangladesh," Mr Wazed said.

When he was asked whether this would mean that Ms Hasina could return to active politics, Mr Wazed, who is an IT entrepreneur and lives in the US, said she would be the best person to answer but she was never in public life for herself.

"She was in politics for her country, not because she wanted to be in power. She has been wanting to retire for the last two terms. In fact, she has been pushing me before every election to come and join politics. No one in our family has ever had ambition for power or politics," he claimed.

So if he didn't take her up on the offer at the time, would he do so now, considering that workers in his mother's party, the Awami League, would be looking for leadership at this critical juncture? When this question was posed to Mr Wazed, he said that he has become the face of the party by default for now.

"I guess by default I am, you know, I have become the face right now. I never wanted this. I have no political ambition, but as soon as I learned that our party leaders were being attacked, their homes burned down, I said I cannot just abandon them. So I am in touch with many of our party leaders. Almost all our ministers' homes have been burned down, our ancestral home has been burned down... So in this situation, I will do whatever it takes. The Awami League still has tens of millions of followers, it is not going to disappear overnight," he asserted.

'Workers Will Decide'

Stating that the Awami League could win the elections, as and when they are held, because of Ms Hasina's record of development, the entrepreneur said that the party is a democratic one and the workers and leaders will decide who will be at the helm.

"If the Awami League activists...they all demand that I come, I will think about it. It depends on the members of the party... If the party demands that she (Ms Hasina) be the leader, then she will be the leader. As I said, we are a democratic party. It is totally up to the members of the party to decide who their leader is going to be," he said.

'Government Without Mandate'

On the interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, Mr Wazed said it has no mandate and the constitution provides for elections to be held within 90 days.

"The interim government has made no attempt to communicate with us. Today's statement from  one of the advisers... it is unfortunate they they have taken the exact same playbook that has failed before. They have been placed in power by a tiny minority and perhaps with foreign support. They don't have the mandate of the people of Bangladesh at all, and they think they will reform the country without a popular mandate... This is an unconstitutional, hand-picked government and it is in their interest to hold elections as soon as possible," he alleged.

Asked whether his mother would be willing to return to Bangladesh to face charges, he said she had nothing to be afraid of.

"During the last military takeover, they arrested my mother. They put her on trial and she was acquitted on all charges. My mother is not afraid of that. They want to play that game. We can play it again. What will happen if they try to put Sheikh Hasina on trial? Well, they can find out. My mother has done nothing illegal. She has done nothing wrong. If there are people in our government that have acted outside the law, those are the people that need to be tried. You cannot blame my mother," he stressed.

The directive was issued through a press release on Thursday, signed by BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

In the statement, Rizvi said, "For the information of all leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its affiliated and associate organisations, this is to inform that until further notice, no leader or activist of any other political party or any non-political individual can be included in any committee of the BNP from the ward to the national level, or in the committees of its affiliated and associate organisations from the ward to the central level."

The BNP has instructed all its leaders, activists, as well as those in its affiliated and associate organisations to strictly adhere to this decision.

Besides, the party has announced a nationwide prayer program after the Friday prayers for those killed in the quota reform protests and pray for the recovery of the injured.

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Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - Portfolios have been distributed among the chief adviser and other advisers after the formation of the interim government headed by Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus.

A gazette notification was published in this connection on Friday.

The portfolios of the advisers to the interim government are as follows:

Salehuddin Ahmed: Finance and Planning ministry

Asif Nazrul: Law Ministry

Adilur Rahman Khan: Industries Ministry

Hasan Arif: LGRD ministry

Syeda Rizwana Hasan: Environment Ministry

Sharmin Murshid: Social Welfare Ministry

Brigadier (retd) AKM Sakhawat Hossain: Home Ministry

AFM Khalid Hossain: Religious Affairs Ministry

Farida Akhtar: Fisheries and Livestock Ministry

Nurjahan Begum: Health Ministry

Nahid Islam: Information and Broadcasting Ministry

Asif Mahmud: Youth and Sports ministry

Chief adviser to the interim government, Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, is in charge of the remaining 27 ministries and divisions.

Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will return to her country when its new caretaker government decides to hold elections, her son has said.

Hasina fled to India on Monday after weeks of deadly protests forced her to quit. A caretaker government led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in on Thursday, which will be tasked with holding elections, reports NDTV.

Speaking to the Times of India, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who is based in the US, said, "For the time being, she (Hasina) is in India. She will go back to Bangladesh the moment the interim government decides to hold an election."

Hasina's Awami League party does not feature in the interim government, following a student-led uprising against the long-time former prime minister whose exit came after nationwide violence killed about 300 people and injured thousands.

She is sheltering in a safe house in the New Delhi area. Indian media has reported that she plans to seek asylum in Britain, but the British Home Office has declined to comment.

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