C R Abrar

Abrar Fahad was made to pay the ultimate penalty for sharing his thoughts. In a Facebook update posted on the eve of his brutal killing Abrar critiqued some of the recently concluded agreements between Bangladesh and India on the use of Mongla port, water sharing and gas export.

There have been some disconcerting developments at Dhaka University following the botched Ducsu election on March 11. The latest

Barring any last-minute glitch, in less than a week the nation goes to the polls. As an integral part of the electoral process political parties and alliances that entered the foray have issued their manifestos.

December 14 is a tragic landmark in Bangladesh's struggle for statehood. Only a couple of days prior to the final victory over the

Rule of law as a principle of governance involves that all persons, institutions and entities, public or private, including the state itself is

Mid-November has arrived and insecurity and uncertainty have descended over Rohingya refugees in Ukhia and Teknaf. The impending deadline has also elicited expressions of deep concern from UN independent experts and rights organisations.

Less than a week ago, on September 20, 2018 the Consideration of the Universal Periodic Review Outcome of Bangladesh was held at the 39th regular session of Human Rights Council.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”, lamented Hamlet. Though the context is different that's the pervasive thought of conscientious Bangladeshis irrespective of their economic status and social standing at the moment.

Last week the teens of Bangladesh have written a new chapter for the annals of the democratic struggle of the country.

For more than two weeks in campuses across the country students demanding a review of the controversial quota system for appointments to civil bureaucracy experienced brutality of a monumental scale.

The government of Bangladesh has declared a war on narcotics. It has proclaimed its intent to uproot the scourge of drugs from the land. “None will be spared”, came the stern warning from the authorities. Rapid Action Battalion, the elite law enforcement agency (LEA), swung into action from the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. Other agencies, including the police, were not to be left behind.

I am tired of visiting morgues, riverbanks and other places in search of my brother,” said Rehana Banu. Her brother Pintu, an opposition activist, was picked up allegedly by plainclothes law enforcers from Pallabi on December 11, 2013. Pintu remains untraced.

THIS week has experienced a flurry of diplomatic activities centring the Rohingya issue. Principal among those was what has been dubbed a “historic and highly unusual” visit of an important delegation of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to Bangladesh and Burma. Quite understandably, the visit drew attention of various quarters—states, international agencies, refugee and rights organisations, and most importantly, the hapless Rohingyas who have been “living in mud and shacks, with no hope and no future, no nation and no identity, no past and no future.”

March 30 marked the beginning of a six-week passive resistance of the Palestinians to highlight their expulsion from their ancestral land by the Zionist forces 70 years ago.

Bangladesh's youth have done it again. The cause they stood for was fair and just; they remained resolute in their stand and united against all odds. For years, they waited for the revision of archaic provisions of public services recruitment procedure that privileged less competent ones over the meritorious. Years passed by, governments changed, Public Service Commission leadership changed, recommendations of various committees and commissions that argued in favour of amendment fell on deaf ears, and finally, patience of the youth ran out.

Last week, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her dismay at the stalemate on the repatriation of the Rohingyas. “We've been making various efforts… but there has been virtually no progress,” she said. A day earlier, her foreign affairs adviser, Gowher Rizvi, called for re-imposition of sanctions against Burma. “Without pressure, nothing will happen. Myanmar won't be secure for the Rohingyas. If Myanmar is not secure, Rohingyas will

Slowly but surely the world is coming to terms with the gruesome reality of Burma's genocide of the Rohingyas. As early as 2015 London Queen Mary College's State Crimes Initiative alerted the international community of the ongoing genocide in Arakan. Hardly anyone paid heed to that ominous warning.

On Friday, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the United Nations human rights chief, called for allegations of atrocities committed against the Rohingyas to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for prosecution.

The Chief of Army Staff of India, General Bipin Rawat, has not minced his words. He was unambiguous and forthright. At a seminar jointly organised by the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies and the Ministry of Defence, recently held in Delhi, the army chief shared his thoughts on Northeast India. What was meant to be a talk of a professional soldier on 'Bridging Gaps and Securing Borders' of the region turned out to

Time and again the government of Bangladesh has reiterated its commitment to ensure the dignity and protection of short-term contract migrant workers.