The United States has congratulated Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairman Tarique Rahman for the party’s historic victory in the 13th National Parliament Election.

“Congratulations to the people of Bangladesh on a successful election and to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Tarique Rahman on your historic victory,” US Embassy in Dhaka said in its official Facebook post this morning.

“The United States looks forward to working with you (Tarique Rahman) to realize shared goals of prosperity and security for both our countries,” it added.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) clinched a landslide victory with over two-thirds majority in the 13th general elections held on Thursday amid festivity allowing the BNP-led alliance to form the next government. The massive victory has paved the way for BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman to lead the government as the Prime Minister for the first time.

The Election Commission (EC) announced the unofficial results of 297 parliamentary seats out of the 299 where elections were held in a free and fair manner. It, however, postponed announcement of results in two seats – Chattogram-2 and Chattogram-4. However, voting in Sherpur-3 constituency was postponed due to death of a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate. According to the unofficial results, the BNP bagged 209 seats alone while its alliance partners Gano Odhikar Parishad one, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) one and Gano Sanghati Andalon one.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami secured 68 seats alone emerging as the main opposition party while its alliance partners National Citizen Party (NCP) won six seats, Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis two and Khelafat Majlish one. Islami Andolon Bangladesh bagged one seat and independent candidates won in seven constituencies. Meanwhile, the United States of America (USA), China, India and Pakistan congratulated Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairman Tarique Rahman for the party’s historic landslide victory in the 13th National Parliament Election.

According to the Election Commission, the voter turnout in the parliamentary polls was recorded 59.44 percent while it was 60.26 in the referendum. The referendum witnessed 4,80,74,429 ‘Yes’ votes and 2,25,65,627 ‘No’ votes. Foreign observers and independent polls monitoring groups said the election was held in a free, fair and peaceful manner, maintaining the world standard.

Earlier, voting began at 7:30 am across 42,779 polling centres in 299 constituencies nationwide. A total of 12,77,11,793 voters were registered to cast their ballots, including 6,48,25,361 males, 6,28,85,200 females, and 1,232 from the third gender. A total of 50 political parties contested the polls with 2,028 candidates including 273 independent, while BNP fielded the highest number of candidates of 291. Besides, a total of 83 female candidates contested the polls.

According to the EC, some 800,000 officials, apart from those involved in maintaining security and law and order, were on election duties. They included 69 returning officers, 598 assistant returning officers, 42,779 presiding officers, 247,482 assistant presiding officers and 4,95,964 polling officers. Besides, About 15,000 officials are engaged in postal voting duties.

EC officials earlier said that of the security personnel deployed, 103,000 were army troops, 8,500 navy sailors and airmen, alongside 37,453 paramilitary BGB soldiers and 3,585 paramilitary Coast Guard members. The number of policemen on poll duty was 187,603, while RAB personnel number was 9,349. The highest number of law enforcement personnel was drawn from Ansar, with personnel numbering 5,67,868.

Some 55,454 observers from 81 local organizations monitored the elections while the number of foreign poll monitors was 394. Nearly 200 foreign journalists arrived in Bangladesh to observe the elections and the referendum. Of the international observers, 80 represent various international organizations, while the rest come from different countries, including independent European observers.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday criticised Jamaat-e-Islami over its role during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War, saying the party must clarify its position on the country’s independence.

“Jamaat leaders are currently making statements in television talk shows, online platforms and newspapers, but they should first explain their position during the country’s struggle for independence,” said Fakhrul while addressing a rally at Farabari High School ground in Thakurgaon.

“Where were you in 1971? Whose side were you on?” the BNP leader asked. He also alleged that Jamaat-e-Islami had assisted the Pakistani occupation forces during the Liberation War and attempted to obstruct Bangladesh’s independence.

There is no scope to forget about 1971 and just as the people would not forget 2024, when the country regained its democratic system, he added. The country achieved independence through the Liberation War and that history must never be erased, said the BNP leader. After 15 long years, the country now has a real opportunity to hold a fair, free and credible election, he said.

The interim government currently in charge and those who are elected through votes will form the government—that is their objective, he said. If people participate spontaneously and cast their votes, the election would become historic and widely acceptable, he hoped.

Referring to his political future, Fakhrul said this might be his last election, and pledged to establish an airport and a medical college in Thakurgaon, if elected, along with creating employment opportunities to reduce unemployment.

He also said the female voters of the district will be given training under the guidance of Tarique Rahman so that they can earn from home. “We must train our women and youth and create jobs by making them skilled and educated.”

Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes killed 24 Palestinians including seven children in Gaza on Wednesday, health officials said, the latest violence to undermine the nearly four-month-old ceasefire in the enclave. Among the dead was a medic who rushed to help victims of a strike in the southern city of Khan Younis and was then killed by a second attack on the same location, health officials said.

Other strikes hit Gaza City in the north, where health officials said a 5-month-old boy was killed. The attacks come three days after Israel reopened Gaza’s main border crossing with Egypt, a big step envisaged by the US-backed truce deal.

“While we were sleeping in our house, the tank shelled us and the shells hit our house, our children were martyred – my son was martyred, my brother’s son and daughter were martyred … We have nothing to do with anything, we are peaceful people,” said Abu Mohamed Habouch, speaking at a funeral for his family.

Tents in Mawasi, a coastal area near Khan Younis crowded with Gazans displaced by the conflict, had been ripped apart by the strikes. Nearly all of Gaza’s population of over 2 million were forced to flee their homes during the war.

The Israeli military said it launched the strikes in response to Palestinian militants opening fire on Israeli troops operating near its armistice line with Hamas. It said an Israeli soldier was severely injured by the militant fire, which it described as a violation of the ceasefire agreement.

A subsequent statement said one of the Israeli strikes had targeted a senior Hamas commander. A commander from Hamas’ smaller ally, Islamic Jihad, and his 11-year-old daughter were among those killed in strikes on Wednesday, according to relatives. The Israeli military later confirmed in a statement that it had killed an Islamic Jihad commander. Hamas said Israel’s actions undermined efforts to stabilise the ceasefire. In a statement, the group called for “immediate international pressure to halt violations.”

Palestinian patients preparing to cross through the newly opened Rafah crossing to Egypt were told that Israel had postponed the passage of patients through the border. Afterwards, Palestinian health authorities said that the group of patients was on their way to the border.

The Israeli agency that controls access to Gaza, COGAT, said the Rafah crossing remained open but it had not received the necessary details from the World Health Organization to facilitate crossings. The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An Egyptian security source told Reuters that Israel had cited security issues in the Rafah area as the reason for the temporary closure, but those had since been resolved and work had resumed at the border. A spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said 46 people were set to cross to Egypt on Wednesday, but only 20 were able to travel to Egypt while the other 26 were returned to Gaza.

Reopening the crossing was one of the requirements under the October ceasefire that set out the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to stop fighting between Israel and Islamist Hamas militants.

Sixteen patients from Gaza and 40 of their escorts crossed into Egypt on Tuesday, Gazan medics told Reuters. A Hamas police source told Reuters that at least 40 people crossed from Egypt to Gaza late on Tuesday.

On Saturday, before the Rafah reopening, Israeli strikes killed more than 30 Palestinians in Gaza. The military said it launched those strikes after gunmen emerged from a tunnel in a Gaza area under Israeli control.

Israel handed back 54 bodies and 66 boxes of human remains of Palestinians on Wednesday, according to Gaza’s health authorities, with the fragile ceasefire set to move towards its second phase. Trump declared the start of the second phase in January, in which the sides would negotiate the shattered enclave’s future governance and reconstruction.

Key issues like the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the over 50 percent of Gaza they currently occupy and the disarmament of Hamas remain unresolved, while the fragile ceasefire has been marked by near-daily violence.

Since the October start of the truce, Israeli fire has killed nearly 560 people, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health officials. Palestinian militants have killed four Israeli soldiers in the same period, Israeli authorities say.

Pakistan’s banned separatist group the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for coordinated gun and bomb attacks that killed dozens of civilians and security personnel and triggered one of the deadliest security operations in Balochistan in years. The BLA is the strongest of a number of insurgent groups long operating in the province bordering Afghanistan and Iran, a mineral-rich region that is home to Beijing’s investment in Gwadar deep-water port and other projects. Here are facts about the group, which has also targeted Chinese interests.

The BLA seeks independence for Balochistan, a province located in Pakistan’s southwest and bordering Afghanistan to the north and Iran to the west. It is the biggest of several ethnic insurgent groups that have battled the federal government for decades, saying it unfairly exploits Balochistan’s rich gas and mineral resources. The group says Balochistan’s natural wealth belongs to its people and rejects federal control over resource extraction and security. Balochistan’s mountainous border region serves as a safe haven and training ground for the Baloch insurgents and Islamist militants.

Once considered a low-intensity insurgency, attacks by the Baloch Liberation Army have grown more frequent, coordinated and lethal in recent years. The group stunned Pakistan’s security establishment in 2022 when it stormed army and navy bases. In August 2024, militants carried out coordinated attacks across Balochistan, including highway assaults in which passengers were pulled from buses and shot after identity checks.

In March 2025, militants opened fire on the Jaffar Express passenger train after sabotaging railway tracks, briefly taking hostages and triggering a major security operation, officials and local media said. The BLA has deployed women suicide bombers, including in an attack on Chinese nationals in Karachi, and is designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the United States. Pakistan accuses India and Afghanistan of backing the militants, an allegation both countries deny.

The BLA often targets infrastructure and security forces in Balochistan, but has also struck in other areas – most notably the southern port city of Karachi. The insurgents target Pakistan’s army and Chinese interests, in particular the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, accusing Beijing of helping Islamabad to exploit the province. Militants have killed Chinese citizens working in the region and attacked Beijing’s consulate and language centre in Karachi. It has also attacked civilians, migrant labourers from other provinces, a shift officials say marks an escalation in tactics.

The BLA, separately, was also at the centre of tit-for-tat strikes last year between Iran and Pakistan over what they called militant bases on each other’s territory, which brought the neighbours close to war.

Balochistan is an important part of China’s $65 billion investment in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a wing of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative. It is home to key mining projects, including Reko Diq, run by mining giant Barrick Gold (ABX.TO), and believed to be one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines. China also operates a gold and copper mine in the province.

The decades-old insurgency has continued to keep the province of some 15 million people unstable and created security concerns around Pakistan’s plans to access untapped resources. It is Pakistan’s largest province by area, but smallest by population. Balochistan also has a long Arabian Sea coastline, not far from the Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz oil shipping lane. Hundreds of Baloch activists, many of them women, have protested in Islamabad and Balochistan over alleged abuses by security forces – accusations the government denies.

Bangladesh has announced plans to release its maiden artificial intelligence (AI) policy in February at the opening day of the 5th General Assembly of the Digital Cooperation Organisation (DCO) in Kuwait.

“We are working on the AI policy, and hopefully this will be in place within the month of February,” said Shish Haider Chowdhury, secretary of the Information and Communication Technology Division, on Wednesday.

He noted Bangladesh’s progress in AI, saying the country began its digital transformation journey 15 years ago and has already prepared an AI strategy. The two‑day assembly, hosted by Kuwait, brought together representatives from 16 member states across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia, alongside guest countries. Participants called for responsible and inclusive adoption of AI to mitigate risks and ensure equal access to benefits.

Discussions covered billion‑dollar investments, regulatory frameworks, AI universities, data centres and ethical concerns. The participants said AI technology is already shaping economies, societies, and potentially the perceptions of the next generation. They also highlighted AI’s potential use in social engineering, threatening social and political stability if the technology is not embraced ethically. Omar Saud Al-Omar, Kuwait’s minister of state for communication affairs, chaired the discussion.

“Digital transformation makes governments responsible for delivering seamless services to citizens, businesses, and companies,” he said.

AI technology will gradually engulf the world, the participating countries noted, calling for mature use of the technology, drawing on experiences of others who employed it in education, agriculture, science, public service, and even government purchases. DCO Secretary‑General Deemah Al Yahya stressed the need for cross‑border cooperation to counter “real‑time misinformation and disinformation”, warning that failure to act could widen the digital divide.

“The opportunity is clear, but so are the risks. If we fail to act with urgency and coordination, the digital divide will widen,” she added.

The International Digital Cooperation Forum (IDCF), the DCO’s multi-stakeholder platform, also hosted plenary dialogues and side events on artificial intelligence, digital skills mobility, tech safety, and inclusive growth. Speakers stressed that AI risks transcend borders and that the technology is advancing faster than governments’ collective capacity to regulate it.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, addressing the assembly in a brief recorded video message, said at a time of rising geopolitical fragmentation, evidence-based digital cooperation is more important than ever.

Speakers, however, pointed out that national AI regulatory frameworks, often relying on voluntary commitments, are far from being enough to deal with the issues at hand. They warned that AI-driven social engineering could undermine democratic institutions and public trust.

Jordan showcased its national AI ecosystem, noting that over 90 percent of startups in the country specialise in AI, with 27 universities offering AI degrees and more than 11,000 students enrolled by 2025. The country has established a National Council for Future Technologies, chaired by the prime minister and adopted a national AI code of ethics.

“Trust is at the heart of AI adoption,” said a delegate from Pakistan, which is due to take on the DCO presidency next year. Saudi Arabia called for frameworks to govern cross-border data flows, while Bahrain and several other member states urged an inclusive international AI treaty. Azerbaijan highlighted its paperless government system. Initiatives taken by the country have produced more than 1,000 AI engineers and product managers.

Speakers also stressed human-centred AI governance, with pilot projects underway in health, education, and public services. Morocco boasted a 50 MW data centre, opening a window of tests and trials of AI. Delegates also highlighted AI’s potential role in climate resilience, calling for international support to deploy AI in environmental monitoring and adaptation.

The assembly concluded with the agreement that while AI is no longer a future technology, governance, trust, and inclusion must advance at the same pace as innovation if the digital economy is to benefit all. The Palestinian representative reminded the participating countries that their digital infrastructure had faced total destruction in many places, particularly in Gaza and the West Bank.

He said the Palestinians face the “worst-case scenario” of digital disconnection. He called for the protection of digital infrastructure as a “global humanitarian need” so that no nation is left in the “digital blind spot”.

“Let us not let AI erase our narrative,” he said.

Founded in 2020, the DCO is headquartered in Saudi Arabia and represents 16 member states with a combined population of nearly 800 million and GDP of $3.5 trillion. The theme of this year’s assembly was “Inclusive prosperity in the age of AI”.

Sheikh Hasina has launched a stinging political broadside against the interim government, accusing Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus of replacing constitutional rule with what she calls “authoritarianism dressed up as transition” by sidelining her party Awami League ahead of the Feb 12 general elections.

In a wide-ranging written interview with ThePrint, the former prime minister said the suspension of the Awami League from political activity has hollowed out the electoral process, leaving tens of millions of voters effectively “disenfranchised”.

“You cannot ban the country’s oldest and most popular political party and then claim democratic legitimacy. That is not reform; it is authoritarianism dressed up as transition,” Hasina told ThePrint.

Although Yunus has insisted the Awami League has not been banned but merely “suspended from political activities”, Hasina dismissed the distinction as hollow.

“That is a distinction without meaning,” she said, arguing that a party that “can not campaign, organise or contest elections” is, in effect, barred from political life.

Bangladesh is scheduled to vote on Feb 12, but Hasina said the exclusion of her party has already poisoned the process.

“Elections held under such conditions cannot be considered free, fair or legitimate,” she wrote to ThePrint.

“Voters must be free to elect the party of their choosing and not be excluded from participating or coerced by door-to-door activists into voting for the BNP or [Jamaat-e-Islami] under threats of violence or destruction,” ThePrint quoted her as adding. She accused the interim government of deliberately clearing the field because it feared defeat.

“The interim government knows that if we were allowed to contest these elections, we would command overwhelming support. That is why we have been banned,” Hasina said.

“Let us not forget that Yunus himself has never received a single vote from the people of Bangladesh, and yet he has rewritten our country’s legal framework to legitimise his unlawful actions,” she was quoted in the report. The Awami League governed Bangladesh from 2009 until Hasina’s removal in August 2024, shaping nearly a decade and a half of the country’s political life. Now, as the February vote approaches, Bangladesh is heading into an election without the party that led the 1971 independence struggle and dominated post-independence politics.

Violence engulfed Bangladesh in mid-2024, when student-led protests over public sector job quotas spiralled into a nationwide revolt against her government. According to the interim authorities, roughly 1,400 people were killed as unrest spread across the country. Hasina told ThePrint she “regrets” every life lost but rejected claims that her government had provoked the bloodshed.

“We welcomed the legitimate protests led by the students and allowed them to proceed peacefully. We listened to their demands, and we addressed these, overturning the public sector job quotas that were the source of their frustration,” she wrote. She claimed the turning point came when the demonstrations were overtaken by forces working to bring her down.

“What we could not have foreseen was the turning point when extremist elements hijacked the protests. This was no longer a spontaneous and peaceful student movement, but a violent mob organised and directed by Yunus that sought violence, attacked police stations and destroyed state infrastructure,” Hasina told ThePrint.

“Like any legitimate government, our actions were guided by the instinct to protect our country’s institutions and prevent any loss of life,” she added.

On Aug 5, 2024, as violence intensified in Dhaka, Hasina fled her official residence, Ganabhaban, ending her 15 years in power. She has remained in India since then, a fact that has become a sensitive fault line in India-Bangladesh relations.

ThePrint reported that one of Hasina’s sharpest accusations against Yunus centres on the judicial inquiry she had set up to investigate the deaths during the protests — and which was scrapped almost immediately after the interim government took power.

“My principal frustration is that Yunus dissolved that inquiry immediately upon taking power, no doubt because he knew that it would expose the meticulous plan he orchestrated,” she wrote to ThePrint.

“That decision alone raises serious questions as to the motivations behind the protests and his seizure of power, including the matter of foreign involvement. Those questions deserve impartial investigation.”

Since her removal, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has sentenced Hasina and her home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death for crimes against humanity, citing her government’s attempts to suppress the 2024 unrest. Under Yunus, the Awami League’s organisational backbone has also been dismantled. Its student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League, was banned under anti-terrorism legislation — a law originally enacted under Hasina’s government in 2009 and amended in 2025 before being used against her party.

Hasina told ThePrint that Bangladesh is now sliding into chaos under an unelected administration that lacks the authority or will to control violence.

“Law and order cannot be maintained through fear or selective enforcement,” she wrote, calling for a swift return to “constitutional governance” and elections “held with the participation of all parties”.

Her warning comes after two days of unrest in December, triggered by the killing of Sharif Osman bin Hadi, a prospective candidate for parliament who was shot in Dhaka on Dec 12 and later died on Dec 18 while under treatment in Singapore. Protests spiralled into riots that saw the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star set ablaze.

“The violence we are witnessing is the direct result of an unelected administration that lacks any popular mandate and has allowed our politics to be usurped by extremist factions,” Hasina told ThePrint.

“Instead of delivering ‘reform’, the interim government has elevated radical groups to positions of power, established rule by mob justice, and suppressed legitimate political voices,” she was quoted as saying.

“In Bangladesh today, there is no semblance of law and order,” she added.

“The Yunus government has routinely failed to act decisively against violence. Indeed, it has actively emboldened extremists who seek to spread their hardline ideology through daily acts of brutality, repressing any trace of pluralism in our society and dismissing any diversity of thought by labelling any dissenting voice as a political enemy,” she said according to ThePrint.

The December unrest included the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu man in Mymensingh, sparking protests in India and renewed concern over the safety of Bangladesh’s minorities. Hindus account for about 8 percent of the population. India has repeatedly urged Dhaka to do more to protect minorities since Hasina’s fall.

Yunus has argued the violence is largely political or criminal rather than communal, saying only 71 of 645 incidents against minorities in 2025 had communal elements, according to ThePrint. Hasina, however, sees a deeper ideological shift.

“Bangladesh was founded on secularism, pluralism and democratic values. The rehabilitation of Jamaat-e-Islami and other extremist factions threatens the very fabric of our nation,” she wrote to ThePrint.

“When radical groups are allowed back into mainstream politics, they do not moderate the state. They seek to reshape it in their own image and remove any trace of pluralism,” she added. Jamaat has re-entered mainstream politics since Yunus lifted the ban on its activities, while its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir has won university elections across several campuses.

Hasina also accused the interim government of tolerating what she called a systematic attempt to rewrite Bangladesh’s past — including the vandalism and demolition of her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s historic home at Dhanmondi 32.

“What we are seeing today is the deliberate erosion of historical truth,” she wrote to ThePrint. “Extremist and revisionist forces have tried hard to dilute the reality of our hard-won independence from Pakistan in 1971, blurring the distinction between victim and aggressor.”

“This truth may be inconvenient to the interim government, which wishes to paint the Awami League as enemies of the state, but it is a truth nonetheless,” she added.

“A nation that forgets the price of its freedom becomes vulnerable to those who once denied it. Preserving the truth of our Liberation War is not about politics. It is about safeguarding our identity and sovereignty.”

As Bangladesh moves towards its most uncertain election in decades, February now looms as a reckoning — not only over who governs, but over what kind of state the country is becoming.

Sheikh Hasina has delivered her first public address in India since her overthrow, calling Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus a “murderous fascist” and accusing his interim government of plunging the country into “terror and lawlessness”. The ousted prime minister spoke via an audio message to a packed hall at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in New Delhi.

The event titled “Save Democracy in Bangladesh” was attended by former ministers from her Awami League government and members of the diaspora, as per NDTV. Hasina, who was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal over allegations that she ordered the killing of 1,400 people to suppress protests in Bangladesh, is described by her opponents as a “corrupt, fascist, autocrat”.

She is also accused of trying to perpetrate power by manipulating three general elections and overseeing extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and holding political opponents in secret jails. She accused Yunus of running an “illegal, violent” administration and repeatedly described him as a “usurper”, “money launderer”, and “power-hungry traitor”.

“Bangladesh stands today at the edge of an abyss,” Hasina said at the outset, invoking the Liberation War and the legacy of her father, independence hero Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

She said the country had been reduced to “a vast prison, an execution ground, a valley of death”, with human rights trampled, press freedom extinguished, and violence against women and minorities rampant. The Awami League chief said her removal from office on Aug 5, 2024 was the result of a “meticulously engineered conspiracy” that had plunged the nation into what she described as an age of fear.

“From that day, democracy has gone into exile,” Hasina said, warning that life and property no longer enjoyed protection as law and order had collapsed nationwide. She painted a picture of a country gripped by “mob” violence, looting, and extortion, stretching from the capital to rural areas, and blamed extremist groups and foreign interests for what she described as the systematic destruction of the state.

The sharpest criticism was directed at Nobel laureate Yunus personally. The Grameen Bank founder assumed office on Aug 8, 2024 to lead the interim government, shortly after the July Uprising forced the fall of the Awami League administration. Hasina accused him of bleeding the country dry and pushing Bangladesh towards a wider regional conflict by allegedly handing over national resources and strategic interests to foreign powers.

“By betraying the nation, the murderous fascist Yunus is pushing our beloved motherland towards disaster,” she said. Calling the address both a warning and a rallying call, Hasina urged “all democratic, progressive and non-communal forces of the pro-Liberation camp” to unite in restoring the constitution, which she said had been written “in the blood of martyrs”.

She also portrayed the Awami League as the “only legitimate guardian” of Bangladesh’s democratic and pluralist traditions, describing it as the country’s oldest political party and one deeply embedded in its political and cultural foundations. Hasina outlined five demands she said were essential to restoring stability. The first was the removal of what she called the “illegal Yunus administration” to create conditions for free and fair elections. “Bangladesh will never see a credible election while this clique remains in power,” she said.

Her second demand focused on ending daily violence and restoring public order, arguing that economic recovery and basic civic services depended on stability. The third called for firm guarantees to protect religious minorities, women, and vulnerable groups from targeted attacks.

Fourth, she demanded an end to what she described as politically motivated legal action against journalists, Awami League leaders, and opposition figures, calling for the judiciary to be restored as an impartial institution.

Her final demand urged the United Nations to conduct “a fresh and impartial investigation” into events over the past year.

“The international community stands with you,” Hasina told supporters, adding that the interim authorities had failed to listen to the will of the people.

Earlier, in an interview with NDTV, Hasina said Bangladesh was sliding towards authoritarian rule and extremist influence.

Speaking from India, she recounted the events surrounding her ouster, the destruction of her family’s historic residence, and what she described as state-backed attacks on minorities and democratic institutions. She urged Bangladeshis not to lose hope, calling on them to join what she described as a struggle to reclaim democracy and restore constitutional rule.

Law and order and the control of corruption are the two priorities BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman wants to put at the centre of his political “plan”. He outlined this on Saturday afternoon while speaking with the winners of the “Amar Bhabnay Bangladesh”, a national reel-making competition. Tarique said the first thing that must be ensured is law and order, so that what people say and what leaders say can be done in an environment where everyone feels safe on the streets.

Ensuring public safety, he said, was essential. He added that corruption had to be tackled in one way or another. “There are different kinds of corruption at different levels, and we have to try to deal with them all,” he said.

“If we can address these two things properly, many of the other problems will largely get resolved. That is my plan.”

The discussion was held at Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed Park in Gulshan, where Tarique was accompanied by his daughter Zaima Rahman. The competition winners raised different questions, and he responded to them openly. They asked who would receive family cards and whether widowed women would be included.

In reply, Tarique said single mothers and women facing hardship, including those abandoned by their husbands, would be covered. He said Bangladesh currently had 138 social safety projects under the government, but they were not working properly.

“Resources are being wasted. One person gets three forms of support while another gets none,” he said.

“We want to organise this through a family card system and make it universal.”

By way of example, he said the wives of farmers, van pullers and office workers would all be entitled to receive the card.

Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the son of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, says his mother had intended to retire from politics after serving out her term before she was overthrown by the July Uprising. He made the remarks to Al Jazeera English in a video interview published on Thursday. Asked if Hasina had planned to retire from politics or if she meant to re-enter politics if she had the chance to return to Bangladesh, Joy said:

“No, she is old. My mother’s elderly. This was going to be her last term anyway. She wanted to retire.”

The interviewer then asked if this spelled the end of the Hasina era.

Joy answered, “Possibly, yes…”

However, he added that the Awami League still intended to go on.

“Awami League is a political party,” he said. “It’s the oldest party. It’s been around for 70 years. It’s, it will continue with or without her. She… No one lives forever.”

Asked about the Awami League’s brutal response to nationwide protests in July 2024, Joy said:

“If you’ve listened to my statements online, I have said again and again the Awami League mishandled the protests. Our government mishandled the protests.”

When the interviewer pushed back, stating that the word “mishandle” was downplaying the killings of hundreds of protesters by security forces, he responded:

“If my mother had been willing to kill protesters, she would still be in power. You look at what’s happening in Iran right now. Are they able to do anything? No. My mother… my mother stated… my mother’s statement again and again, and to me, our, my conversation that day was: ‘They are marching on the prime minister’s residence, our special security force and uh, the prime minister’s guards are ready to defend her, but if we, if that happens, hundreds will die. I don’t want their blood on my hands.’”

“That is what my mother said. During that time, hundreds of police officers were killed. Hundreds of our activists were killed as well.”

Following the July Uprising, reporting from Al Jazeera and the BBC analysed and verified audio recordings in which Hasina is heard to authorise the use of lethal force against protesters. In the clip, she is heard saying: “I’ve issued an open order, now they will use lethal weapons and shoot wherever they find them.”

Joy claims the clip was taken out of context.

“I have put that full clip on my Facebook page,” he said. “She says she orders the arrests of protesters and lethal force to protect property and life against militants. There were militants involved in [the protests]. There are videos online of civilians with weapons…”

The interviewer then states a search of Joy’s social media pages had not found any such clip and asked him to share it. Joy said he would.

Joy also denied that the order had authorised lethal force broadly. He said Hasina’s orders was intended “for violent protesters, armed protesters, terrorists. Not for unarmed protesters… in any country would the government… what happens if there are armed protesters shooting at people and shooting at police? What would they do?”

Asked about specific deaths, such as those of 25-year-old Abu Sayed, 12-year-old Zobaid Hossain Imon, and 25-year-old Mir Rahman Mugdho, he said:

“It was a very violent situation. There were police officers who used excessive force. Our government term, suspended many police officers during that time. We formed a judicial committee to investigate. Why weren’t those investigations continued?”

He added that Hasina had met Abu Sayed’s family after the killing as well as the families of others killed, promising them full investigations into their deaths and accountability for those responsible.

However, Joy also disputed the findings of multiple investigations and watchdogs that put the death toll of the July Uprising around 1,400. He claimed the UN report that determined the toll had blamed deaths after the fall of the Awami League government on its actions.

Asked whether Hasina and the Awami League are unwilling to take accountability for the killings and abuses of state power, he responded, “No, that is not what I’m saying at all. What I’m saying is this. We did not grant immunity to anyone. We wanted justice for everyone. Anyone who was responsible for any deaths…”

When asked if Hasina would be held accountable if she was responsible, Joy said:

“My mother did not order any killings. My mother did not want any deaths.”

‘IF YOU BACK SOMEONE INTO A CORNER, WHAT WILL THEY DO?’

As the upcoming general election looms closer, the Awami League have come out in opposition to the polls and to their ban from contesting them.

Some of Joy’s own words on the matter have been described as incendiary. In a previous interview, he said: “We will not allow elections without the Awami League to go ahead. We will do whatever it takes. If the governments crack down on our protests, then it’s going to lead to violence.”

Asked about this aggressive stance, Joy said: “When you push someone into a corner, what else… what’s going to happen? We don’t want violence. We’re not even being allowed to protest. So what violence is the Awami League committing right now? … What I’m saying is if you back someone into a corner, you do not leave them any options; what are they going to do?”

The interviewer then asked whether this rhetoric and its violent implications were not the very justification the interim government was using to ban the Awami League as a violent threat.

Joy said, “I did not threaten violence. I said that if you suppress the protests with violence, of course there will be violence. I did not ask my protesters to attack.”

“Look, if we had the ability to conduct killings in Bangladesh right now, do you think this regime would still be standing? No. Right now the Awami League… we do not have the violent, uh, personnel, if you will, that perhaps some other organisations have…”

He also disputed allegations that the Awami League was involved in the killing of Inqilab Moncho convener Sharif Osman Hadi.

“I don’t know who the shooter is,” he said. “There have been many names that have been floated.”

“Again, do you see the Awami League out on the streets in Bangladesh? That’s not even happening. We have tens of thousands behind bars. Every time we’ve tried to protest, they’ve just arrested everybody. So, the Awami League is not involved in any violence whatsoever. Our campaign now is asking people not to vote in these rigged elections. That’s what we’re doing.”