e_Paper 24-10-2016

SECOND EDITION 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016 | Kartik 9, 1423, Muharram 22, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 176 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10 

What did we learn? 

• Abu Sayeed Asiful Islam 

The re-election of Sheikh Hasina 

to the presidency of the Awami 

League and the election of Obaidul 

Quader as the general secretary of 

the party are not entirely surprising. 

Hasina has led the Awami League 

since 1981, taking the helm of the 

party during a period of political 

uncertainty just six years after her 

family was brutally gunned down in 

a coup by mutinous army officers. 

The Dhaka Tribune has earlier 

written that her re-election and the 

election of Obaidul would be likely 

outcomes of the party council. 

The results give clear indication 

about the concerns of the party as it 

gears up for an election year in 2019. 

The obvious takeaway from 

Hasina’s return to the top post in 

the Awami League for the eighth 

consecutive term is that continuity 

counts. 

The importance of her leadership 

acumen and the historic connection 

between her family and the 

party are no small matter to the party’s 

brand. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 

son Sajeeb Wazed Joy has been the 

focus of attention with councillors 

and commentators alike speculating 

that he may slowly be inducted 

into the corridors of power. 

Indeed, although Joy did not 

end up with a top leadership role 

despite widespread speculation 

that he would, his brief appearance 

in the council conclave witnessed 

councillors chanting his name. 

This widespread enthusiasm of 

the councillors for Joy demonstrate 

not just approval for the man but 

also for the legacy he represents. 

For his part, Joy downplayed the 

clamorous outpouring of support 

and cited his still transcontinental 

lifestyle as precluding him from full 

participation in the day-to-day administration 

of the party co-founded 

by his grandfather. 

Nevertheless, Hasina openly 

raised the question of succession 

during the two-day party council 

that ended yesterday, calling for the 

emergence of a new generation of 

leaders to take the party forward. 

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1 

Sheikh Hasina 

Hasina re-elected 

AL president, 

Quader new GS 

• Mohammad Abu Bakar 

Siddique 

All the rumours and speculations 

that dominated the 

air centring the new leadership 

of the ruling Awami 

League evaporated yesterday 

afternoon after the 20th national 

council unanimously 

re-elected party chief Sheikh 

Hasina as its president, and 

Presidium member and Minister 

Obaidul Quader as new 

general secretary. 

Thousands of party supporters 

and councillors hailed 

the two top leaders after the 

election though they were 

optimistic in the morning 

about Hasina’s son and ICT 

Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy’s 

induction into the party for 

Obaidul Quader 

the first time in an important 

post. 

The council ended with 

the party chief’s concluding 

speech where Hasina praised 

outgoing general secretary 

Syed Ashraful Islam for his 

contribution to the party as 

her second-in-command for 

two terms since 2009. 

She also welcomed her 

new deputy and party spokesperson, 

Obaidul Quader, who 

was made a Presidium member 

in the last council held 

in 2012. Road Transport and 

Bridges Minister Obaidul previously 

served as a joint general 

secretary of the party. 

With this, Hasina has been 

made chief of the party for 

the eighth time since 1981 

PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

2 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016 

DT 

Is Ashraf next 

president of 

Bangladesh? 

News 

Former AL General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam embraces Obaidul Quader just after the latter’s name was announced as the 

new general secretary of Awami League at the 20th National Council of the party yesterday 

• Abu Hayat Mahmud 

The grassroots members of the 

Awami League are curious whether 

Syed Ashraful Islam is next in line 

for the presidency of Bangladesh 

after he was replaced by Obaidul 

Quader as the general secretary of 

the ruling party. 

The two-time former general 

secretary was succeeded by 

Quader as the latter was elected, 

for the first time, by the councillors 

of the Awami League at the party’s 

20th national council, which ended 

yesterday. 

Several councillors 

said they had reliable 

information that 

Ashraf would be the 

next president of the 

country soon 

Ashraf, son of Syed Nazrul Islam 

who served as the acting president 

of Bangladesh in absence of Bangabandhu 

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman 

during the Liberation War in 1971, 

has been made a presidium member 

of the party. 

Awami League councillors and 

delegates, who came from around 

the country to attend the council, 

expressed satisfaction with the 

new central committee of the party. 

However, speaking with the 

Dhaka Tribune, they wondered 

whether Ashraf would succeed Abdul 

Hamid as the president. 

A councillor from Kishorganj, 

asking not to be named, said he 

heard that Sheikh Hasina would be 

re-elected as the party president, 

Quader would be elected as the 

general secretary and Ashraf would 

be made the next president of the 

country. 

“It is 99% certain that Ashraf 

will be the next president of Bangladesh,” 

he told the Dhaka Tribune. 

Shubhash Chandra Joy Dhar, 

president of Awami League’s Kotalipara 

upazila unit in Gopalganj, 

said he had also learnt from a reliable 

source that Ashraf would be the 

next president of the country. 

Several other councillors and 

delegates also claimed the same. 

The incumbent president, Abdul 

Hamid, became the acting 

president of the country on March 

14, 2013 when then president Zillur 

Rahman fell ill and later died. 

Hamid was elected the 22nd 

president of Bangladesh on April 

22, 2013. 

The closing day of the council 

also saw Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina re-elected as the president 

of the Awami League for eighth 

consecutive time. 

Around 6,500 councillors attended 

the council to elect the 

party’s new leadership for the next 

three years. • 

Former AL General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam embraces Obaidul Quader just after the latter’s name was announced as the 

new general secretary of Awami League at the 20th National Council of the party yesterday 

FOCUS BANGLA 

BNP, JaPa, Jasod congratulate 

Hasina, Quader 

• Manik Miazee 

BNP Secretary General Mirza 

Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has congratulated 

Sheikh Hasina, who 

has been unanimously re-elected 

as president at the 20th Council 

of Awami Legue (AL), and Obaidul 

Quader, the newly elected general 

secretary of the party. 

Fakhrul made the gesture at a 

programme in city’s Segun Bagicha 

area minutes after Sheikh Hasina 

and Quader were elected president 

and general secretary of the party 

on Sunday noon. 

He said: “BNP expects the newly 

elected leaders of AL bring back 

democracy and human rights to 

the country. AL is holding its council, 

making new record in lighting 

Dhaka using public electricity. But 

leaders of the party did not say 

anything over how the country’s 

people would get back their right 

to vote. BNP expected that Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina speak 

about dialogue with the opposition 

and how to come to terms with the 

opposition, but unfortunately, she 

said nothing about this. As a result, 

political crisis in the country 

continues to be uncertain. And this 

uncertainty might increase more.” 

JaPa President HM Ershad in a 

press statement has also congratulated 

Hasina and Quader. In the statement, 

Ershad said: “We expect the 

new leaders will work to strengthen 

the country’s democracy.” 

Contacted, welcoming the newly-elected 

leaders of the ruling party, 

JaPa Secretary General Ruhul 

Amin Howlader told the Dhaka 

Tribune: “We welcome to re-elected 

president of AL Sheikh Hasina 

and newly elected general secretary 

Obaidul Quader. Now AL is a 

more mature political party comparing 

to previous time and the nation 

has more expectation to them 

for gain political goal. 

“The nation will go to achieve 

develop country under led by AL, 

for that they should take positive 

decision for country” he said. 

Meanwhile, in a press statement 

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (Jasod) 

president and secretary general 

Shirin Akther also welcomed 

Sheikh Hasina and Obaidul Quader. 

She said, “We hope, the newly 

elected AL executive committee 

will work for making a more effective 

14-party alliance and combating 

militant activities.” • 

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 

What did we learn? 

On Sunday, party councillors heard 

the prime minister say she hoped 

to see the helm of the party pass to 

the younger generation during her 

lifetime, indicating that a major 

theme for the party would be securing 

a consensually agreed upon 

succession. 

That new blood was not injected 

into the party this time around may 

be interpreted by some as indicating 

a dearth of suitable younger 

leaders for the job. 

But it may also indicate that 

prudence pays. 

Young, untested leaders often 

fail to live up to expectations, and 

afterwards pulling in older hands 

to fix the results of inexperience 

has been often a case of too little, 

too late. Just look at Britain’s Labour 

Party. 

The nomination of Obaidul 

Quader by the very man he replaced 

– Syed Ashraful Islam, another 

scion of an old Awami League 

family – impressively demonstrated 

party discipline and harmony. 

There was no evident rancour in 

the transfer of power. 

Importantly, Obaidul’s taking 

up of the reins of administrator-in-chief 

of the party suggests 

that Hasina is serious about grooming 

the younger generation of the 

party. 

Why? 

For one, Obaidul Quader’s connection 

with the party grassroots is 

well-known and well-respected. If 

there is a leader that is in a position 

of advantage to steer this generational 

transition, it is he. 

For another, unlike the reserved 

and some might say media-shy nature 

of Ashraful’s political style, 

Obaidul is as media-friendly as 

would be needed to reach out to 

the ‘wired generation’. 

If there have ever been suggestions 

that Ashraful’s administrative 

skills were ever found wanting, 

there has never been any doubt 

that he had proven to be utterly 

By 2019, it will have 

been a decade since 

AL has contested an 

election against a 

formidable adversary 

steady in the midst of severe adversity. 

One political commentator, 

asking not to be named, described 

him as “The Rock of Gibraltar” 

during the army-backed caretaker 

interregnum of 2007. 

Political parties always seem to 

be weathering some crisis or another 

– and where Ashraful was the 

man to face the uncertainty of that 

eventful year, Obaidul seems to 

have been picked to face the strain 

of revamping the party for election 

mode. 

Indeed, at the council, Sheikh 

Hasina warned her party of the 

dangers of failing to prepare to win 

the coming general elections. 

By the time the Awami League 

contests the 2019 elections, it will 

have been a decade since it has 

contested an election against a formidable 

adversary. And ten years is 

an eternity in politics. 

It remains to be seen whether 

the party’s traditional electoral 

adversary, the BNP, which boycotted 

the last general election, 

will prove to be anything near 

formidable when the polls season 

returns. • 

Hasina re-elected 

when she was elected in absentia. 

In the last couple of days she urged 

the councillors to find a new leader, 

but in return faced proposals 

that asked her to remain the party 

chief for a lifetime. 

The council also approved some 

changes in the party charter – increasing 

the number of members 

in the Presidium from 15 to 19; joint 

secretaries from three to four; organising 

secretaries from seven to 

eight; Central Working Committee 

from 73 to 81; and National Committee 

from 170 to 180. 

Moreover, Mymensingh has 

been added as an organisational division 

while the council for the first 

time also approved the formation of 

a permanent 19-member nomination 

board for selecting candidates 

for local government elections. 

After the election and partial announcement 

of the central commit-

News 3 


Eminent citizens welcome Hasina 

• Shadma Malik and 

Jebun Nesa Alo 

DT 

Eminent citizens of the country 

have welcomed the re-election of 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as 

the president of Bangladesh Awami 

League in the 20th national council 

of the party, which concluded 

yesterday. 

“There is no alternative to 

Sheikh Hasina at the moment for 

the Awami League. Nobody but 

Hasina would be accepted to the 

party because new leadership still 

has not grown to carry the party 

forward,” said Prof Rounaq Jahan, 

distinguished fellow at the Centre 

for Policy Dialogue and former 

adjunct professor at Columbia University’s 

School of International 

and Public Affairs. 

Rounaq recalled that Hasina 

took the helm of the Awami League 

in 1981 when the party was facing a 

leadership crisis. 

She described Hasina’s desire to 

find a successor during her lifetime 

as “good thinking… that will enable 

her to cultivate new leadership 

who can carry the Awami League.” 

This is Hasina’s eighth consecutive 

term as the president of the 

Awami League. 

“It is true that there is no one except 

Hasina that can keep the party 

united and that is why the party 

leadership relies solely on her. 

“Although Hasina has spoken 

about possible retirement at this 

council, it is not likely to be welcomed 

by the party until future 

leaders are groomed to take over. It 

is difficult to speculate how long it 

will be before Hasina actually does 

decide she is ready to retire from 

politics,” Rounaq added. 

Citizens for Good Governance 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also the chief of the ruling party Awami League in a friendly moment with the immediate past general sectary Ashraful Islam 

yesterday 

BSS 

(SHUJAN) Secretary Dr Badiul 

Alam Majumdar said re-electing 

Hasina as the party president was a 

wise decision. 

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina 

has initiated many projects for 

the economic development of the 

country. At this stage, it is wise to 

keep her as the party president,” he 

told the Dhaka Tribune. 

Nur Khan, acting executing director 

of Ain o Salish Kendra, also 

said there was no alternative to 

Hasina for the post of president in 

the Awami League. 

“It is not about political dynasty, 

it is about the crisis of leadership,” 

he explained. “Since democracy is 

not practised in the political parties 

from grassroots to central level, 

there is no capable leaders to lead 

the parties. So Awami League cannot 

see any other leader taking the 

helm of party,” he said. 

Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive 

director of Transparency International 

Bangladesh, Hasina was the 

obvious choice for the top post of 

the ruling party – the oldest political 

party in the country. “There is 

no better candidate for the party 

than Sheikh Hasina,” he said. 

Referring to the election of 

Obaidul Quader as the party’s general 

secretary, Iftekhar said the party 

leadership was indeed changing 

to bring in the new generation of 

leaders, which was also good for 

the party. 

Quader has been elected as the 

general secretary of the Awami 

League for the first time, replacing 

Syed Ashraful Islam. 

Human rights activist Khushi 

Kabir said change in the party leadership 

would not make a difference 

if the leader is capable and accepted 

by the party. 

“Sheikh Hasina has been the 

president of the Awami League 

since 1981, when she was elected 

president for the first time. She was 

young then and there were many 

leaders in the party with more experience. 

So it is not a matter of being 

young or old, it is about being 

accepted and capable to lead the 

party,” she told the Dhaka Tribune. 

Asked about the election of Quader 

as general secretary, Khushi said: 

“He [Quader] has been involved 

with politics since he was a student. 

So it may be a collective decision.” 

Hasina and Quader were unanimously 

elected by the councillors 

of the Awami League as there were 

no other candidates for the top two 

posts in the party. • 

AL president, Quader new GS 

tee, Hasina said that the remaining 60 posts 

would be decided after consultation with the 

general secretary and the Presidium members. 

The names of 23 members of the 83-strong 

central committee were announced by the party 

president. Apart from Hasina, Obaidul and 

Ashraf, the 16 other members of the Presidium 

are Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Matia Chowdhury, 

Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Mohammad 

Nasim, Kazi Zafarulla, Sahara Khatun, Mosharraf 

Hossain, Nurul Islam Nahid, Abdur Razzak, 

Faruk Khan, Abdul Mannan Khan, Ramesh 

Chandra Sen and Pijush Bhattacharya. 

Hasina also announced the names of four 

joint secretaries, keeping the previous three – 

Mahbubul Alam Hanif, Dipu Moni and Jahangir 

Kabir Nanak in their positions and adding Faridpur 

lawmaker Abdur Rahman. HN Ashequr 

Rahman will retain to the post of treasurer. 

A total of 6,570 councillors took part in the 

council session held at the Institute of Engineers, 

Bangladesh yesterday. 

Earlier, a good number of eminent citizens 

and representatives of different parties, and 

some 60 foreign delegates attended the inaugural 

session of the Awami League’s council at 

the historic Suhrawardy Udyan Saturday. 

Earlier, the council session began after the 

party chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina 

reached the IEB venue shortly after 10am. 

In her opening speech, Hasina told the councillors 

to elect new leadership of the party and 

urged party supporters to take preparations 

for the next general elections in a way that the 

BNP-Jamaat combine cannot assume office. 

The councillors spoke in favour of Hasina’s 

holding the post for lifetime and also demanded 

that Joy, the prime minister’s ICT adviser, be given 

an important post. In response, Hasina said 

that Joy was already in an important position. 

On the first day of the council, Syed Ashraf 

asked Joy to take responsibility of the party. 

The proposal was supported by most of the 

councillors. But Joy told media yesterday that 

he would love to work for the party as well as 

the country, but did not want to hold a position 

since he travels between his two homes 

in Bangladesh and USA. •

4 


DT 

News 

Takeaways from the council 

• Adil Mahmood and Niloy Alam 

Hasina re-elected president, Quader 

new general secretary 

It came as a surprise to virtually 

no one that Sheikh Hasina would 

be re-elected as the president of 

the party. Rumours that Road, 

Transport and Bridges Minister 

Obaidul Quader was going to be 

the new general secretary began 

making the rounds on Sunday 

morning. 

Demand for Joy 

Councillors who spoke on the second 

day were vocal about their 

desire to see the third-generation 

scion of the Bangabandhu family 

– Sajeeb Wazed Joy – be given a 

post within the party. Despite the 

clamorous demand from the assemblage, 

Joy left as he came. But 

given the reception, his induction 

into the party in the future is only 

a matter of time. 

No traffic jams whatsoever 

In the wake of a week that saw 

hellish congestion during the Chinese 

president’s and World Bank 

president’s visits, Dhaka residents 

stayed indoors fearing the massive 

turnout for the council. The 

result: streets were eerily empty. 

Surprisingly, no BUET applicants 

complained about missing their 

admission exams. 

Flattery has its limits 

Praise turned to flattery turned to 

sycophancy at the council on the 

second day. Sheikh Hasina sternly 

reprimanded councillors for consuming 

more than their allotted 

time to praise the party president 

and her son. 

AL acknowledges Bhashani, 

Suhrawardy’s contributions 

Sheikh Hasina acknowledged the 

role of Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan 

Bhashani and Huseyn Shaheed 

Suhrawardy in founding and leading 

the Awami League. This recognition 

allows the party to associate 

two stoic leaders from the past 

with itself. 

Awami League has friends abroad 

A multitude of foreign dignitaries 

including leaders from BJP and 

Congress in India, and MPs from 

Austria and Russia attended the 

council. It goes to show that the 

ALwami League has forged excellent 

relationships with countries 

near and far including China, Bhutan, 

Nepal and almost all major 

trade partners. 

BNP is a party with self-respect 

Despite saying on Friday that BNP 

would attend the council, the party 

did not. General Secretary Mirza 

Fakhrul Ahmed denounced the 

council citing the lack of dialogue 

with the opposition and a looming 

political crisis. 

Platform for youth interaction 

The Awami League’s research 

wing, the Centre for Research and 

Information, organised an initiative 

that let young leaders and activists 

engage central leaders and 

policymakers of the party. The initiative 

held true to the declaration 

that the council would be a blend 

of the old and new. 

Plans to make Bangladesh 

poverty-free 

Sheikh Hasina also announced plans 

to erect free housing for the homeless 

and the destitute. Although a 

far-fetched scheme, it may lead to 

solutions that will eliminate poverty 

or at the very least, reduce it. 

Plans to act as a hub between East 

and West 

She announced that Bangladesh 

would be a conduit between the 

two hemispheres. This could mean 

that Bangladesh has improved its 

foreign relations to the extent that 

it can use its geostrategic location 

for diplomatic purposes. 

Congratulations all around 

While not attending, the BNP and 

Jatiya Party congratulated Sheikh 

Hasina and Obaidul Quader on 

their election as party president 

and general secretary respectively. 

Veterans to steer the boat 

The party president announced the 

names of 16 presidium members, 

four joint secretaries, and the new 

treasurer. The names were all triedand-true 

veterans of Awami League 

with decades of experience. 

Hasina on passing the torch 

Party President Sheikh Hasina mentioned 

multiple times that she wanted 

a new leader. While she continues 

to lead the party onwards, she 

emphasised that she would find a 

successor during her lifetime. • 

PM: Don’t be 

such sycophants 

• Adil Sakhawat 

Three minutes were allotted for 

each councillor to speak on the 

second day of the council yesterday 

but almost all of them spent their 

time praising party president Sheikh 

Hasina instead of voicing their 

opinions on the election of the top 

party positions. 

Lakshmipur district Awami 

League General Secretary Nur 

Uddin Chowdhury took it a little too 

far, prompting Hasina to interrupt 

him in a stern voice. 

“Don’t be such sycophants,” she 

told him and the other councillors. 

While speaking at the conclave 

session, the councillors demanded 

that Sheikh Hasina remain party 

president for life. They also hoped 

Sajeeb Wazed Joy would be prominently 

placed in the new committee 

as a successor of Bangabandhu. 

Panchagarh district Awami 

League General Secretary Anwar Sahadat 

Somrat told Hasina: “We have 

full confidence in you and wish that 

you will award such a committee on 

which we can rely. We do not want 

any traitors in the committee.” 

Nesar Ahmed, president of the 

Moulavi Bazar Awami League, urged 

Hasina to announce an acceptable 

leadership that would help the 

party in going forward. 

“We want to see you as the party 

president as long as you are alive,” 

said the Rajshahi and Madaripur 

general secretaries. 

Thakurgaon district General 

Secretary Saad Koreshi said: “Whom 

you believe faithful and to whom 

you think the party will remain safe, 

please hand over the leadership to 

him.” • 

Councillors of Awami League in a long queue to enter the Engineers’ Institute, Dhaka yesterday to take part in the 20th council of the party 

Rizvi: It was right not to attend AL council 

• Manik Miazee 

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General 

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi yesterday said 

that at a time when AL is torturing 

all its opposition including BNP’s 

leaders and activists he cannot ignore 

that fact and attend the AL 

council. 

Rizvi said:“AL is torturing its opposition 

and sending them to jail, a 

gentleman cannot go to their council,” 

at the BNP party central office, 

yesterday afternoon. 

Rizvi added that it was the right 

decision not to attend the council 

saying: “If there was an actual 

democratic process and environment 

than BNP would have attended 

the council.” 

He further said that people 

with a backbone needs to stand up 

against this undemocratic environment 

and this is why the BNP did 

not attend the 20th AL National 

Council. 

The joint secretary defined his 

stance, saying: “We are a self respecting 

political party dedicated 

to the democratic process which is 

why we must protest the eradication 

of democracy by the ruling party 

by not attending their council.” 

He further asked how the AL 

council could afford such a large 

scale program accusing them of extortion 

in paying for it. 

On Wednesday at the Dhaka Reporters 

Unity, BNP Vice-Chairman 

Abdullah Al Noman spoke on the 

same issue, saying: “We do not know 

from where they are getting the 

crores of taka to spend on their council,” 

which he accused was acquired 

through “plundering and looting.” 

He also said: “For the last few 

years the ruling party has been 

clamping down on the opposition 

party in following the democratic 

process although AL has a long tradition 

of fighting for democracy.” 

He further alleged that the present 

government is ruling the country 

like as an undeclared one-party 

ruler. 

“AL had repeatedly killed the 

country’s democracy,” he also 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

claimed. 

On Tuesday BNP Secretary General 

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir 

had welcomed the upcoming 20th 

council of Awami League and expressed 

hope: “The AL council 

would take the initiative to bring 

back democracy in the country,” 

while talking to reporters at BNP 

Chairperson’s Gulshan office. 

However, both Fakhrul and Noman 

expressed the hope that Awami 

League’s council would be observed 

peacefully and that it would 

be a pathway to bringing back democracy 

to the country. 

BNP was invited to the 20th 

Awami League National Council on 

Thursday. •

News 5 


Joy not interested in party post now 

• Tribune Desk 

DT 

Awami League President Sheikh 

Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy has 

said that holding a party post while 

living abroad is not right. 

“It would not be appropriate to 

hold a post while living abroad,” 

Joy told reporters at the historic 

Suhrawardy Udyan yesterday afternoon, 

before the 20th national 

council of the ruling party re-elected 

Hasina as the party chief and Obaidul 

Quader the new general secretary. 

“I want to work for the party, the 

country,” said Joy, who advises Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina on ICT issues. 

He participated in the council as 

a councillor from the Rangpur district 

unit of the Awami League. A US 

citizen, Joy does not hold any post 

in the party’s central committee. 

On the first day of the council, outgoing 

general secretary Syed Ashraful 

Islam urged Joy to take responsibility 

of the party. His proposal was also 

supported by grassroots leaders. 

After Hasina’s re-election, 

Ashraf yesterday proposed the 

name of Obaidul Quader as the 

general secretary of the Awami 

League for the next three years. 

Many councillors chanted slogans 

in favour of Joy demanding 

that he be given an important post 

in the party. Moreover, some newspapers 

ran reports for the last few 

days which suggest that a number 

of central leaders want him to join 

the party ranks. • 

Hasina: Next 

polls must be 

unquestionably 

fair 

• Mohammad Abu Bakar 

Siddique 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina 

claimed that she will organise an 

unquestionably fair election. 

“The next national election will 

be held in 2019 and I do not want to 

hold a questionable one,’’ the premier 

said this in the second session 

of Awami League’s 20th national 

council yesterday. 

During her speech the president 

of AL urged party activists and 

supporters to run party activities 

to ensure victory in the upcoming 

election in 2019. 

The newly elected president of 

AL also called party leaders and activists 

to work together to strengthen 

the party. • 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son and also her ICT Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy exchange greetings with councilors at the 20th National Council of Awami League in the 

Institute of Engineers Bangladesh, Dhaka 

BSS 

AL grassroots happy with new committee 

• Abu Hayat Mahmud 

The councilors and delegates to 

the 20th triennial national council 

of the Awami League (AL) expressed 

satisfaction and happiness 

on the new committee of the party 

formed on Sunday evening. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina 

was re-elected president of AL for 

the 8th consecutive time at the 

closing day of the council while 

Obaidul Quader, incumbent Roads 

and Transportation minister, was 

elected as the new general secretary, 

succeeding Syed Ashraful Islam who 

held the post for last two times. 

After the announcement of 

Hasina’s name as president all the 

councilors and delegates burst 

out into joy. They also expressed 

happiness after announcement of 

Quader’s name as GS. 

Nobody among the councilors 

expressed dissatisfaction over the 

new committee. The councilors 

welcomed with roaring claps the 

announcement of Quader’s name 

proposed by former two-time GS 

and Public Administration Minister 

Syed Ashraful Islam. 

“I’m happy about the new committee. 

There is no alternative to 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the 

president of AL. Moreover, Sajeeb 

Wazed Joy is not prepared yet to lead 

the party,” said Sajal Das, a councilor 

from Habiganj. He said Obaidul 

Quader is also fit as the spokesperson 

of the party as nobody seems to 

oppose the new committee. 

Md Alauddin, a councilor from 

Khulna, said they had got the hint 

that Obaidul Quader was going to 

be elected as the next GS of AL. 

“Ashraful Islam and Obaidul 

Quader both are same to me. So, 

I’m congratulating the party’s new 

GS,” he added. 

A group of delegates also echoed 

Alauddin’s saying they also are 

happy over the new committee. 

Earlier, during the addressing 

sessions all the councilors requested 

Sheikh Hasina to hold the leadership 

of the ruling AL until her 

physical condition allows. 

They also requested Hasina to 

get her son Sajib Wazeed Joy ready 

to hold the leadership of the party 

by the next council. 

Addressing Hasina, Dhaka District 

Awami League President Benazir 

Ahmed said: “We have 100% 

confidence on you. That’s why 

most of the councilors requested 

you to stay as the party president.” 

He said now Sheikh Hasina is 

not only the leader of AL, but also 

of the whole Bangali nation. 

Around 6500 councilors took 

part in the council to elect the party’s 

new leadership for the next 

three years. 

While hundreds of delegates 

and other party men were present 

inside and outside the venue, Institute 

of Engineers Bangladesh. • 

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY 

DRY WEATHER 

LIKELY 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24 

Dhaka 32 21 Chittagong 32 25 Rajshahi 33 21 Rangpur 32 20 Khulna 33 20 Barisal 32 20 Sylhet 34 22 

DHAKA 

TODAY 

TOMORROW 

SUN SETS 5:25PM 

SUN RISES 6:00AM 

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW 

34.6C 19.0ºC 

Chandpur 

Srimangal 

Source: Accuweather/UNB 

PRAYER 

TIMES 

Cox’s Bazar 32 26 

Fajr: 5:25am | Zohr: 1:15pm 

Asr: 4:15pm | Magrib: 5:41pm 

Esha: 7:45pm 

Source: Islamic Foundation

6 


DT 

News 

KUSHTIA MEDICAL COLLEGE 

Construction remains 

stopped for five months 

• Kudrote Khoda Sobuj, 

Kushtia 

Contractor has stopped construction 

works of Kushtia Medical College 

for five months after the completion 

of 90% of its work. 

Works of the medical college 

are scheduled to be finished within 

June this year, but the contractor 

stopped its works in the name of 

extra costs. 

Contractor said contractor was 

compelled to stop the construction 

works, as the cost of the project has 

increased 20% than the actual. 

Ashraful Haque, project director 

of Kushtia Medical College, said: “We 

have already sent an application to 

Ministry of Planning by requesting 

to increase the allotment, but it will 

take time to pass the order.” 

College sources said Kushtia 

Medical College had started its journey 

in 2011 with 50 students. Now 

there are total 250 students in the 

college. According to Public Works 

Department (PWD) sources, construction 

works of the medical college 

started in 2013 in Lahenipara 

area of the town. At the first phase 

of works, contractor started works 

of academic building and two dormitories 

where the estimated cost 

of the two buildings is Tk29.81 

crore and Tk15 crore respectively. 

An official of PWB said to the 

Dhaka Tribune that the construction 

works of the buildings have 

been completed about 90%. 

Shabmir Hossain, contractor of 

the project, said: “We were compelled 

to stop the construction 

works, as the cost of the project increased 

remarkbly.” • 

Chunnu for 8-hour working 

day for domestic help 

• Abdullah Al Dulal, Rajshahi 

State Minister for Labour and 

Employment Md Mujibul Haque 

Chunnu has demanded eight-hour 

working day for the domestic helps 

of Bangladesh. He came up with 

the statement yesterday while addressing 

a seminar on child rights 

in a hotel, Rajshahi. 

Comparing a domestic help with 

a government service holder, the 

junior minister said domestic helps 

should be given equal rights. 

He said: “If a government employee 

has right of eight-hour 

working day, a domestic worker 

must have that right.. 

“I think repression on domestic 

helps has decreased significantly 

during the tenure our time,” he 

also said. 

“Now domestic helps who had no 

legal coverage against torture earlier 

enjoy some kind of legal protection. 

A policy has been outlined recently 

to remove the torture on them. A 

strict law will be passed soon in this 

regard,” the minister said. 

He claimed the government has 

ensured all facilities for domestic 

helps. 

The minister criticised NGOs 

those do not work for welfare of 

the poor people. 

Among others, the discussion 

was addressed by Joint Secretary 

Khandokar Mostan Hossain, Syed 

Ahmed and Deputy Commissioner 

Kazi Ashraf Uddin. • 

Students of Rajshahi University bring out a procession on the campus yesterday, demanding punishment of the 

killers of Motaleb Hossain Lipu, who was found dead near his dormitory on Thursday morning AZAHAR UDDIN 

Badrul expelled from SUST 

over attack on Khadiza 

• Serjul Islam, Sylhet 

The authorities of Shahjalal 

University of Science and 

Technology have expelled 

Badrul Alam, a Bangladesh 

Chhatra League leader and 

student of the university who 

brutally hacked Khadiza Akter 

Nargis, a student of Sylhet 

Government Women’s College 

earlier this month. 

The decision was taken 

yesterday at the Syndicate 

meeting presided over by 

Vice-Chancellor Prof Aminul 

Haq Bhuiyan. 

The disciplinary committee 

had requested the Syndicate 

to expel him, said Dr Kabir, 

a Syndicate member. 

Earlier, the SUST authorities 

suspended Badrul from 

the university following a 

meeting of the university 

proctorial body. 

The proctorial body also 

formed a three-member committee 

led by acting proctor 

Rashed Talukder to investigate 

the attack. 

BCL claims Badrul not a member 

The Chhatra League wing at 

SUST claimed that Badrul had 

no affiliation with the organisation. 

“Badrul is currently employed 

at Alhaz Ayazur Rahman 

High School, and according 

to the organisation’s 

charter, job holders cannot remain 

members of this organisation,” 

said a press statement 

issued by Chhatra League. 

However, sources said 

Badrul was currently the 

vice-president of SUST unit. 

“Chhatra League is not 

liable for any individual’s action, 

especially by someone 

who is not a member. We 

have looked into the incident 

and found that he is a job 

holder. Anyone who is married 

or working has his or her 

Chhatra League membership 

automatically cancelled.” 

Khadiza, a second year 

Bachelor’s student of Sylhet 

Government Mohila College, 

was brutally stabbed by Badrul 

on October 3 when she 

was returning home from her 

college after appearing for an 

examination. 

At first, she was rushed to 

Sylhet Osmani Medical College 

Hospital and then to the 

Square Hospital in Dhaka, as 

her condition deteriorated. 

Meanwhile, protests are 

taking place every day in Sylhet 

and elsewhere in the country 

demanding harsh punishment 

for the perpetrator. 

Demanding justice, Masuk 

Mia, the Saudi expatriate 

father of Khadiza, told the 

Dhaka Tribune that he was 

grateful for the support of the 

media and the people of the 

country during this difficult 

time. •

News 7 


DT 

GMG workers 

stage demo 

over assault of 

female worker 

• Raihanul Islam Akand, 

Gazipur 

Workers of Horizon Composite 

Ltd observed work abstention and 

staged demonstration over the assault 

of a female worker in Boherarchala 

area, Gazipur yesterday 

morning. 

Factory sources said the garment 

authority sacked two swing 

operators without prior notice on 

Saturday. Assistant General Manager 

of the factory Abul Kalam 

slapped Hasina Akter, a staff of Horizon 

Composite Ltd, as she asked 

the AGM about reason of sack of 

two other workers. 

Then, workers of the factory 

took to the street demanding removal 

of the AGM. Later, the workers 

withdrew their blockade after 

getting assurance from garment 

authority. • 

Taking a ride on the roof of a train, aspirant students of Chittagong University return home after appearing in intake test yesterday 

RABIN CHOWDHURY 

SEVEN MONTHS INTO TONU KILLING 

Family losing hope 

of getting justice 

• Mohiuddin Molla, 

Comilla 

Family members of Sohagi 

Jahan Tonu, a student of 

Comilla Victoria College, 

was killed after rape inside 

Comilla cantonment, are 

assuming that they would 

not get justice over the 

murder. 

They said six months 

have already passed since 

Tonu was killed by unidentified 

assailants, but 

the law enforcers are yet 

to arrest any of the killers 

and submit charge sheet, 

much to create frustration 

among the justice seekers. 

Yaar Hossain, father of 

Tonu, was frustrated seeing 

no progress in the case. 

‘’I feel empty, as I lost 

my daughter. I feel the 

pain of losing child. A few 

days ago, some officials of 

the Criminal Investigation 

Department met me. They 

told me that they were 

carrying out the investigation. 

I do not know when 

investigation of the case 

will end,” he told the Dhaka 

Tribune. 

‘’I have become sick 

after the demise of my 

daughter. The investigators 

are yet to match DNP 

samples which was found 

on the dress of Tonu with 

the suspects. We want exemplary 

punishment of 

the killers so that no girl 

faces this kind of consequence.’’ 

Dhaka Tribune tried to 

talk to the investigation 

officer of the case, Sub-Inspector 

of Comilla CID 

Jalal Uddin Ahmed, several 

times but failed, as the 

official did not pick up his 

phone. 

The CID and other investigation 

agencies have 

so far grilled over 100 people. 

On the night of March 

20, the body of Tonu, also 

a theatre activist, was 

recovered from a bush 

near her house inside 

Mainamati Cantonment. 

Her father Yaar Hossain 

filed a case with Kotwali 

model police station the 

same day. 

Doctors have already 

conducted two autopsies 

on her body. The first report 

released on April 4 

drew uproar, as it said that 

no sign of murder or rape 

was found on Tonu’s body. 

The second report was 

released on June 12 and it 

also sparked controversy, 

as the report found 

evidence of sexual intercourse 

on her body. 

On May 10, parents of 

the victim named Army 

Sergeant Jahid, his wife 

and soldier Jahid for killing 

their daughter. They also 

alleged that the law enforcers 

were trying to save the 

killers. 

On April 1, the Criminal 

Investigation Department 

was entrusted with 

the investigation of the 

case. Special Superintendent 

of Police Abdul Kahar 

Akand is coordinating 

the probe. 

During the investigation, 

the Inter-service 

Public Relations (ISPR) of 

the army issued several 

statements saying they 

were assisting in the probe. 

The ISPR also claimed that 

Tonu’s family members 

had raised baseless and 

inconsistent allegations 

at different times and on 

different issues which 

may stain the image of the 

Bangladesh Army. • 

RMG worker 

gang-raped, 

2 arrested 

• Tanveer Hossain, Narayanganj 

Police have arrested two youths 

over the gang-rape of a RMG worker 

on Thursday night at Mundirpur village 

of Sonargaon in Narayanganj. 

The duo are Selim, 35, son of 

Tota Mia, and Azizul, 36, son of Ali 

Rahman, of the same village. 

Shah Md Monzur Kader, officerin-charge 

of Sonargaon police, 

said: “The victim and his brother-in-law 

went to their relative’s 

house at Mundirpur village on 

Thursday afternoon. 

“Seven to eight youths led by 

Selim abducted her around midnight 

as she went outside the 

house to go to the toilet and took 

her to a nearby orchard.” 

Her brother-in-law chased the 

attackers but was caught and tied 

to a tree. “Then she was gangraped 

throughout the night in front 

of her brother-in-law,” the OC told 

the Dhaka Tribune. 

The rapists tried to suppress 

the incident by managing arbitrator 

Anwar and Manju as the locals 

learnt about it Friday morning. 

The duo were supposed to hold a 

hearing around 3pm yesterday. But 

getting no justice, the victim went 

to the police station and filed a 

case against eight people including 

Selim, Azizul, Dalim and Alam. 

Several teams of the police conducted 

raids in Mundirpur area 

around 5:30pm and arrested prime 

accused Selim and Azizul. 

The victim was sent to Narayanganj 

General Hospital for tests. •

DT 

8 

World 


SOUTH ASIA 

Pakistan warns of action 

over Indus Water Treaty 

Pakistan on Saturday warned of 

appropriate action if India violates 

the Indus Water Treaty and said it 

is closely monitoring the situation, 

amid reports that New Delhi may 

revisit the key water sharing accord. 

Pakistan was keeping a close eye 

on the situation, Radio Pakistan 

reported. Foreign Office spokesperson 

Nafees Zakaria said, “India 

is making desperate attempts to 

divert attention from the atrocities 

and human right violations being 

committed in Kashmir”. TOI 

INDIA 

7,000 people arrested 

during Kashmir unrest 

More than 7,000 people were arrested 

by police during the ongoing 

unrest in the Kashmir Valley that 

started here on July 9, but 5,500 

of them were let off on promise of 

good behaviour, a top police source 

has said. Of around 1,500 people still 

in police custody who have not been 

booked for serious offences. HT 

CHINA 

China replaces members 

of regional legislature 

over fraud 

Nearly 450 people have been elected 

to a Chinese provincial legislature 

one month after allegations of 

electoral fraud led to the removal of 

most of the legislature’s members. 

State media reported Saturday 

that elections this week added 447 

deputies to the Liaoning Provincial 

People’s Congress. The provincial 

congress now has 594 deputies. AFP 

ASIA PACIFIC 

1 killed, 7 hurt in Japan 

suicide blast 

A retired soldier was killed and at 

least 7 people injured by twin blasts 

at a Japanese park on Sunday in 

what may have been a bizarre suicide, 

police and reports said. A festival 

was under way at the park when 

the 72-year-old former member of 

Japan’s Self Defence Forces apparently 

set off an explosive device 

that killed him and left three people 

injured including 2 seriously. AFP 

MIDDLE EAST 

Iraqi parliament votes to 

ban alcohol 

Iraq’s parliament on Saturday 

voted to ban the sale, import and 

production of alcohol, in a surprise 

move likely to anger some 

minorities but also to please 

influential religious parties. 

Proponents of the ban argue that 

it is justified by the constitution, 

which prohibits any law contradicting 

Islam. AFP 

Opium crops spread in Afghanistan 

as Taliban gains ground 

• Reuters, Vienna 

The cultivation of opium poppy 

in Afghanistan, the world’s main 

source of heroin, has risen to its 

third-highest level in more than 

20 years, the United Nations confirmed 

on Sunday, as the Taliban 

insurgency gains ground. 

In the key findings of its annual 

Afghanistan opium survey, 

the UN Office on Drugs and Crime 

(UNODC) said the total area of 

land devoted to poppy cultivation 

had risen 10% in 2016 to 201,000 

hectares. 

“The survey shows a worrying 

reversal in efforts to combat the 

persistent problem of illicit drugs 

and their impact on development, 

health and security,” UNODC Executive 

Director Yury Fedotov said in 

a statement. 

The government’s loosening 

grip on security in many areas 

contributed to a collapse in poppy 

eradication efforts, a method 

championed by the United States 

after it led an invasion of Afghanistan 

in 2001 when the country was 

under Taliban rule. 

“Eradication has dropped 

precipitously to 355 hectares — a 

fall of some 91%,” Fedotov said. 

The report said cultivation was 

also spreading to new areas, as 

the number of poppy-free provinces 

fell to 13 from 14 out of a 

total of 34. 

The report confirmed a statement 

by Fedotov earlier this 

month that the area under cultivation 

in 2016 had exceeded 200,000 

hectares, putting it in the top three 

years since the UNODC began providing 

estimates in 1994. 

Fedotov’s statement on October 

4 was made at a conference in 

Brussels at which world powers 

raised $15bn to fund Afghanistan 

over the next four years. 

Taliban successes on the battlefield 

have exposed the defensive 

limits of Afghanistan’s Nato-trained 

armed forces, which 

are supposed to number 350,000 

personnel but which have been 

heavily depleted by casualties and 

desertion. 

“Strong increases (in cultivation) 

were observed in the northern 

region and in Badghis province 

where the security situation 

has deteriorated since 2015,” the 

UNODC said. The western region, 

which includes Badghis, has the 

second-biggest area under cultivation 

after the southern region. 

The key findings released on 

Sunday said there had also been 

a 30% increase in the estimated 

yield from poppy fields this year, 

bringing potential production to 

the seventh-highest on record, 43 

percent more than in 2015. 

The UNODC added, however, 

that its yield estimate was less reliable 

than that of the area under 

cultivation. 

“There are some limitations 

in these estimates since the yield 

survey was not implemented in 

all main cultivating provinces for 

security reasons,” it said. “For the 

provinces not covered, the regional 

average was used.” • 

Turkish help in Mosul offensive angers Iraq 

• Tribune International Desk 

Iraqi and Kurdish forces have 

launched a new offensive on a 

town near Mosul as part of a massive 

operation aimed at retaking 

the country’s second largest city 

from the Islamic State of Iraq and 

Syria (IS). 

As the noose gets tightened 

around the terrorists’ largest occupied 

Iraqi city, the presence of 

Turkish troops assisting in the battle 

has angered many in Iraq. 

The Iraqis say they never gave 

Turkish troops permission to enter 

the country and has called on them 

to withdraw. Turkey has refused 

the demand, insisting that it play a 

role in retaking Mosul from IS. 

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter 

has visited both countries in 

recent days, and arrived in the 

Kurdish regional capital Irbil on 

Sunday, where he was expected 

to discuss the issue with Kurdish 

leader Masoud Barzani. 

After meeting with Turkey’s 

leaders, Carter had announced an 

“agreement in principle” for Turkey 

to have a role in the operation. 

But Iraqi Prime Minister Haider 

al-Abadi appeared to bat that idea 

down when he met with Carter on 

Saturday, insisting that Mosul was 

an “Iraqi battle.” 

“I know that the Turks want 

to participate, we tell them thank 

you, this is something the Iraqis 

will handle and the Iraqis will liberate 

Mosul and the rest of the territories,” 

he said. 

Turkish forces have made several 

previous ground forays into Iraq 

in recent years, raising tensions 

between the neighbours. Until the 

Mosul operation, Turkey primarily 

had been sending ground troops 

into the country to go after Kurdish 

rebels Ankara calls terrorists. 

AFGHAN OPIUM PRODUCTION 

UN monitors noted a 10 percent jump in production over the last year 

IRAN 

100 km 

TURK. 

+100% +921% 

+152% 

+409% 

+184% 

UZB. 

+112% 

KABUL 

+373% 

PAKISTAN 

A displaced young Iraqi boy holds a pigeon at refugee camp on October 22 in the 

town of Qayyarah, south of Mosul 

AFP 

The forces taking part in the 

Mosul offensive include Iraqi 

troops, the peshmerga, Sunni tribal 

fighters and state-sanctioned 

Shiite militias. Many fear the operation 

could heighten tensions 

between Iraq’s different communities, 

which are allied against ISIS 

but divided over a host of other 

issues, including the fate of territories 

near mostly Sunni Mosul 

that are claimed by the largely autonomous 

Kurdish region and the 

central government. 

The Kurdish forces, known as 

TAJIKISTAN 

Area cultivated 

+ 25,000 hectares 

10,001 - 25,000 

1,000 - 10,001 

< 1,000 

Poppy free 

% change 2015-2016 

0 50 100 150 200 

1994 71 

1999 

8 

2007 

2016 

Cultivation 

Thousands 

of hectares 

193 

224 

peshmerga, said they launched 

a dawn offensive Sunday on two 

fronts to the northeast of Mosul, 

near the town of Bashiqa. 

The battle to retake Mosul 

Major General Haider Fadhil, of 

Iraq’s special forces, said they 

had also launched an assault on 

Bashiqa, surrounding it and seizing 

parts of the town. He said the 

Kurds had captured two villages 

near Bashiqa and a small Shiite 

shrine in the area. 

Over the last week, Iraqi and 

Kurdish forces have been battling 

IS in a belt of mostly uninhabited 

towns and villages around Mosul, 

contending with roadside bombs, 

snipers and suicide truck bombs. 

The Mosul offensive involves 

more than 25,000 Iraqi ground 

forces as well as US-led coalition 

aircraft and advisers. It is expected 

to take weeks, if not months, 

to drive IS from Mosul, which is 

home to more than a million civilians. 

Bashiqa is close to a military 

base of the same name where 

some 500 Turkish troops are training 

Sunni and Kurdish fighters for 

the Mosul offensive. • 

91 

Source: UNODC 

201 

Source: REUTERS, CBS

World 

EU reality dims British demand on 

full membership 

• Reuters, Brussels 

Britain will “continue to play a full 

role until we leave”, Prime Minister 

Theresa May told fellow leaders 

at her first EU summit; but for 

many Britons in Brussels that is a 

forlorn hope. 

Formally, yes, the heads of European 

Union institutions say Britain 

and its citizens will keep seats 

at council tables and in Parliament 

or go on with EU civil service careers 

in the two to three years left 

before it quits the 28-nation bloc. 

In reality, say British lawmakers 

and officials in Brussels - some 

of whom were offered trauma 

counselling by employers after the 

Brexit referendum four months 

ago to the day - they are already 

being sidelined, and expect further 

isolation. 

Although May cautioned fellow 

leaders not to bind Britain by decisions 

taken without her, as at last 

month’s summit of 27 in Bratislava, 

they insist the EU must move 

on and are annoyed, for example, 

by London trying to thwart more 

EU defence cooperation. 

The leader of German Chancellor 

Angela Merkel’s centre-right 

bloc in the European Parliament 

took to the BBC’s flagship news 

show during last week’s summit 

to warn Britons that such awkward 

tactics risk poisoning May’s 

efforts to cut the kind of divorce 

Spain political impasse nears end as Socialists lift veto 

• AFP, Madrid 

British Prime Minister Theresa May, left, is welcomed by EU Commission 

President Jean-Claude Juncker before their meeting at the EU Commission 

headquarter in Brussels on October 21 

AFP 

deal she wants, keeping trade ties 

while curbing immigration. 

“That is creating a lot of anger,” 

Manfred Weber said of British 

opposition to new plans for EU 

defence cooperation that London 

says might hamper Nato. “Please 

don’t block it because that would 

have a lot of impact on the Brexit 

negotiations.” 

Acknowledging Britain retains 

veto powers and votes in the EU for 

now, Weber said: “It’s a question 

of behaviour, whether you respect 

each other, not a question of rights.” 

‘Why are you still here?’ 

Most British MEPs, including 

most of May’s Conservatives, opposed 

Brexit. There has been anger 

at those who did not; EU chief 

executive Jean-Claude Juncker 

Spain’s embattled Socialists on 

Sunday voted to lift a long-standing 

veto that has prevented the 

conservatives from forming a 

minority government, in what 

should finally end a ten-month 

political impasse. 

The conservative Popular Party 

(PP) of acting Prime Minister 

Mariano Rajoy won elections in 

December 2015 and again in June 

this year but without enough seats 

to rule alone. 

The PP therefore needs the 

main opposition Socialists to either 

support its government or 

abstain in a parliamentary confidence 

vote. 

On Sunday, the policy-setting 

federal committee of the deeply-divided 

Socialists (PSOE) voted 

139 to 96 for abstaining, the grouping 

announced on its Twitter feed. 

The vote capped a high-risk 

meeting that followed weeks 

of in-fighting within the PSOE, 

Spain’s second largest party. 

The grouping has been weakened 

by dismal election results 

and internal strategy disagreements 

amid Spain’s efforts to form 

a government after the two inconclusive 

general elections. 

The divisions came to a 

head earlier this month when 

high-ranking Socialists amenable 

to a conservative government 

-- so as to avoid a third election -- 

forced party leader Pedro Sanchez 

to resign. 

Sanchez had long opposed Rajoy, 

who came to power in 2011 

and whose four-year term was 

marked by a series of corruption 

scandals. 

With Sanchez out of the way 

and the party run by an interim 

executive, many of the delegates 

at Sunday’s meeting supported an 

abstention. 

“Most Spaniards, more than 

65%, don’t want to go back to the 

ballot box and it’s the same among 

Socialist voters,” said lawmaker 

Ignacio Urquizu. 

Now that the Socialists have 

decided to abstain from another 

parliamentary confidence vote, 

demanded of UKIP leader Nigel 

Farage in the chamber in June: 

“Why are you still here?” 

A German MEP, speaking anonymously 

since parties have yet to 

take positions on December’s jobs 

round, sees a rout of British influence: 

“The mid-term changes may 

reflect the new balance of powers, 

with UK MEPs probably being removed 

from positions.” 

But despite some pressure from 

fellow MEPs to exclude the British 

now, lawyers advise that the 73 

Britons in the 751-seat chamber 

must stay - and be able to vote, 

even on laws that may not affect 

Britain, or indeed those such as 

the form of the final divorce that 

affect it very particularly. Few expect 

the British to take part in the 

2019 EU elections, however. 

Rajoy -- who lost one in September 

-- could submit himself to another 

one next week, with some 

confidence of victory. 

Preparing for the future 

Britons are keeping especially active 

in discussions on issues where 

there will continue to be close cooperation 

post-Brexit, such as foreign 

and defence policy - as May 

herself did during summit talks on 

Syria, Russia and migration. 

May’s predecessor David Cameron 

even appointed a new British 

member to Juncker’s European 

Commission to replace an ally 

who, like Cameron, resigned after 

the Brexit vote; Julian King is now 

running security policy for the EU 

executive. 

British civil servants in Brussels 

have been assured by Juncker 

that for now their jobs are safe. 

But as non-EU citizens they will 

need special dispensations to 

work for the Union and many are 

considering their options. 

One EU job not so far open to 

them, and unlikely to be, is that of 

Brexit negotiator. Former French 

foreign minister Michel Barnier, 

the man Juncker has appointed 

to run the talks, and his German 

deputy have not appointed any 

Britons to their team. 

People familiar with the new 

operation say security will be 

tight, including to prevent leaks 

to London, and Barnier has told 

colleagues he would like negotiations 

to be held in French - though 

he denied on Friday being set on 

the idea. • 

SPAIN’S DEADLOCKED PARLIAMENT 

The parliament since the June 26 elections 

71 

Unidos Podemos 

Far-left coalition 

(Podemos-IU) 

Source: Interior ministry 

85 

2 90 

176 

25 32 

69 

350 

seats 

Podemos and allies 

Radical left 

Izquierda Unida (IU) 

Ecologists-communists 

Absolute majority 

26 40 

December 20, 2015 election 

123 

137 

PSOE 

Socialists 

Ciudadanos 

Centre-right 

Popular Party 

Right 

Regional 

parties/ 

independents 

Divisions persist 

Still, divisions persist within the 

Socialists. 

“We are coming to the federal 

committee to support the ‘No’ 

against Rajoy and the PP,” Idoia 

Mendia, head of the Basque socialists, 

whose position is shared 

by their Catalan colleagues, said 

as he arrived at the party’s headquarters. 

Outside around 15 people 

braved the rain to voice their 

opposition to Rajoy. • 

9 


USA 

Clinton jumps to doubledigit 

lead over Trump 

DT 

Hillary Clinton has soared to a 

12-point lead over Donald Trump 

in the race for the White House, according 

to a new poll released Sunday, 

with the real estate magnate’s 

support tanking among key voter 

groups. The Republican presidential 

nominee has seen dismal poll numbers 

since a string of women came 

forward earlier this month to accuse 

him of sexual assault or inappropriate 

behaviour in the past. AFP 

THE AMERICAS 

Venezuelans march for 

referendum 

Thousands of Venezuelans 

marched in Caracas on Saturday to 

demand respect for the Constitution 

and to reject the temporary 

suspension of the process 

to trigger a recall referendum 

against President Nicolas Maduro. 

Initially called by the radical wing 

of the opposition, the protest 

was supported by all the opposition 

coalition Democratic Unity 

Round-table (MUD). REUTERS 

UK 

Calais ‘jungle’ children 

arrive in UK 

The first group of children from 

the French Jungle migrant camp 

with no connection to UK have 

arrived in the country, the Home 

Office said Sunday, ahead of the 

camp’s planned demolition. They 

were among around 70 young 

people who were taken to London 

from the camp in the north-eastern 

French port town of Calais, the 

closest point to UK on continental 

Europe. AFP 

EUROPE 

EU sets Monday deadline 

for Belgium to back deal 

The EU has given Belgium until late 

on Monday to overcome opposition 

to a free trade deal with Canada 

from its French-speaking region 

or a summit to sign the pact that 

could boost both economies is off. 

EU trade negotiators are rushing to 

assuage the Walloon government’s 

concerns before the Monday deadline 

set by Canadian Prime Minister 

Justin Trudeau to decide whether 

to fly to Brussels. REUTERS 

AFRICA 

Al-Shabaab retakes Somali 

town 

Fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked al- 

Shabaab group said Sunday they had 

retaken control of a town in central 

Somalia after hundreds of Ethiopian 

troops serving with the African Union’s 

AMISOM force withdrew. It was 

the third time this month that the 

Islamist group moved into a town 

in the region after the departure of 

Ethiopian forces. AFP



DT 

World 

ANALYSIS 

Why the WikiLeaks emails haven’t sunk Clinton 

15 DAYS REMAIN 

• Tribune International Desk 

WikiLeaks has brought shades of 

Cold War subterfuge to the US presidential 

campaign, publishing documents 

that in any other election 

might have tarnished Hillary Clinton. 

But not this time. Not while the 

Democratic candidate’s Republican 

opponent, Donald Trump, continues 

to dominate the news cycle. 

Some revelations are embarrassing, 

like the 84 slogans Clinton’s 

campaign rejected before settling 

on “I’m With Her” and “Stronger 

Together.” Some proposals: “No 

Quit,” “Next Begins With You” and 

“Unleash Opportunity.” 

But there’s much more Trump 

could mine for attacks. The emails 

— believed to have been stolen by 

Russian hackers — might have been 

a sharper political weapon had 

Trump not made himself the dominant 

news story with conspiracy 

theories about a “rigged” election 

and accusations of sexual impropriety 

or sexual assault against him 

from a series of women. 

“The thing with Trump is he’s 

just a walking controversy,” says 

Geoff Skelley, a political analyst 

with the University of Virginia’s 

Centre for Politics. “[WikiLeaks] is 

getting covered, but those aren’t 

the stories people are clicking on. 

They’re clicking on stories that say 

Donald Trump makes lewd comments; 

Donald Trump walks into 

Miss Teen USA’s dressing room; 

Donald Trump makes unsolicited 

approaches on women.” 

None of the correspondence directly 

involves Clinton, and much 

LEAKED CLINTON 

EMAILS 

Some 20,000 pages of emails, 

purportedly hacked from the servers 

of the Democratic National 

Committee in July, as well as from 

the personal Gmail account of 

Clinton campaign chairman John 

Podesta, are said to reveal, among 

other things: 

Ü Transcripts from Clinton’s paid 

speeches. 

Ü An off-colour joke about conservative 

Catholics from a top 

campaign official. 

Ü Contempt within the Democratic 

National Committee for Bernie 

Sanders. 

Ü A leaked debate question from a 

March town hall debate. 

Ü Clinton’s press secretary communicating 

with the Justice 

Department regarding her private 

email server. 

of the daily trickle of WikiLeaks 

material appears to be pretty innocuous. 

Anyone looking for a 

fuller roundup is encouraged to 

dive into WikiLeaks themselves, 

but here’s a sprinkling of what the 

emails contain: 

Wall Street speeches and ‘open 

borders’ 

Clinton has long refused to release 

transcripts from a series of lucrative 

talks she gave to bankers and other 

special interest groups between 2013 

and 2015. It now seems clear why. 

In a closed-door speech to the 

National Multi-Housing Council, 

she describes the need for politicians 

to hold “both a public and a 

private position” on policy. 

In remarks from a 2013 speech to 

a Brazilian banking crowd, she said: 

“My dream is a hemispheric common 

market, with open trade and open 

borders.” As WikiLeaks did release 

the full transcript of her speech, it’s 

not clear if she is talking about movement 

of goods or people, though 

Clinton has claimed she was talking 

energy policy. It would be a far cry 

from how she frames her “secure our 

borders” stance on immigration. 

Cracks about Catholics 

It began with an email chain referring 

to News Corp CEO Rupert 

Murdoch and Wall Street Journal 

managing editor Robert Thomson 

raising their children Catholic. 

John Halpin, a senior fellow at 

the Centre for American Progress, 

jokes that the pair “must be attracted 

to the systematic thought 

and severely backwards gender relations” 

of the faith. 

Podesta does not reply, but Clinton 

campaign communications 

director Jennifer Palmieri writes 

that many conservatives appear to 

choose Catholicism as “the most 

socially acceptable politically conservative 

religion.” 

Palmieri, who is herself Catholic, 

adds: “Their rich friends wouldn’t 

understand if they became evangelicals.” 

She has since said she 

does not recognize the email correspondence. 

Burning Bernie 

Emails from the Democratic National 

Committee’s servers showed apparent 

favouritism of Clinton over 

Sanders, her rival in the primaries, 

and what appeared to be efforts to 

undermine Sanders’s presidential 

campaign, despite the committee’s 

supposedly neutral stance. 

Former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman 

Schultz resigned after the 

emails surfaced, including one in 

which she refers to Sanders’s campaign 

manager Jeff Weaver as a 

“damn liar” and another in which 

she accuses Sanders of having “no 

understanding” of the Democratic 

TRUMP AND CLINTON ON THE ISSUES 

IMMIGRATION 

Clinton: Expand refugee programme from 

accepting 10,000 to about 65,000 Syrian 

refugees annually. Vet backgrounds of 

immigrants and refugees. Create pathway to citizenship 

for some 11 million immigrants living in country illegally 

Trump: Signature issue is to combat illegal immigration 

and reduce legal migration. Stance includes wall between 

U.S. and Mexico, complete ban on foreign Muslims 

entering U.S. and ideological tests for would-be immigrants 

ISLAMIC STATE 

Clinton: Will not send U.S. ground 

troops to Syria or Iraq – in addition 

to some 5,500 already there – instead 

intensify air strikes. Backs no-fly zone 

and safe zones on ground to protect 

civilians. Drive so-called Islamic State 

out of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria 

Trump: Repeatedly says “bomb the 

hell” out of IS. Suggests he has 

secret plan to defeat IS but does not 

want to reveal it. Generals will have 30 days to submit 

plan for defeating Islamic State 

GUN CONTROL 

TAXES, MINIMUM WAGE 

Clinton: Supports gun control legislation, including 

Trump: Reduce number of income brackets 

increased background checks on gun purchases. 

from seven to three, with rates of 22%, 25% 

Called for ban on assault weapons after Orlando massacre and 33% – down from 40%. Lower 

in June 

corporate tax from 35% to 15%. Abolish 

estate tax, also known as “death tax.” 

Raise federal minimum wage from $7.25 

an hour to $10, but let states set minimum 

Trump: Opposes limits on Clinton: Tax rate of 30% for individuals earning 

gun ownership, wants $1 million or more, and impose 4% surcharge on 

AR-15 assault rifle 

gun-free zones in schools taxpayers making more than $5m per year. Tighten 

and elsewhere eliminated. business-tax rules to stop companies moving profits 

Opposes banning assault weapons – believes mass abroad. Increase death tax rates on estates to as much 

shootings can be prevented if more people carry guns as 65%. Raise federal minimum wage to $12 

Sources: Presidential TV debates, Brookings, Wall Street Journal, Campaign web sites Pictures: Associated Press, Getty Images © GRAPHIC NEWS 

Party, as an Independent running 

for the leadership. 

DNC officials also discussed 

ways to exploit Sanders’s possible 

vulnerability on faith questions by 

getting him to discuss whether he 

believes in God. Sanders has since 

endorsed Clinton. 

Discussion of a court date 

Clinton campaign spokesman Brian 

Fallon wrote in an email that 

he had received information from 

the Department of Justice about 

an upcoming court hearing to discuss 

the schedule for the release 

of emails from Clinton’s private 

email server. 

The Trump campaign jumped on 

that email as evidence of collusion 

between the Justice Department 

and Clinton’s campaign about an 

FBI probe into her mishandling of 

emails as secretary of state. But, in 

fact, the Fallon email predated the 

GLOBALISATION 

Donald Trump: Scrap NAFTA – trade deal with Canada 

and Mexico – to stop jobs moving overseas. Impose 45% 

tariff on imports from China to protect U.S. industry. Hire 

experts, not “political hacks,” to negotiate trade deals. 

Oppose 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) 

Hillary Clinton: As secretary of state Clinton touted TPP 

as “gold standard… covering 40% of the world’s 

total trade” – now opposes proposed trade deal because 

it does not provide enough protection for U.S. workers 

on wages, jobs and America’s national security 

FBI investigation by two months. 

In any case, what the email discussed 

was public information, available 

on the federal court’s website, as 

it was only about the scheduling for a 

legal proceeding. 

A questionable question 

Another email in the Podesta Gmail 

hacks carries the subject line “From 

time to time I get the questions in advance.” 

In it, interim DNC chair Donna 

Brazile shares a question about 

the death penalty with Palmieri the 

day before Clinton’s March 13 CNN 

Town Hall debate against Sanders. 

Brazile, a CNN commentator at 

the time, denies she ever sent any 

draft question, but the episode has 

been difficult to shake while Trump 

continues pushing a narrative about 

election collusion. 

HEALTHCARE 

Trump: Repeal Affordable Care Act (ACA) 

– better known as Obamacare. Renegotiate 

runaway costs of healthcare provision. 

Appoint Supreme Court justices to challenge Roe v. Wade 

– landmark 1973 decision that legalised abortion in U.S. 

Clinton: Expand Obamacare by creating government-run 

health plan, known as “public option,” to compete with 

private insurers that offer ACA policies. Defend planned 

parenthood and Roe v. Wade 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

Both candidates have pledged to invest 

in infrastructure as a way to kickstart 

economic growth, taking advantage 

of historically low interest rates 

Trump: “Trillion-dollar rebuilding 

programme” to patch up roads, airports, 

bridges, water systems and power grid 

IMMIGRATION 

Clinton: Send $275 billion infrastructure 

plan to Congress during her first 100 

days in office. Use revenue from 

tax overhauls to pay for new projects, create $25 billion 

infrastructure bank to attract private funds 

Podesta’s way with words 

In an email about the San Bernardino 

shooter, Podesta laments that 

the gunman was later identified by 

MSNBC reporter Christopher Hayes 

as having the Muslim-sounding 

name Syed Farook. 

Podesta’s response on December 

2, 2015: “Better if a guy named Sayeed 

Farouk was reporting that a guy named 

Christopher Hayes was a shooter.” 

Another email mocks Sanders 

as a “doofus.” Asked this week by 

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer whether he did, 

in fact, make the comment, Podesta 

said he had “great respect” and “affection” 

for Sanders, though he disagreed 

with Sanders’s opposition to 

the Paris climate change deal. 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Blitzer responded. 

• 

[This is an excerpt of CBC article, which 

can be found at http://bit.ly/2euYI0K] 

Find more stories on US presidential 

election at www.dhakatribune.com

World 

11 


DT 

Iran’s Rouhani: US 

election offers only bad 

or worse choice 

• Reuters, Dubai 

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani 

said on Sunday the choice 

offered to voters in the US presidential 

election was between 

“bad and worse” and that harsh 

exchanges in the debates pointed 

to a lack of morality in America, 

Tehran’s arch adversary. 

“America claims it has more 

than 200 years of democracy, 

and they have had 50 presidential 

elections, but there is no 

morality in that country,” Rouhani 

said in a speech, carried 

live by state television. 

“You saw the presidential 

debates, how they talk..., how 

they accuse and mock (each 

other),” Rouhani told a crowd 

gathered at a stadium during his 

visit to the central city of Arak. 

Rouhani said a head of state 

had asked him during his visit 

to the United Nations in September 

about who he preferred 

between Republican candidate 

Donald Trump and his Democratic 

rival Hillary Clinton. 

“I said should I prefer bad 

over worse or worse over bad?,” 

said Rouhani, a pragmatist politician 

and cleric who may run 

for reelection in Iran’s presidential 

polls in May 2017. •

DT 

12 

Business 


TOP STORIES 

BGAPMEA likely to 

launch testing lab 

Bangladesh Garments Accessories 

and Packaging Manufacturers 

Association (BGAPMEA) is likely 

to launch a testing laboratory 

to improve product quality by 

providing timely and reliable testing 

facilities from next month. PAGE 13 

Survey companies 

hit the streets to fill 

India’s data gaps 

Sachin Bhadrasen Jaiswar goes 

from door to door in a middle class 

neighbourhood outside Mumbai 

measuring India’s economic pulse, 

one of hundreds of survey takers 

working for private firms aiming 

to fill a gap - the lack of reliable 

data. PAGE 15 

Capital market snapshot: 

Sunday 

DSE 

Broad Index 4,693.0 0.0% ▲ 

Index 1,117.5 0.5% ▲ 

30 Index 1,754.2 0.3% ▲ 

Turnover in Mn Tk 5,673.9 13.3% ▲ 

Turnover in Mn Vol 193.1 9.4% ▲ 

CSE 

All Share Index 14,418.9 0.1% ▲ 

30 Index 12,935.2 -0.1% ▼ 

Selected Index 8,768.2 0.1% ▲ 

Turnover in Mn Tk 382.1 -2.2% ▼ 

Turnover in Mn Vol 16.1 13.2% ▲ 

First Finance feels the pinch 

for corrupt directors 

Corruption riddles non-bank financial institutions. For loan irregularities in 

FIs, directors often call the shot. In its final series, DhakaTribune brings 

to light how the top brass grabbed their depositors money 

• Jebun Nesa Alo 

The country’s non-bank financial 

institutions bear the brunt of 

financial irregularities including 

embezzlement in which FIs directors 

and high-ups are involved, 

the central bank investigative 

team has found. 

The names of corrupt big fish 

in financial institutions (FIs) surface 

at a time when the country’s 

state-owned banks including BA- 

SIC Bank are still reeling from financial 

crisis due to loan fraud. 

The Bangladesh Bank investigation 

revealed that AQM Faruk 

Ahmed Chowdhury, former chairman 

of First Finance, embezzled 

over Tk40 crore from his corporation, 

and got involved in various 

irregularities including loan 

forgery and commission earnings 

against forged loans from his financial 

institution. 

In February this year, Bangladesh 

Bank asked Frist Finance to 

recover the embezzled amount 

from its chairman and served 

show cause notice to then CEO as 

to why he will not be fined Tk10 

lakh or given a three-year prison 

term or both. 

Recently, Faruk filed a case 

against the Bangladesh Bank decision 

on paying back Tk40 crore, 

said a senior executive of the central 

bank. 

Later in May this year Faruk 

resigned from the post of chairman 

and his brother AQM Faisal 

Ahmed Chowdhury took the helm 

being appointed as chairman. 

Bangladesh Bank 

took punitive 

actions against 

Moin. The actions 

include either a 

fine of Tk10 lakh 

or a three-year jail 

sentence or both 

Prior to his joining, Faisal was 

serving the First Finance as 

vice-chairman and found to be an 

accomplice in the corruption. 

Faisal is also the sponsor director 

of Alphabet Associates Limited 

and Alphabet Systems Limited 

owned by his brother Faruk 

Ahmed Chowdhury. 

Several top officials including 

Chief Financial Officer MA Matin 

and Company Secretary Ashfaqur 

Rahman were also in collusion to 

commit the misdeeds. 

Though the accused chairman 

and CEO have been removed, Faruk 

Ahmed is still calling the shot 

by appointing his own men to directorial 

posts. 

The board of First Finance included 

two new directors namely 

Ataul Haque and Kazi Saoda Afrin 

serving Alphabet Associates 

Limited as representatives of the 

274th board meeting held in August 

this year. 

On August 23, Bangladesh Bank 

(BB) gave a show cause notice to 

the incumbent chairman, Faisal, 

asking how and why those two 

directors were appointed as representatives 

of a company owned by 

its former chairman Faruk Ahmed 

Chowdhury. 

An investigation conducted by 

BB showed that Faruk Ahmed received 

remuneration despite not attending 

the board meeting, misappropriated 

Tk65 lakh from sold land 

that was mortgaged against default 

loan, received money against false 

advertisement, violating rule. 

Moreover, Faisal was given a 

home loan of Tk70 lakh, overruling 

the board decision against 

which there was no repayment. 

The probe team also found that 

some large loans were given to 

Al-Modina Enterprise, Aftab Enterprise, 

Munshi Traders, Dolfin 

Car centre, Mabco Group, Mohammad 

Siddiqur Rahman, Hafijul 

Islam and Runa Trading Corporation 

from Agrabad, Corporate, 

Gulshan and Board Bazar branch. 

All loans were issued against 

forged documents and turned default 

eventually. In some cases, innocent 

officers who proposed for 

loans from branches concerned 

were punished by the then board 

to hide the real culprits, cited the 

investigation report. 

Despite being the head of Procurement 

Department of First Finance, 

Chowdhury Moin Ahmed 

Mujib supplied goods to the First 

Finace at high price from his own institution 

named Business Link and 

Business Communication Services. 

Moin’s supplier institituon was 

shown only in paper after his wife’s 

name, thus making a huge amount 

of money, making fake bills. 

Bangladesh Bank took punitive 

actions against Moin. The actions 

include either a fine of Tk10 lakh or 

a three-year jail sentence or both. 

Later Moin was terminated 

from the institution, following the 

recommendation of investigation 

report. •

Business 13 

DT 


BGAPMEA likely to launch 

testing lab for improving 

product quality 

• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi 

Bangladesh Garments Accessories 

and Packaging Manufacturers 

Association (BGAP- 

MEA) is likely to launch a 

testing laboratory to improve 

product quality by providing 

timely and reliable testing facilities 

from next month. 

The testing laboratory is 

going to set up under Integrated 

Support to Poverty 

and Inequality Reduction 

through Enterprise Development 

(INSPIRED) project 

funded by the European Union 

(EU) and Ministry of Industries. 

The lab is aimed at providing 

internally acceptable testing 

facilities for various types 

of products manufacturers 

by the industrial units under 

BGAPMEA. 

The testing facilities include 

touch-screen bursting 

strength tester, moisture meter, 

box compression strength 

tester, drop tester, crush tester 

and full set of accessories, 

cobb absorbency tester and 

sample cutter and rub testes. 

“As we have been working 

with the help of EU and Industry 

Ministry since 2013 to 

develop a testing lab for the 

accessories manufactures, 

we are finally going to launch 

the lab in November,” said 

BGAPMEA President Abdul 

Kader Khan while talking to 

the Dhaka Tribune. 

The lab will contribute to 

improve quality of products 

through providing timely 

and reliable testing facilities, 

strengthening the industrial 

capacity of Bangladesh RMG 

accessories sector, said Khan. 

“It will provide testing facilities 

that is internationally acceptable.” 

Khan said: “Testing of 

products is one of the buyers’ 

requirements and it would 

help the sector people to 

meet their demands with 

quality assurance.” 

“As our next focus would 

be on skilled manpower, the 

BGAPMEA is now working on 

establishing a training institute,’’ 

he said. 

Khan said if the government 

provides policy and 

financial support for this purpose, 

we will be able to export 

worth over US$12 billion 

against the overall export target 

of $50 billion by 2021. 

There are about 1,400 

manufacturers of accessories 

in the country that have employed 

over 3 lakh people. 

According to latest data, 

the contribution of garment 

accessories and packaging to 

apparel export rose by 9.28% 

to $6.12 billion in the last 

fiscal year. In the last fiscal 

year, deemed export earnings 

of garment accessories 

and packaging stood at $6.12 

billion, which is 9.28% higher 

compared to $5.6 billion in 

the fiscal year 2014-15. • 

BRB Cables observes its 38th founding anniversary on the factory premises in Kustia yesterday. BRB 

Group Chairman Mozibar Rahman was seen among the industry staff cut the cake to celebrate the 

occasion 

Fall in active 

mobile phone 

numbers 

• Ishtiaq Husain 

The number of active mobile 

phone SIM cards in Bangladesh 

has reduced by 9.2m and 

internet subscribers by 1.7m 

in August from July figures, 

according to regulator’s data. 

The number started to 

drop after the introduction of 

biometric SIM registration in 

December 2015. 

A total of 10m SIM cards 

not registered under biometric 

system had been cancelled 

after 31 May this year. 

Bangladesh Telecommunication 

Regulatory Commission 

(BTRC) released the 

figures yesterday. In July 2015 

the total number picked to 

133.7m, the highest ever in 

the country. 

A subscriber using a mobile 

SIM card for the past 90 

days is considered an active 

subscriber. 

Grameenphone lost 1.8m 

mobile internet subscribers 

in August while Banglalink 

lost 3.2m. After losing subscribers, 

Grameenphone’s 

active connections stood at 

54.5m while Banglalink’s 

number dropped to 28.9m. • 

Stocks end flat in 

see-saw trade 

• Kayes Sohel 

Stocks closed flat in see-saw 

trade yesterday, bouncing 

off the day’s lows helped by 

small cap issues. 

The market moved between 

negative and positive 

frequently within a limited 

range throughout the entire 

session as investors were active 

of both sides of the fence. 

The benchmark index of 

Dhaka Stock Exchange DSEX 

witnessed a fractional rise of 

0.6 points to settle at 4,693. 

The DS30 index, comprising 

blue chips, rose nearly 6 points 

to 1,754. The DSE Shariah Index 

gained over 5 points to 1,117. 

The Chittagong Stock Exchange 

Selective Category Index 

CSCX was up only over 4 

points to 8,768. 

However, strong buying 

and selling spree helped increase 

trading activities as the 

DSE turnover stood at Tk567 

crore, up more than 13% over 

the previous session. 

Engineering sector continued 

to dominate the trading, 

accounting for 18% of the total 

turnover. Lanka Bangla Securities 

said the market closed in 

flat green zone after a highly 

volatile trading session. 

It said the market reflected 

investors’ reactions to the declared 

earning performances. 

Bank and non-banking financial 

institutions sectors 

saw profit booking, ending a 

modest rise over the previous 

sessions. 

The market breadth, however, 

remained negative as out 

of 326 issues traded, 130 securities 

gained, 161 declined and 

35 remained unchanged. 

Telecommunications sector 

continued to end positive 

as it climbed over 1%. 

Among small cap sector, cement 

sector remained favourite 

among the investors gaining 

over 2%, followed by engineering 

1% and power 0.6%. 

Power sector generated 

the highest turnover, accounting 

for about 20% of the 

total trade value on the DSE. 

A massive growth in first 

quarter earnings of Doreen 

Power encouraged the investors 

most. 

As a result, the company 

led the turnover chart, capturing 

more than 9% of the 

total turnover. •

14 


DT 

Advertisement

Business 15 

DT 


Survey companies hit the streets to fill India’s data gaps 

• Reuters 

Sachin Bhadrasen Jaiswar goes 

from door to door in a middle class 

neighbourhood outside Mumbai 

measuring India’s economic pulse, 

one of hundreds of survey takers 

working for private firms aiming to 

fill a gap - the lack of reliable data. 

There has long been deep scepticism 

about the accuracy of economic 

indicators in India, a country 

of 1.2 billion people of whom 

90% are estimated to be part of the 

grey economy. 

Independent economists question 

the government’s assessment 

of everything from industrial output 

to unemployment, but the 

main data “black hole” is consumer 

indicators including retail 

sales, and that is where people like 

29-year-old Jaiswar come in. 

On a recent visit to an apartment, 

he spent an hour asking questions 

ranging from how much the family 

there spent on vegetables to whether 

they expected their financial situation 

to improve, tapping the answers 

into a special app on his iPhone. 

“We are building the most advanced 

survey execution machinery 

in the world,” said Mahesh 

Vyas, chief executive officer at Centre 

for Monitoring Indian Economy 

(CMIE), for whom Jaiswar works. 

“The government machinery 

will take a long time to reach the 

levels we have reached already.” 

CMIE employs 350 survey takers 

on long-term contracts, and they 

cover 158,000 households across 

the country, with each one interviewed 

three times a year. 

Rival Kantar, a market research 

firm tracking consumer behaviour, 

says it surveys more than 80,000 

Indian households a month for 

their retail demand survey, and taps 

a database of 5,000 survey takers to 

conduct interviews when required 

for clients including big corporations 

and even the government. 

The accuracy of their findings is 

also questioned by experts, but the 

business can be lucrative in a country 

where foreign and domestic 

investors, attracted by rapid economic 

expansion, are hungry for 

information and trends. 

Pooling data 

Madan Sabnavis, chief economist 

of CARE Ratings, said he frequently 

incorporated data provided by private 

companies into his forecasts, 

including unemployment, retail 

indicators and corporate investments. 

“They may not always be reliable 

as the numbers are based on 

surveys, but in the absence of any 

other information we do look at it. 

I need to get some idea of what’s 

happening, and at least they give 

you that,” he said. • 

ECF collects toys for 

underpriviledged 

children 

• Tribune Desk 

Toys-R-Yours (TRY) project, 

an initiative organized by 

Ex-Cadets Forum (ECF) – a 

global platform of ex-cadets 

from all the cadet colleges, 

have recently collected used 

toys and story books individuals 

and organisations to provide 

them to the underprivileged 

children. 

Individuals and representatives 

from different schools 

and corporate organisations 

have handed over the materials 

to TRY project so that they 

can be given to the children 

of various underprivileged 

schools in Bangaldesh. 

The biggest toy collection 

event was held on Monday at 

The Mughal Kitchen in Gulshan 

1 in Dhaka, said a press 

release from organisers. 

People of different classes 

responded to the call from 

TRY and brought old unused 

toys and books from their 

homes and donated those for 

underprivileged children. 

Celebrities like Tahsan, 

band Shironamhin, Sulaiman 

Shukhon, Arif R Hossain, 

Miftah Zaman came to the 

event to donate and encourage 

others to donate. The toy 

donors handed over the toys 

to their favorite celebrities, 

took selfies with them. Top 

officials from different corporate 

also attended the event. 

The event collected over 

1000 toys and more than 500 

books on spot in the event, 

which will go to different underprivileged 

schools in coming 

days. This year, the project 

is targeting to reach 10000 

underprivileged children with 

toys and story books. 

Perfetti Van Melle, pay- 

Point, surjoPay and IPDC 

sponsored TRY project in 

2016. N9ine Sports and Marketing 

Consultancy was the 

Food Sponsor while Mughol 

Kitchen was the Venue Partner 

and ABC Radio was the 

Radio Partner for the TRY 

Grand Collection Event. 

Initiated in 2015, Toys- 

R-Yours (TRY) project 

already supported over 7000 

underprivileged with toys and 

story books by establishing 

libraries. 

So far in 2016, children in 

16 schools received toys and 

children in 12 schools received 

library support covering over 

5000 children in very remote 

areas like Pirojpur, Bandarban, 

Kisoreganj, Cox’s Bazar. •

16 


DT 

Health 

Super foods 

Photo: Bigstock 

• Reaz Fiem 

One of the biggest 

challenges we face 

when taking up the 

decision to workout 

and stay fit is figuring out what 

types of food to eat. We look 

it up in the Internet and ask 

around for suggestions, but it’s 

actually much easier than we 

think. The first thing we need 

to understand is which foods 

are more nutritious and on the 

same note low in calories. If this 

can be figured out then we have 

cracked the code! We can now 

work on our meals better, and 

actively think about the recipes. 

So let’s check out some of the 

super foods, which are highly 

effective in keeping us in shape, 

are outright nutritious, and most 

importantly, easily available. 

Egg whites: We all know 

protein is the base on which a 

diet should be built. Egg whites 

are a cheap source of complete 

protein. In this part of the 

world, a common breakfast in 

most households is omelet and 

roti. And unless you have a 

heart condition, and have been 

advised to avoid yolks, your 

omelet will most likely be made 

up of a whole egg. Whole eggs 

are fantastic – they are rich in 

protein and good cholesterol. 

The problem with the yolk, 

however, is that it contains all 

the fats and that too, in high 

density, which makes a whole 

egg calorie dense in comparison 

to its size. Therefore, when 

looking staying fit, simply avoid 

the yolk and keep the white 

only; even if you make an omelet 

of five egg whites, it won’t be 

adding much to your diet in 

terms of calories. And when 

using the much-loved traditional 

condiments such as onions, 

tomatoes and coriander, you 

won’t be losing out on flavour 

either. 

Lean chicken and beef: The 

leaner the better. Yes, if we buy 

lean chicken and beef we can 

significantly reduce our calorie 

intake. Meat is also another 

prime example of high protein 

food. And since even the lean 

variety will have a bit of fat in it, 

you wont need to add extra oil 

when cooking, in keeping with 

your healthy regime. 

Lentils and beans: A food 

that is packed with fibrous 

carbohydrate, starchy 

carbohydrate, plant proteins and 

other vitamins and minerals. 

But what is the best thing about 

lentils and beans? It fills you up 

easily! More importantly, on their 

own they are not very calorie 

dense. So adding lentils or beans 

in your diet can do wonders. So 

start being imaginative in the 

kitchen with some lentils and 

beans recipes. 

Fish: My absolute favourite 

source of protein and healthy 

fat is fish. As Bangladeshis, 

fish is readily available to us 

and is a big part of our daily 

diet. Fish is less calorie dense 

while it provides us with the 

right amount of protein. Most 

importantly, fish is a great source 

of is healthy fat which is really 

important for proper functioning 

of our system. 

Potatoes: The spud usually gets 

a bad reputation as a provider of 

carb, but it actually also contains 

a host of vitamins and minerals 

and is one of the most satiating 

foods in the world. Eat a side 

of potatoes with your fish, egg 

white omelet or lean meat as a 

carbohydrate source and you will 

feel full. Of course, in keeping 

with the healthy eating regime, 

you’ll have to avoid the more 

traditional favourite such as 

fries, crisps of buttery mash. But 

having them boiled or baked and 

seasoned with salt and pepper is 

a great way to eating potatoes in 

a healthy way. 

Fruits: Fruits are one of the 

best diet friendly foods you will 

find around you. Eat your fruits 

for several reasons. Number 

one they are a fast food, they 

contains a plethora of vitamins 

and minerals, they have fibre, 

which slows down sugar 

release, they are a good source 

of carbohydrate, they can be 

added to various other health 

food, lastly they fill you up and 

keeps sugar cravings away. So 

fruits should be your go to trans 

fat free dessert whenever you 

feel the urge to have something 

sweet after a meal. 

Now that you know what to 

eat (and avoid), its time to get 

creative in the kitchen, because 

eating healthy does not mean 

compromising on flavour. 

Cooking and eating healthy has 

never been easier than now, with 

the treasure trove of recipes the 

internet has to offer.• 

Reaz Mahmud Fiem is a 

fitness enthusiast who wishes 

to help people stay healthy

Feature 

17 


DT 

Peacempire takes off 

• Rakibul Hasan 

On October 1, Peacempire 

successfully launched 

its social action project 

in the largest school of 

Narayanganj, Murapara Model 

Pilot High School, bringing 

together nearly 1,375 students in 

a road show, just after collecting 

petition signatures of 603 people 

and completing a workshop of 

109 attendees there. Later on 

October 8, they also organised 

the second event, which included 

a drama performance, drawing 

a crowd of 579 local audiences, 

over 340 students in a rally, 499 

petition signatures and about 107 

participants in a workshop at an 

Islamic seminary called “Baraloo 

Paragaon Batenia Dakhil Madrasa” 

in the district. 

Peacempire is among the top 

20 global advocacy solutions for 

Sexual and Reproductive Health 

and Rights (SRHR). Sponsored 

by Women Deliver and Johnson 

and Johnson, it advances through 

three major activities, which 

include workshops, campaigns 

and building coalition on sexual 

and reproductive health and 

rights advocacy to reduce the 

rate of early forced marriage and 

violence against women by 30%, 

involving young people, aged 

12 to 25 in the underprivileged 

areas of Rupganj subdistrict, 

Bangladesh. The project also 

forms a coalition bringing together 

SRHR experts, traditional leaders, 

political quarters, administrative 

bodies and victims in monthly 

social campaigns. Thus it equips 

young advocates with capacity 

to effectively respond to child 

marriage and gender violence 

through citizen journalism 

and digital media facilities, ie, 

common cellphone hotline, social 

media outlets etc, to ensure 

legal interventions and public 

engagements in the area. 

The workshops 

The workshop has four core 

sessions – ice-breaking, focus 

session, brainstorming, essay 

competitions and survey. From 

grades 7 to 10, top 20 students 

are selected on the merit list 

from different sections of a 

school, which sum up to a little 

over 100 students in total for a 

duration of two hours. Experts 

address the focus session titled 

“Understanding the Local 

Context of Child Marriage 

and Gender Violence”. On 

September 1 this year, Debashis 

Bhattacharjee from Youth 

School for Social Entrepreneurs, 

conducted the focus session 

at Murapara Model Pilot High 

School and later on September 8, 

Rafiqul Alam Khan from South 

Asian Youth Society presided 

over another focus session at 

Baraloo Paragaon Batenia Dakhil 

Madrasa. During the workshop, 

two facilitators cooperated with 

attendees to help brainstorm on 

“Causes, Effects and Preventions 

of Child Marriage and Gender 

Violence”. 

Participants wrote their 

opinions on colourful sticky-pads 

to be glued with artboard papers 

on the walls. On both the days, 

a total of six essays received 

mementos under the categories 

of two winners, two first runners 

up and two second runners up. 

Finally, undertaking surveys 

marked the end of the workshop 

activities. In this session, 

students filled up attendance 

sheets and chose their roles 

out of four given priorities of 

“Popular Opponents”— reporters, 

educators, advocates and 

campaigners. 

The campaigns 

The campaigns included both 

infield and online activism. Offline 

activism included a rally and 

a roadshow, two hand-imprint 

ceremonies, 10 street interviews, 

1103 petition signatures, a drama 

production, mimes, etc. On the 

other hand, digital activism is 

underway to establish common 

cellphone hotline, social media 

outlets, producing documentaries/ 

short films, blogging, storytelling, 

reporting and creating apps to 

be available in the Peacempire 

website soon. 

Other activities 

Finally, there’s the coalition and 

club formation activities. The 

multi-actoral coalition included 

five SRHR experts/practitioners, 

11 religious leaders, six traditional 

leaders, three policy makers, 15 

local media workers/journalists, 

political quarters, administrative 

bodies and victims. Since some of 

the religious/traditional leaders 

propagate early marriage, justify 

violence against women and 

discourage contraceptives, the 

project educates and engages 

religious quarters in SRHR 

practices. The popular teachings 

advocate early marriage of girls 

to protect their virginity/purity 

from adultery, an absolute 

misinterpretation of religion. 

Therefore, as a religious solution 

to religious challenge, the project 

aims at finding a positive religious 

explanation in the light of holy 

scriptures. On the other hand, 

the club consists of “Popular 

Opponents” of all four categories. 

With regular follow-ups, the club 

members will be further trained up 

to write, blog and help make video 

documentaries for the website and 

other social media channels. 

Thus the project will directly 

benefit 2022 people, while 

indirectly outreaching more than 

17402 beneficiaries and 50000 

virtual beneficiaries in 34 villages 

and beyond. The unique outcome 

of the project is drawing a popular 

end to the culture of indifference 

and violence against girls and 

women in the area. This project 

finds enduring solutions through 

the establishment of permanent 

website and social media 

channels, which will continue 

beyond the project time-line.• 

The writer is a Women 

Deliver fellow, USA. He 

can be reached at rhasan@ 

wdyoungleaders.org

18 


DT 

Feature 

Double Cube: 

Made in Bangladesh, featured worldwide by Apple 

• Tarek Musanna 

If you’ve been anywhere near 

Apple’s App Store in the last 

few days, you’ll have noticed 

something called “Double Cube” 

creeping up the charts. Made in 

Bangladesh, this indie game has 

been featured now for the second 

week running in “New Games 

We Love” in 80 Countries, which 

is rare; even more so for a game 

developer from Bangladesh. 

runner game,” where you control 

two cube-shaped blocks. The 

difficulty level appears to be much 

easier than the majority of other 

double runners currently on the 

App Store. Using simple “touch 

to jump” controls, you jump over 

Double Cube has so far been 

featured in 119 out of the 155 

regions of the App Store,” said 

Zamilur Rashid. 

The last time a Bangladeshi 

company was featured in the App 

Store was back in 2009-10. The 

game “Tap Tap Ants,” by Rise Up 

Labs was the first homegrown 

game to be globally featured. 

Double Cube is doing very well in 

the top charts right now, placing 

itself in the top 5 positions in 

Strategy games in countries like 

Australia and Canada consistently, 

and is even ahead of Clash of Clans 

in some regions! 

to be a game publisher as well, 

helping other homegrown games 

find their feet in the international 

market. GameOver Studio also 

has the first blog in Bangladesh on 

game development. 

The process 

But how do they work? There 

are four leads overseeing 

each of the four operations 

arms - game design, game art, 

game development, and game 

marketing. All the leads have 

multiple talents under them. The 

process starts with brainstorming 

ideas and concepts, and fleshing 

them out using good ol’ pen and 

paper. These then go to the artists 

and get filtered. When the artists 

are done, the developers get to 

work on them. Finally, one or two 

ideas stand. The developers work 

up an initial version of the game 

and hands it over to a 30-person 

beta testing group. Based on 

the reactions and feedback of 

beta testers, more changes are 

incorporated. 

After all that, the game is sent 

to publishers, who give their 

opinions. After more polishing, 

and with a good helping of blood, 

sweat and tears, the game gets 

published on various platforms 

and marketplaces. For Double 

They are scheduled to release 

four more games in the next six 

months. 

The creator 

Talking about his switch from 

economics to game development, 

Zamil shared his experiences 

from the first few Hackathons he 

was involved with as a mentor. 

There were various game ideas, 

including ones looking to bring 

about behavioral change, but when 

Zamil set out to find the people 

capable of making them, he was 

disappointed. 

“Game development is 

very different from traditional 

software development. Games 

are multi-dimensional. You 

need a perfect mesh of Coding, 

Art, Aesthetics and Human 

Psychology. The core difference 

between a game developer and a 

software developer is patience and 

perseverance. Most of the time, 

software development involves 

fixed requirements and as long as 

your code runs properly and does 

the job, it is fine. For a game this is 

GameOver Studio has become the 

only second deshi company to be 

featured by Apple. 

Let’s hear it from Zamilur 

Rashid himself, the founder of 

GameOver Studio. 

The game 

Double Cube is an impeccably 

designed 1980s style 3D “double 

laser beams, hollow gaps and 

more, as two blocks speedily dash 

along a neon path. It looks like it 

appeared straight out of the Tron 

universe! 

The concept for Double Cube 

came from multitasking. As the 

player controls two cubes in space, 

one jumps upwards and another 

jumps rightwards to avoid various 

obstacles. The gameplay takes 

about two seconds to grasp but 

is addictively challenging, and 

with amazing visuals, it keeps the 

players’ eyes and fingers glued to 

the screen. 

“It seems that it’s not just me 

who thinks this game is great. 

The company 

This is the first game published 

(and the 7th game made) by 

GameOver Studio. The studio has 

an intriguing story on its own. 

Fresh out of university with an 

Economics degree, the founder, 

Zamilur Rashid (Zamil), returned 

to Bangladesh from the UK in 

2012 and started his career as a 

consultant for development sector 

organisations. 

Right off the bat, as an IT 

consultant, he noticed a large 

gap in the IT sector. He founded 

Rupam IT Limited soon after and 

worked on several development 

projects. However, Zamil always 

wanted to work on specific 

products and he saw this 

potential for developing games in 

Bangladesh. 

A developer working under 

him shared the same passion for 

games and they started discussing 

the possibility. After raising funds 

and creating the entity, GameOver 

Studio now has 13 employers and 

3 investors, focusing on games for 

iOS and tvOS. 

Not content with simply 

developing, the studio soon aims 

Cube, Nanovation, an American 

company based out of Silicon 

Valley, acted as the publisher. 

The marketing department starts 

working when the game is at the 

publishing or later stages. Zamil 

personally oversees game design 

and marketing. 

GameOver Studio may be just 

a year old, but Zamilur Rashid 

already has big plans for the studio. 

just the starting point. At times you 

have to throw away entire features 

that are worth a few weeks of 

work. At times you have to scrap 

complete games. For example, 

the Double Cube you know is the 

3rd version of the game. And each 

version underwent at least 15-20 

updates! It takes a lot of dedication 

to perfect a game.” 

Zamil believes there are plenty 

of people in Bangladesh who share 

the love he has for games and 

game development. He believes 

in the potential of homegrown 

quality games, and with the likes 

of Double Cube on the market, the 

future seems quite bright. •

| discussion | 

The British Council observes 

International Day of the Girl Child 

Biz Info 

| awareness | 

19 


BRACU observes “World 

Mental Health Day 2016” 

DT 

With an aim to provide an 

opportunity to build networks 

with both the British Council 

and other non-governmental 

organisations working in the girl 

child space, to understand the 

work and challenges around girl 

child education in Bangladesh, 

and to discuss where the gender 

data gaps are, the British Council 

recently organised a panel 

discussion at British Council 5 

Fuller Road office. 

The theme of this year’s panel 

discussion was ‘Girls’ Progress 

= Goal’s Progress”. During the 

occasion, participants and 

speakers discussed how the 

collection of comprehensive, girlrelevant, 

girl-focused, and sexdisaggregated 

data is essential, 

especially in developing 

countries such as Bangladesh. 

Collection of the data will enable 

girls to become more visible 

and be counted, will inform 

programming and hold leaders to 

account. 

Among others, the program 

was attended by Dr. Abul 

Hossain, Project Director, 

Violence Against Women and 

Children, Ministry of Woman and 

Child Affairs; Mahtabul Hakim, 

Coordinator, UN Women; Roshni 

Basu, Gender Specialist, UNICEF; 

and Mahmuda Rahman Khan, 

Senior Program Development 

Specialist, USAID. Other 

organizations who participated 

in the event include Plan 

International, Save the Children, 

BRAC, and Google. 

‘The British Council’s work 

within the girl child space 

builds on over 20 years’ applied 

experience in Asia, Africa, the 

Middle East and wider Europe 

as well as this region. This work 

supports the achievement of 

Sustainable Development Goals 

4 (Quality Education) and 5 

(Gender Equality). The British 

Council sees issues of equality 

and diversity as a crucial part 

of cultural relations. Gender 

equality, therefore, forms an 

important aspect of our work,’ 

said Jim Scarth, Deputy Director 

of British Council Bangladesh. 

During the event, participants 

had the opportunity to view 

photographs and artwork from 

the British Council’s English 

and Digital for Girls’ Education 

(EDGE) project. 

On December 19, 2011, The 

United Nations General Assembly 

declared 11 October as the 

International Day of the Girl Child 

to recognise girls’ rights and 

the unique challenges girl face 

around the world. This yearly 

initiative by the British Council 

is aimed at propelling the targets 

set by the UN in ensuring greater 

empowerment of women around 

the world • 

BRAC University organised a 

seminar at BRAC Centre Inn, 

Mohakhali, Dhaka on October 20 

in observance of World Mental 

Health Day. Every year, the World 

Health Organisation (WHO) 

observes the day on October 10, 

with the overall objectives of 

raising awareness of mental health 

issues around the world and 

mobilising efforts in support of 

mental health. 

The theme of the day this year 

is “Dignity in Mental Health- 

Psychological and Mental Health 

First Aid for All”. The Counselling 

Unit of BRACU organised the 

seminar in collaboration with the 

Psychosocial Counselling Unit 

of BRAC Institute of Educational 

Development (BIED). 

Professor Syed Saad Andaleeb, 

Ph.D, vice chancellor of BRAC 

University, inaugurated the 

seminar with an opening speech 

discussing the significance of 

mental health well-being, the 

need of psychological first aid 

in disaster management and the 

role the counselling units of BRAC 

University play for the university 

and the society. 

The keynote speaker of the 

seminar, Dr Mehtab Khanam, 

a professor of the Department 

of Educational and Counselling 

Psychology, University of Dhaka, 

shed light on the importance of 

mental healthcare throughout 

the lifespan of human beings 

and explained and moderated 

an interactive discussion on 

counselling following a video 

presentation of an actual 

counselling session. 

There was a question and 

answer session along with 

presentations on various mental 

health services provided by the 

organisers in the university and 

community as well. • 

| talk | 

Aarong Dairy recently ended a three-day citywide campaign with a discussion session about the variety and quality of Aarong Dairy products. Director of Aarong Dairy Mohammad Anisur Rahman, Saifur Rahman 

and Suraiya Siddika from sales and marketing, as well as Aarong Dairy business leaders and senior officials were also present.

DT 

20 

Editorial 


TODAY 

Strengthen cybersecurity 

with Linux 

Given the prevalence of outdated use 

of Windows XP across government 

departments, the cyber-security agency 

needs to urgently undertake the task 

of replacing all pirated software with 

open-source equivalents 

PAGE 21 

Is an Indo-Pak war 

on the cards? 

In an escalated situation, if India undertakes 

too strong an action against Pakistan 

for future deterrence, the Pakistani 

reaction would be anybody’s guess 

PAGE 22 

Tap into ICT potential 

BIGSTOCK 

When people went 

back to the cinema 

When producers talk about bringing 

back the educated middle class to the 

cinema, they should emphasise that 

following a ‘done to deate’ style is 

hardly a way to revive the film industry 

PAGE 23 

Be heard 

Write to Dhaka Tribune 

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, 

Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 

Send us your Op-Ed articles: 

opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com 

www.dhakatribune.com 

Join our Facebook community: 

https://www.facebook.com/ 

DhakaTribune. 

The views expressed in Opinion 

articles are those of the authors 

alone. They do not purport to 

be the official view of Dhaka 

Tribune or its publisher. 

According to experts, by 2021, Bangladesh has the potential to earn as 

much as $5 billion through its ICT sector. 

This is indeed great news. 

With a burgeoning ICT sector, it is important that the government takes 

advantage of this untapped market and doesn’t let this opportunity go to waste. 

The country has already fallen behind by not jumping on the submarine cable 

network wagon earlier. This is compounded by the fact that a lack of incentive and 

policy regarding the ICT sector has persisted until recently. 

We cannot let that happen again. 

Recent events, such as Digital World 2016, have showcased how much 

Bangladesh can gain through developing ICT and ICT-related industries. As one of 

its more rapidly emerging sectors, it is important that there are systems set in place 

to allow for the sector to flourish. 

As a result, the commerce minister’s promise that the sector would be getting 

cash incentives, is encouraging. 

This is especially important since, right now, Bangladesh is not at a level where 

it can compete on a global scale. This can be done by allowing local ICT firms to 

develop software, instead of purchasing them from abroad. 

In some countries, government agencies have adopted open-source software, 

particularly in offices and on servers which need to maintain strong data security. 

In light of the recent fraud at Bangladesh Bank, it is obvious that many arms of the 

government need better data security. 

This is the right time for a policy to promote the use of open source software in 

government agencies. Using open source software will also save the government 

millions of dollars every year in software license fees. 

Another focus should be developing skilled manpower at home. It is imperative 

for the ICT sectors’ continuing advancement. 

Under Sheikh Hasina’s leadership, the government has already come a long way 

in developing the dreams of a Digital Bangladesh. This is another important step 

towards fully realising that dream. 

Bangladesh is not at 

a level where it can 

compete on a global 

scale. This can be done by 

allowing local ICT firms to 

develop software, instead 

of purchasing them from 

abroad

Opinion 21 

DT 


Strengthen cyber-security with Linux 

Using open source software is a viable and proven method of combatting cyber-crime 

• Zeeshan Hasan 

It’s encouraging to read that 

the government understands 

the seriousness of the loss 

of $81 million dollars via the 

hacking of Bangladesh Bank, and 

that a cyber-security agency is 

going to be formed to prevent 

further disasters. Currently, 

information security in each 

government department is up 

to the internal IT staff of that 

department. 

It is not surprising that the 

internal IT staff of various 

government departments have 

no idea of information security, 

as they have never been selected 

for that knowledge or trained in 

it. Rectifying this situation and 

urgently correcting many obvious 

information security-related 

problems within government 

offices at reasonable cost should 

be the job of the cyber-security 

agency. 

Until recently, the sole 

responsibility of IT staff in 

government departments was 

maintaining PCs and network 

hardware, and purging viruses 

from out-of-date and often 

unlicensed/pirated copies of 

Microsoft Windows. The use of 

unlicensed/pirated/outdated 

operating systems in government 

offices is a huge security risk, 

and may have contributed to the 

Bangladesh Bank hacking. 

Government departments 

should never run unlicensed/ 

pirated copies of MS Windows or 

any other software. Unlicensed 

copies of MS Windows are 

generally installed from old 

installation CDs of out-of-date 

versions such as Windows XP, 

which no longer gets security 

updates from Microsoft and so 

is impossible to protect from 

hacking. 

However, there is no 

government body tasked with 

supervising the work of all the 

various IT staff of different 

government departments and 

stopping these high-risk practices. 

Identifying risky IT practices, 

retraining staff, and auditing 

security improvement should be 

the task of a government cybersecurity 

body. 

Given the prevalence of 

unlicensed/outdated, and 

consequently, easily hackable use 

of Windows XP across government 

departments, the cyber-security 

agency needs to urgently 

undertake the task of replacing all 

the unlicensed/pirated software 

either with licenced copies of 

Windows or with free/open source 

Pirated software are full of backdoors through which cyber-criminals can enter 

equivalents like Ubuntu Linux 

(www.ubuntu.com), Red Hat 

Linux (www.redhat.com), or Suse 

Linux (www.suse.com). 

Buying Microsoft Windows 

will typically cost the government 

around $100 per computer -- if MS 

Office is purchased as well, the 

cost will come to around $400 per 

computer. For, perhaps, 50,000 

government computers, the 

total cost would be around $20m 

(almost Tk160cr). 

This is a significant expense, 

one that can be saved by using 

Linux on all government 

computers. 

Linux comes with the free/ 

open source LibreOffice, which 

is compatible with MS Office 

files, Thunderbird email, which 

is similar to MS Outlook Express, 

and Mozilla Firefox web browser. 

These can easily be used for all 

common office tasks. 

Migrating tens of thousands of 

government computers to Linux 

and LibreOffice may seem like a 

daunting task, but these free/open 

source software are so easy to use 

that it is in fact quite simple. 

Kazi Farms Group, and its 

associated media companies 

Deepto TV and Dhaka Tribune, 

as well as its CSR-supported 

university Central Women’s 

Given the easily hackable use of Windows XP across government 

departments, the cyber-security agency needs to urgently undertake the 

task of replacing all the unlicensed/pirated software either with licenced 

copies of Windows or with free/open source equivalents 

University, have already replaced 

MS Windows/Office with 

Linux/LibreOffice on over 1000 

computers. 

Practically every proprietary 

software anyone might ever 

need now has a free/open source 

equivalent. 

Proprietary software companies 

often deride free/open source 

software as being insecure, 

but a 2014 study by the UK 

government’s security branch 

found that Ubuntu Linux was 

in fact the most secure of the 

10 operating systems that they 

evaluated for government use 

(http://www.zdnet.com/article/). 

Recognising this, in 2007, the 

French national police migrated 

their 90,000 computers to Ubuntu 

Linux. In 2015, the Italian Ministry 

of Defense announced that 

they would install LibreOffice on 

150,000 computers, and it was also 

to be installed in 500,000 computers 

in various French government 

departments the same year. 

Other governments around the 

world (including Germany, Spain, 

Russia, China, and India) have 

recognised the security and costsavings 

of Linux/LibreOffice and 

have migrated from MS Windows/ 

MS Office to varying degrees. 

The Bangladesh government 

should also join this group of 

countries who are successfully 

asserting their digital 

independence from Microsoft 

BIGSTOCK 

and other multi-national software 

vendors. 

The logic of migrating all 

government computers from 

outdated and unlicensed MS 

Windows/Office to Linux/ 

LibreOffice is perfectly clear 

from both an IT-security and 

cost-reduction point of view; 

but hitherto there has been no 

government department with 

the job of looking at these issues. 

That should be the first task of the 

proposed national cyber-security 

agency. • 

Zeeshan Hasan is a director of Kazi 

Media, the company behind Deepto 

TV. He is also the managing director of 

Sysnova.

22 


DT 

Long-Form 

Is an Indo-Pak war on the cards? 

The agitation between the two countries is giving rise to uncertainty. This is the first part of a 

two-part long-form 

suggesting, the strategic viability 

just isn’t there. 

Moreover, Pakistan has borders 

with Iran and Afghanistan in 

the west and north-west, and, 

importantly, China in the north, 

with which it has even developed 

the Trans-Karakoram Highway, 

now followed up by the multibillion 

dollar mutually-beneficial 

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor 

(CPEC) project. 

However, China will also want 

to maintain some semblance of 

fairness when it comes to India, as 

both the aspiring eastern superpowers 

are looking for areas of 

mutually-beneficial cooperation, 

especially in trade. 

How long until one nation has had enough? 

In an escalated situation, if India undertakes too strong an action 

against Pakistan for future deterrence, the Pakistani reaction 

would be anybody’s guess 

• Sarwar Jahan Chowdhury 

In the context of the recent 

Uri attack on an Indian army 

camp in Kashmir, where 

18 Indian soldiers died, an 

Indian counter-action in the 

form of a limited surgical strike 

across the Line of Control (LoC) 

in Kashmir has created a tense 

situation between the two nuclear 

neighbours. 

Right-wing political forces on 

both sides, including the media, 

are adding fuel to the fire quite 

unwisely. 

Meanwhile, two more attacks 

have taken place in other Indian 

security force camps at the hands 

of militants where one more 

Indian soldier and a few militants 

were killed. 

Pakistani instigation was 

apparently discovered by Indians 

in some past attack on civilian and 

military targets in India itself, by 

non-state actors, but sponsored, 

they suspected, by some of the 

Pakistani state apparatus. 

Fear of escalation 

In an escalated situation, if 

India undertakes too strong an 

action against Pakistan for future 

deterrence, the Pakistani reaction 

would be anybody’s guess -- it’s 

like dealing with a crazy guy who 

might do something drastic even 

if it causes considerable harm to 

him. 

Many fear that chain reactions 

may escalate any formal military 

initiation to the nuclear level. 

Hatred for non-Muslim nations, 

especially India, is so ingrained 

in Pakistani society that most 

of its intelligentsia, of whatever 

rationality, actually position 

themselves tactfully in a 

conservative fashion. You can’t 

really blame them. 

With the present human rights 

situation in Kashmir already 

worsened, India has given an 

additional reason to the Pakistani 

hawks. 

Poor handling of the agitations 

by the Kashmiri youth has 

weakened India’s moral strength 

to a considerable degree. 

On the other hand, many in 

India also want to maintain its 

“sensible, moderate” impression 

at the global stage which brings 

long-term dividends. Their 

arguments also make a case 

for caution and restraint in the 

context of the Uri attack. 

The Indian position 

The tough options that many 

emotion-struck Indians -- that 

includes some public figures 

and media commentators -- are 

pressing for are fraught with 

a false sense of overwhelming 

superiority. They are mixing up 

geographical, population, and 

economic size with military force 

and strategic balance of power. 

True, that India is about five 

times bigger than Pakistan in 

population, size, and economy, 

but militarily, it’s just about twice 

as big. 

The ratio of GDP that Pakistan 

spends to maintain its over-sized 

military is abnormally high, 

solidifying the militant nature of 

the state, whereas Indian defense 

spending so far has a civilised 

defensive philosophy. India does 

proportionately better budgetallocation 

for the productive, 

welfare, and development sectors 

rather than military. 

Hence, after maintaining a 

force level in the north to guard 

against any opportunistic attempts 

from its much stronger northern 

adversary, the military leverage 

that it will be able to accumulate in 

the West is actually is on par with 

REUTERS 

Pakistan or is slightly skewed in 

favour of India. 

That’s only enough for a good 

defense and perhaps very limited 

offense. There will also be a risk of 

Pakistani counter-action, perhaps 

similarly limited. 

But this can start a perilous 

chain of reactions. If the escalation 

gets out of control, can the 

involvement of tactical or strategic 

nuclear weapon be completely 

ruled out? Pakistan, as always, 

marked by its ever-belligerent 

nature, maintains that it won’t 

keep first use option off the table. 

Given that the military 

armaments and training standards 

of both the nations are, more or 

less, of similar quality, the size of 

the force would matter quite a bit. 

Offensive operations in 

such a situation would require 

considerable force advantage in 

that theatre. 

Conventionally, it’s about three 

times that of the defenders. It was 

about 2:1 for the India-Bangladesh 

allied force in 1971, and it worked 

because of the immense support 

from the independence-hungry 

public, precise intelligence, and 

various other crucial support 

from freedom fighters of the then 

East Pakistan. The scenario in the 

western front would be the exact 

opposite for Indian forces. 

Air assets are rather easy in 

being shifted from one sector to 

another -- there too India is better 

positioned, but not enough to 

subdue Pakistan. A naval blockade 

of Pakistan is possible, but for a 

quick and limited war, the likes 

of which, the Indian hawks are 

Devastation on both sides 

No one is expecting a protracted 

Indo-Pak war just yet, as there 

are some signs of de-escalation, 

although it can’t be claimed with 

certainty. However, if that turns 

out to be the reality, even without 

the use of nukes -- which is not 

a certainty -- both countries will 

be economically devastated. The 

development-oriented Modi, a 

sensible quarter of the BJP, and 

other liberal forces of India seem 

to be mindful of that. 

Security experts have been 

talking about a “cold start” 

doctrine of the Indian military 

which was designed for quick, 

limited, and conventional strikes 

inside Pakistani territory in case 

of state-sponsored attacks by 

non-state actors against India from 

Pakistan. 

The strikes would be restricted 

to a level where it does not trigger 

a nuclear response from Pakistan, 

and be quick enough to achieve a 

limited goal before international 

intervention. 

However, it’s not clear what 

would happen if there is a 

reactionary counter-strike from 

Pakistan, and where such spiral 

of action and reaction would 

end up. In the military clashes in 

the western front between India 

and Pakistan, there was no clear 

winner in the past. The same may 

be replicated in a different reality 

of comparative strength and geostrategy. 

• 

The concluding part of this longform 

will be published tomorrow. 

Sarwar Jahan Chowdhury is a freelance 

commentator on politics, international 

relations, and geo-strategy. He is a 

former military officer and currently 

works for BRAC Institute of Governance 

and Development.

When people went 

back to the cinema 

Aynabaji has revived the Bangladeshi film industry 

Opinion 23 

DT 


SERPENT 

IN EDEN 

• Towheed Feroze 

Someone once said, if you 

want to find out about the 

general outlook of a society, 

then look for their ways of 

entertainment. Seeking advance 

apology from those readers who 

think I write way too much on 

movies, the recently released film 

called Aynabaji can be used by 

sociologists to understand what 

celluloid fun for a wide number of 

people actually entails. 

In a time when celluloid 

entertainment had become 

formulaic, relying too much on 

copying ridiculous traits from 

Bollywood, Aynabaji proves one 

thing -- a navel exposing, cleavage 

showing item number with 

provocative lines are not essential 

director is a seasoned advert guru 

and used all his skills to market 

it successfully. Others, however, 

go beyond the interest-arousing 

gimmicks to look for genuine 

value. 

Let’s discard the marketing side 

for now and concentrate on the 

internal worth of the production 

because, this one flick has flouted 

the law of a commercial yarn and 

yet, managed to hold millions 

stuck to their seats inside the hall. 

Like I said, the plot is about 

a very average person with an 

extraordinary passion -- to act and 

become somebody else. In that 

transformation, one mundane 

existence metamorphoses into a 

fascinating escapade. 

Well, what about lofty ethics? 

Nope, no place for that when 

pursuit of one’s obsession takes 

priority. 

Aynabaji is where the 

protagonist, played by the versatile 

actor Chanchal, comes down from 

Mount Olympus to become just 

When producers, cinema hall owners talk 

about bringing back the educated middle class 

to the cinema, they should emphasise that 

following a ‘done to death’ style is hardly a way 

to revive the film industry 

All sold out 

for a film’s success. 

Balaka hall is running the film 

for a third straight week -- a rare 

practice in these days when a film 

is forgotten while it’s still on the 

screen. In recent times, there has 

not been any other movie which 

managed to fill the seats for such a 

long period. Well, I am not saying 

the film is flawless; attaining 

certain degree of cinematic 

perfection will take more such 

flick, but this is what can be 

called a milestone for Bangladeshi 

celluloid because not only does 

it shed the gratuitous display of 

female flesh, it gives a protagonist, 

who, all of us can relate to because 

he is not the super fit, virtuefilled 

one man army, pulversing 

10 people at a time, always ready 

with moral sermons. 

Why did this movie, which is 

fairly simple in the plot, become 

the center of so much discussion? 

Some say, Amitabh Reza, the 

another guy, who lives by making 

compromises between virtue and 

a little vice. Our movie makers 

hardly go out of the template in 

which the main male role has 

to be an example of all things 

glorious. Ayna, the central figure 

of Aynabaji, is hardly that -- he 

is someone who is more eager to 

reach a conciliation, instead of 

going into a confrontation. This is 

a guy who resorts to disingenuous 

behavior just to make life a little 

more comfortable. 

In following his work, scruples 

come second. A few years ago, a 

film director, who was facing a 

tough time selling his own idea of 

a movie to a producer, lamented 

by saying that there is a syndicate 

which imposes a formula and, 

if their path is not followed, 

deliberate obstacles are created in 

the country-wide marketing of the 

movie. This means three songs, 

four fights, two moments of bliss, 

two moments of despair, so on and 

so forth. 

From what I know, Aynabaji 

did not go through this group 

and that’s why it could trash the 

unnecessary fights, the insipid 

dialogue plus many other clichés. 

Like I said earlier, if one wants 

to look for errors, this is not 

without fault, though, I would say, 

if a local movie manages to keep 

the audience guessing till then 

end, then the film is a success. 

In the past three years, I only 

finished two local movies in the 

hall -- a testament to what excreta 

is made for the big screen. 

When producers, cinema hall 

owners talk about bringing back 

the educated middle class to the 

cinema, they should emphasise 

that following a “done to death” 

style is hardly a way to revive the 

film industry. 

Copying Bollywood masala 

numbers won’t serve culture; 

regular commercial ventures, 

riding mainly on the liberal show 

of the female body may pull some 

people seeking titillation, though 

a little creative thought, adroitly 

packaged with some classy 

romanticism, can do both -- bring 

people from all classes and help 

secure the movie industry. 

It’s not correct that, as 

entertainment, working people, 

who form the bulk of movie-goers, 

crave only blood, gore topped with 

racy songs. 

Sometimes, I look at Shakib 

Khan and deplore the characters 

he plays. If only he was cast in a 

film which sidelined the common 

formula. 

In the right hands, Shakib 

Khan can go beyond the ludicrous 

Mafia style underground killers 

that he has been portraying lately. 

Can anyone point to one Shakib 

movie and say, yes, this is not only 

commercially successful but also 

artistically/intellectually sound? 

Many have expressed 

amazement at the accolades 

poured over Aynabaji. Some have 

even gone as far as to say, this 

hype is a manifestation of the 

whims of the people. 

Well, instead of being so 

blinkered, one has to say, a 

production which did not follow 

the rules and still managed 

to create a stir, is proof that, 

innovative ideas/approaches, 

presented with the right dose 

of marketing strategy, can do 

wonders. 

Perhaps this can work as 

inspiration for all those who are 

toying with an unorthodox plot. 

As for Shakib Khan, well, he 

is already a top hero, but will 

someone come and bring out the 

actor in him? • 

Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently 

working in the development sector.

DT 


Sport 


TOP STORIES 

Can Sabbir be the 

saviour? 

One can hardly imagine a 

newcomer carrying the weight 

of expectations of taking his side 

through to the winning line on 

Test debut. But that is exactly 

the scenario at Zahur Ahmed 

Chowdhury Stadium. PAGE 25 

Broad: A fantastic 

Test to be a part of 

Perhaps England didn’t see it 

coming, considering that the 

Tigers returned to Tests after 15 

months. No matter the result, the 

visitors will consider it as one of 

the most exciting games they have 

been involved in recently. PAGE 26 

Pakistan build huge 

lead over Windies 

Opening batsmen Azhar Ali and 

Sami Aslam hit half-centuries to 

help Pakistan strengthen their 

grip on the third day of their 

second Test match against the 

West Indies in Abu Dhabi in the 

UAE yesterday. PAGE 27 

Tearful Iniesta out 

for six to eight weeks 

Barcelona captain Andres 

Iniesta will be out for between 

six and eight weeks, the 

Spanish champions confirmed on 

Saturday after he suffered knee 

ligament damage in a 3-2 win 

against Valencia at the 

Mestalla. PAGE 28 

Bangladesh opening batsman Imrul Kayes unleashes a reverse sweep during the fourth and penultimate day of their first Test against England at Zahur Ahmed 

Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday 

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK 

Hathurusingha proud 

of Bangladesh’s display 

• Mazhar Uddin 

from Chittagong 

Bangladesh debutant Sabbir Rahman 

(59*) and Taijul Islam (11*) 

would be looking to inspire their 

side to a historic Test match win 

against England when they resume 

the fifth and final day’s play 

today at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury 

Stadium in the port city with 

33 runs still required. 

The match is hanging finely in 

the balance and Tigers head coach 

Chandika Hathurusingha believes 

they have all the time in the world 

to score those 33 runs. 

The former Sri Lankan international 

also informed that he is 

proud of his charges, who have 

fought tooth and nail against the 

formidable visiting side. 

“When Taijul went in to bat, 

we needed 46/47 runs, which we 

couldn’t score in five or six overs. 

Best scenario was to bat them out 

and take the game to the fifth day. 

Now the challenge is to bat as long 

as possible [today], and hoping 

we will win. [Today] if we bat 10- 

15 overs, we will get that target. 

We have to get in there, spend as 

much time as possible in the middle,” 

Hathurusingha told the media 

yesterday after stumps. 

“I won’t go into the individual 

performances. I am really happy 

that they took 20 wickets. It was 

a positive. I am happy to be still in 

the game in the fourth day against 

a team like England. I don’t think 

anyone gave us the chance four 

days ago. We had a good gameplan. 

We would like to have done 

better in the first innings. 

“Our batters adapted to certain 

extent but we have room for improvement. 

That’s the challenge and 

beauty of Test cricket. This is one of 

the best games I have watched. I am 

very pleased with the performance 

of both teams,” he said. 

Hathurusingha heaped praise 

on Sabbir, along with the other 

batsmen of the team, and stated 

that it was never easy to bat on 

such difficult pitch. 

“I am very happy with the way 

he (Sabbir) batted in the second 

innings, with all that difficulty of 

getting hit on the head. He was 

out for whole day. He concentrated 

on one of the most difficult 

wickets I have watched or played 

cricket on. Credit to Sabbir, Imrul 

[Kayes] and even Tamim’s [Iqbal] 

nine runs. I value them like 50 

runs. If you have noticed, the new 

ball always got wickets in this 

surface. We are in this position 

because of how [Mahmudullah] 

Riyad, Sabbir and Mushfiqur [Rahim] 

played,” he said. 

“I was sitting outside so I don’t 

know what happened in the dressing 

room. I don’t think panic is the 

word. Everyone wants to win. 

We are all hoping that someone 

stays with Sabbir [today]. It may 

be Taijul or Shafiul [Islam]. They 

can bat. It is getting increasingly 

difficult to bat on that wicket. If 

the ball jumps like it did to Mushy, 

you don’t have anything to do. 

What we can do is play the ball on 

merit and if it is behaving differently, 

forget about it. Play the next 

ball – that’s the message.” • 

SCORECARD 

ENGLAND FIRST INNINGS 

293 (Ali 68, J, Bairstow 52; Mehedi 6-80) 

BANGLADESH FIRST INNINGS 

248 ( Tamim 78; B. Stokes 4-26, Ali 3-75) 

ENGLAND 2ND INNINGS R B 

(overnight 228-8) 

C. Woakes not out 19 47 

A. Rashid lbw Shakib 9 18 

S. Broad run out 10 27 

G. Batty lbw b Taijul 3 8 

Extras (b3 lb8 pen 5) 16 

Total (all out; 80.2 overs) 240 

Fall of wickets 

1- 26, 2-27, 3-28, 4-36, 5-62, 6-189, 7-197, 

8-213, 9-233, 10-240 

Bowling 

Mehedi 20-1-58-1, Shakib 33-7-85-5, Taijul 

15.2-2-41-2, Kamrul 8-0-24-1, Mahmudullah 

1-0-6-0, Shafiul 3-0-10-0 

BANGLADESH 2ND INNINGS R B 

Tamim Iqbal c Ballance b Ali 9 33 

Imrul Kayes c Root b Rashid 43 61 

Mominul Haque lbw b Batty 27 47 

Mahmudullah lbw b Batty 17 36 

Shakib Al Hasan c Bairstow b Ali 24 39 

Mushfiqur c Ballance b Batty 39 124 

Sabbir Rahman not out 59 93 

Mehedi Hasan lbw b Broad 1 9 

Kamrul Islam c Ballance b Broad 0 3 

Taijul Islam not out 11 23 

Extras (b9, lb 13 w1) 23 

Total (eight wickets, 78 overs) 253 

Fall of wickets 

1-35, 2-81, 3-103, 4-108, 5-140, 6-227, 

7-234, 8-238 

Bowling 

Batty 17-3-65-3, Ali 14-2-60-2, Woakes 

7-3-10-0, Rashid 17-2-55-1, Broad 13-4-26- 

2, Stokes 10-2-15-0 (w1)

Sport 25 

DT 


Can Sabbir be 

the saviour? 

All eyes will be on the unbroken ninth wicket duo of Taijul Islam and Sabbir Rahman when the final day’s play of 

the ongoing first Test between Bangladesh and England resumes today in Chittagong MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK 

• Mazhar Uddin from Chittagong 

One can hardly imagine a newcomer 

carrying the weight of expectations of 

taking his side through to the winning 

line on Test debut. But that is exactly 

the scenario at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury 

Stadium in the port city as Bangladesh 

will be hoping to seal a historic 

Test win over a formidable England side 

for the first time ever, relying on debutant 

Sabbir Rahman, who has already 

struck a fifty in his five-day bow. 

Probably it is too much to ask from 

a debutant but Sabbir has shown great 

amounts of maturity to keep the home 

side alive as Bangladesh require another 

33 runs with two wickets in hand when 

the fifth and final day’s play begins 

today. 

England were bundled out for 240 in 

the first hour of the fourth day yesterday 

and the Tigers were set a target of 286, a 

score they never previously managed in 

a successful run chase. And it was never 

going to be an easy ride as even the most 

experienced cricketers of the side felt 

tremendous pressure. 

Bangladesh started off positively but 

the English bowlers came back strong 

every single time as the home side kept 

losing wickets at crucial junctures. At 

one stage they were 140/5 when Sabbir 

walked into the middlle after Shakib al 

Hasan was dismissed scoring 24 runs. 

Being the last recognised batsman, 

with the exception of another debutant 

Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Sabbir and skipper 

Mushfiqur Rahim had to score the bulk 

of the remaining runs required. 

The dashing right-hander built his 

reputation as an attacking batsman in 

the limited-over formats ever since 

making his international bow two years 

back. But more than anything, it was a 

test of his temperament and patience as 

he had to refrain from playing his natural, 

aggressive game. 

He smashed a six over long-on in 

just his 12th delivery off spinner Moeen 

Ali and an over later, he struck another 

maximum and a four off the same bowler 

which released some pressure off 

Mushfiq at the other end. 

Bangladesh dominated the post-tea 

session and started to smell a memorable 

victory as the home side were just 

59 runs shy of registering their first Test 

win against England after losing all the 

previous eight meetings. 

But the visitors struck back again 

as Mushfiq was dismissed off an 

unplayable delivery from off spinner 

Gareth Batty after scoring a patient 124- 

ball 39. 

The Rajshahi cricketer though soon 

reached his maiden fifty with a gorgeous 

boundary off Batty through the mid off 

region but the job was not done yet. 

Pressure again came heaping upon 

Sabbir after Miraz and Kamrul Islam 

Rabbi departed in quick succession, 

leaving Bangladesh struggling on 238/8. 

Now, it was a case of survival more than 

anything else for the Tigers. 

Sabbir, who was struck on his helmet, 

missed quite a few edges, heard a 

lot of chit-chat and sledging by the English 

fielders and even showed his damncare 

attitude on occasions. However, 

he realised that Bangladesh need him if 

they want to win the famous Test match 

so he had no other option but to curb his 

instincts. 

Taijul Islam gave great support to 

Sabbir and the pair will resume the fifth 

and final day looking to score the 33 

runs. 

However, besides everything 

else, Sabbir, who is batting on 59 off 

93 balls featuring three sixes and two 

boundaries, also needs a bit of luck in 

order to pull off an extraordinary Test 

match win. • 

Comilla take on Rajshahi 

in BPL 4 opener 

Women’s Asia Cup 

squad named 

• Tribune Report 

Defending champions Comilla 

Victorians will lock horns with 

Rajshahi Kings in the opening 

game of the fourth edition of 

the Bangladesh Premier League 

Twenty20 at Sher-e-Bangla National 

Stadium in Mirpur on 

November 4, 2016. Bangladesh 

Cricket Board announced the 

itinerary yesterday. 

In the second game of the 

opening day, Rangpur Riders will 

face Khulna Titans. 

The first leg of BPL 4 will be 

held in Dhaka from November 

4-13. The second leg will be hosted 

by Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed 

Chowdhury Stadium from November 

17-22 before the third 

and final leg moves to Dhaka 

where matches will take place 

from November 25 right till the 

final. 

Seven teams – Comilla, Rajshahi, 

Barisal Bulls, Dhaka Dynamites, 

Chittagong Vikings, 

Rangpur Riders and Khulna Titans 

– will take part in the money-spinning 

tournament. 

The grand finale is scheduled 

to be held in Mirpur on December 

9, Friday. • 

• Tribune Report 

Bangladesh Cricket Board 

yesterday announced the 

15-member national squad 

ahead of the upcoming 

Women’s Asia Cup 2016, 

scheduled to be held next 

month in Thailand. 

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, 

Nepal and hosts Thailand 

will participate in the 

sixth edition of the tournament 

that gets underway 

on November 27. India 

have won all the previous 

five editions. 

Squad 

Jahanara Alam, Rumana 

Ahmed, Nigar Sultana 

(WK), Fargana Haque, 

Khadija-tul Kubra, Halima 

Khatun, Ritu Moni, Ayesha 

Rahman, Nahida Akter, 

Panna Ghosh, Suraiya Azmin, 

Jannatul Ferdous, 

Sharmin Sultana, Sobhana 

Mostari and Salma Khatun. 

Standby 

Sanjida Islam, Lata Mondol, 

Shaila Sharmin, Morsheda 

Khatun and Sharmin 

Akter Supta. • 

Bangladesh 

fast bowler 

Taskin Ahmed 

sports his 

new bleach 

blonde hair cut 

yesterday 

INTERNET

DT 

26 


Sport 

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim is on the verge of being caught by England close-in fielder Gary Ballance off the bowling of spinner Gareth Batty (unseen) during the fourth and penultimate day of the first 

Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday 


Broad: A fantastic Test to be a part of 

• Mazhar Uddin 

from Chittagong 

Perhaps England did not see it 

coming, especially bearing in mind 

that Bangladesh returned to Test 

cricket after nearly 15 months. 

However, whatever be the final 

result, the visitors will consider the 

ongoing first Test match at Zahur 

Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium as one 

of the most exciting games they 

have been involved in recently. 

The Tigers need 33 more runs to 

win with two wickets in hand and 

all eyes will be on Sabbir Rahman 

(59) and Taijul Islam (11), who will 

Bayern break Gladbach 

jinx to go three clear 

RESULTS 

Leverkusen 0-3 Hoffenheim 

Demirbay 15, 

Wagner 49, Zuber 60 

Hertha Berlin 2-1 Cologne 

Ibisevic 13, Stark 74 Modeste 65 

Ingolstadt 3-3 Dortmund 

Cohen 6, Aubameyang 59, 

Lezcano 24, 60 Ramos 69, 

Pulisic 90+1 

Darmstadt 3-1 VfL Wolfsburg 

Ben-Hatira 25, Gomez 60 

Kleinheisler 68, 

Sirigu 76 

Freiburg 2-1 Augsburg 

Philipp 66, Altintop 84 

Petersen 78 

Bayern Munich 2-0 M’gladbach 

Vidal 16, Costa 31 

• AFP, Berlin 

Bayern Munich broke their Borussia 

Moenchengladbach jinx on Saturday 

as Arturo Vidal and Douglas Costa 

netted in a 2-0 home win to put the 

champions three points clear. 

First-half goals by Bayern’s Chile 

and Brazil internationals gave Carlo 

Ancelotti’s Munich a first win over 

Gladbach in five German league 

matches after Borussia claimed home 

and away league victories in 2015. 

After back-to-back draws in the 

league the win caps a good week 

for Bayern, who enjoyed a 4-1 

romp against PSV Eindhoven in the 

Champions League on Wednesday. 

“The first half was perhaps our 

best of the whole season,” said Ancelotti. 

• 

come out to bat today in the fifth 

and final day. 

And according to England fast 

bowler Stuart Broad, this is one of 

the most memorable five-dayers he 

has ever experienced in his 99-Test 

career so far. 

“What a fantastic Test match to 

be a part of. Coming back for day 

five, we need two wickets with 33 

runs to get. Things you tell yourself 

as a bowling and fielding unit, 

two deliveries, two good balls, who 

can have the character to bowl two 

unplayable deliveries, or beat the 

batsman’s defence or test his ego,” 

Broad told the media yesterday after 

the day’s play. 

“I think Bangladesh have played 

fantastically well. I think the Test 

match has been up there among 

the top five that I have played in, 

excitement-wise. I have played 

99 Tests so I know I will get twothree 

hours kip [yesterday night] 

through worry. So it is good fun,” 

he said. 

Broad is of the opinion that the 

home side should be proud with 

their performance, come what may 

today. 

“I think it has been a brilliant 

Test match. Both sets of players 

have shown considerable skill. 

The pitch hasn’t been great for the 

batsmen. I think Bangladesh will 

be very proud with their performance. 

We are proud we have utilised 

our skills in these conditions. 

This was our first Test match here 

for six years. There’s going to be 11 

very disappointed and 11 delighted 

guys [today],” he said. 

The 30-year old went on to 

praise debutant Sabbir, who remain 

vital to the home side’s hopes 

of clinching a historic win. 

“He (Sabbir) has played very 

nicely. The partnership with Mushfiqur 

was very good. They were 

calm and took their scoring options. 

He has taken this Test match 

very deep. There will be a lot of 

pressure on him to take his scoring 

options. It would be up to the 

bowlers to bowl at the stumps all 

the time,” said Broad. 

“He stood up very well [yesterday], 

but we should put him under 

a lot of pressure [today]. 

“I love it. A lot of Test cricket is 

about character in players. I think 

he does that very well. I like getting 

into a battle myself. I think it has 

been played in good spirit [yesterday]. 

We like to see a sport where 

everyone gets stuck in,” added the 

Nottinghamshire seamer. • 

Kohli powers India to easy win 

• AFP, Mohali 

Virat Kohli struck a magnificent 

hundred as he joined forces with 

skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to 

power India to a comprehensive 

seven-wicket win over New Zealand 

in the third one-day international 

in Mohali yesterday. 

Kohli (154 not out) and Dhoni 

(80) put together a 151-run stand 

for the third wicket to help India 

achieve their 286-run target in 48.2 

overs as the hosts took a 2-1 lead in 

the five-match series. 

The batting duo not only put 

the innings back on track after India 

lost their openers early but also 

took the attack to the opposition 

bowling. 

Kohli, who hit 16 fours and a six 

during his 134-ball knock, dominated 

the New Zealand bowling 

as he hit the ball to all parts of the 

ground. 

Recording his 26th ODI ton, he 

made the most of a reprieve after 

he was dropped on six by Ross 

Taylor at gully off Matt Henry to 

consolidate his position as India’s 

batting mainstay. 

3RD ODI 

NEW ZEALAND 285 in 49.4 overs 

(Latham 61, Jadhav 3/29, Yadav 3/75) 

lost to INDIA 289/3 in 48.2 overs 

(Kohli 154*, Dhoni 80, Henry 2/56) by 

seven wickets 

Dhoni, who recorded his 61st 

ODI fifty and went past the 9000- 

run mark, hit three towering sixes 

during his 91-ball stay but once 

again failed to finish off his opponents. 

The 35-year-old, whose laboured 

knock in the previous game 

failed to take India over the line, 

scored his first fifty in a year after 

he promoted himself to number 

four. 

Henry broke the big stand after 

Dhoni mistimed a delivery to 

short cover, the fielder strategically 

placed in that position for the wicketkeeper-batsman. 

Manish Pandey made sure that 

he gave Kohli the perfect support 

to canter home in dew-laden conditions 

at the Mohali Stadium. 

Pandey, who scored 28, and 

Kohli put on an unbeaten 97-run 

partnership to bring the home 

crowd to life. 

Earlier Tom Latham and James 

Neesham struck fighting half-centuries 

and a late-order flourish 

helped New Zealand post a competitive 

285. The two teams now head 

to Dhoni’s hometown of Ranchi for 

the fourth ODI on Wednesday. •

Sport 27 

DT 


Romania’s Simona Halep hits a return against Madison Keys of the US 

during their first round women’s singles match at the WTA Finals tennis 

tournament in Singapore yesterday. Halep won 6-2,6-4 

AFP 

Pakistan build 

commanding lead 

over Windies 

• AFP, Abu Dhabi 

Openers Azhar Ali and Sami 

Aslam hit half-centuries to 

help Pakistan strengthen their 

grip on the third day of the 

second Test against West Indies 

in Abu Dhabi yesterday. 

Ali was unbeaten on 52 and 

Asad Shafiq five not out as Pakistan 

reached 114-1 at stumps, 

increasing their lead to 342 after 

dismissing West Indies for 

224 in their first innings. 

That had given Pakistan a 

first innings lead of 228 and 

left them firmly in control as 

they look to claim an unassailable 

2-0 lead in the threematch 

series. 

Pakistan won the first Test 

- a day-night affair played 

with a pink ball - by 56 runs 

to take a 1-0 advantage. But 

despite the West Indies falling 

29 runs short of avoiding the 

follow-on, Pakistan skipper 

Misbah-ul-Haq decided not 

to enforce it and batted again. 

Both Ali and Aslam survived 

leg-before decisions through 

referrals after on-field umpire 

Michael Gough had raised his 

finger on both occasions. • 

CRICKET 

GAZI TV, BTV, STAR 

SPORTS 2 

10:00AM 

England Tour of Bangladesh 

1st Test, Day 5 

TEN 3 

12:00PM 

West Indies Tour of Pakistan 

2nd Test, Day 4 

FOOTBALL 

STAR SPORTS 1 

DAY’S WATCH 

7:20 PM 

Indian Super League 2016 

Goa v Kerala 

TEN 1 

12:45 AM 

Sky Bet EFL 2016/17 

Bury v Bolton Wanderers 

HOCKEY 

STAR SPORTS 4 

4:30 PM 

Asian Hockey Champions 

Trophy 

Korea v China

DT 

28 


Chelsea humiliate 

Mourinho 

• AFP, London 

Locatelli gives Milan 

win over Juventus 

• Reuters, Milan 

A stunning second-half strike by 

18-year-old Manuel Locatelli gave 

AC Milan a 1-0 win over Juventus 

after the Serie A titleholders had a 

goal controversially disallowed on 

Saturday. 

Juventus thought they had gone 

ahead in the first half from Miralem 

Pjanic’s free kick but the goal was 

ruled out for offside after a two-minute 

consultation between match officials. 

It was Milan’s first win over 

Juventus for nearly four years and 

ended a run of nine successive defeats 

against the Turin side. 

Chelsea supporters taunted Manchester 

United manager Jose Mourinho 

with chants of “You’re not 

special anymore!” as his Stamford 

Bridge return yielded a humiliating 

4-0 defeat yesterday. 

With seven major titles across 

two spells, Mourinho is Chelsea’s 

most successful ever manager, 

but his return to his old stomping 

ground ended in one of the most 

chastening results of his career. 

Pedro Rodriguez opened the 

scoring after just 30 seconds and 

Chelsea did not look back, Gary Cahill, 

Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante 

completing an emphatic Premier 

League victory. 

Antonio Conte’s side have now 

won three consecutive league 

games without conceding a goal 

and climbed to fourth place, just 

a point below leaders Manchester 

City, Arsenal and Liverpool. 

City missed out at home earlier 

yesterday, drawing 1-1 with Southampton. 

Nathan Redmond gave 

the visitors the lead in the first half 

before Kelechi Iheanacho equalised 

in the second. 

Back at the Bridge, Mourinho, 

in stark contrast, has already tasted 

defeat three times in the league 

with United, who trail City by six 

points ahead of Wednesday’s Manchester 

derby in the League Cup 

fourth round. 

The team sheet told a tale of two 

captains: United’s, Wayne Rooney, 

was absent after reportedly 

injuring his thigh, while Chelsea’s, 

John Terry, remained on the bench 

following an ankle injury. 

Mourinho was greeted warmly 

by Terry and former assistant 

Steve Holland prior to the game, 

sharing a warm embrace with the 

former, but Chelsea’s hospitality 

vanished within 30 seconds of 

kick-off. 

Chris Smalling inexplicably allowed 

Marcos Alonso’s pass from 

Chelsea’s left to bounce past him 

and Pedro nipped in to round United 

goalkeeper David de Gea and 

roll the ball home. 

Mourinho, sacked for the second 

time by Chelsea owner Roman 

Abramovich last December, looked 

faintly shellshocked. • 

Juventus stayed top with 21 

points from nine games but Milan 

closed the gap to two points. 

“It’s clear that the goal was 

good, everyone else is saying that, 

not just me,” said Juventus coach 

Massimiliano Allegri. “The Milan 

protests made the referee doubt his 

decision, but we as teams should 

think about playing.” 

The game at San Siro was an intense, 

tactical battle but erupted in 

controversy after 35 minutes. 

Pjanic floated a 35-metre free 

kick over the wall, Juve’s Leonardo 

Bonucci lunged and failed to make 

contact with the ball but distracted 

Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma 

and it flew into the net. 

Juventus players were back on 

the halfway line waiting for the 

restart when referee Nicola Rizzoli 

disallowed the goal for offisde 

against Bonucci although replays 

suggested he was onside when the 

ball was played. 

Locatelli added to Juve’s sense 

of injustice when he collected Suso’s 

pass and fired an unstoppable 

shot past Gianluigi Buffon into the 

top corner in the 65th minute. 

Donnarumma, 17, ensured Milan’s 

win by turning away Sami 

Khedira’s long-range shot with the 

last kick of the game.• 

Sport 

Chelsea’s Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard slots in to score against Manchester United during their English Premier League 

game at Stamford Bridge yesterday 

AFP 

Rooney takes 

swipe at ‘United 

fan’ Owen 

• AFP, London 

Manchester United star Wayne 

Rooney took a swipe at former 

team-mate Michael Owen for expressing 

support for his club’s bitter 

rivals Liverpool. 

Owen has a foot in both camps 

after making his name during a glittering 

spell at Liverpool and also 

playing for United in the twilight of 

his career. 

But the 36-year-old, who played 

alongside Rooney for United and 

England, appeared to irrate his old 

colleague when he posted an encouraging 

message during Liverpool’s 

Premier League clash with 

West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. 

“Come on Red Men. A win by two 

goals and it’s ‘top of the league’,” 

Owen tweeted alongside a picture of 

the view from his seat in the Anfield 

stands. With Owen having criticised 

Rooney this week for “losing his 

nasty streak”, the England striker 

took the opportunity to have a dig 

back by claiming his former teammate 

actually supports United. 

“Interesting this Michael I 

thought you was a united fan???,” 

Rooney responded. 

Owen, who scored 158 goals in 

eight years with Liverpool, was 

criticised by Reds fans when he 

joined United in 2009. • 

Tearful Iniesta out for 

six to eight weeks 

• AFP, Madrid 

Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta 

will be out for between six and 

eight weeks, the Spanish champions 

confirmed on Saturday after he 

suffered knee ligament damage in a 

3-2 win at Valencia. 

Iniesta was stretchered from the 

field in tears after just 14 minutes, 

but fears he could be sidelined for 

months were eased by tests upon 

his return to Barcelona. 

“After the first diagnosis carried 

out at Mestalla, the tests in Barcelona 

have shown the extent of the 

injury,” Barca said in a statement. 

“The time out is between six 

and eight weeks.” 

Iniesta could now return in time 

to face Real Madrid in the first El Clasico 

of the season on December 3. 

However, he will miss Barca’s 

Champions League trips to Manchester 

City and Celtic next month. 

Barca had earlier confirmed Iniesta 

had injured the lateral collateral 

ligament in his right knee. 

Barca’s season has been plagued 

by injuries so far as Lionel Messi 

has just returned from nearly a 

month out.• 

Barcelona’s midfielder Andres Iniesta gestures on a stretcher after being injured 

during the Spanish league match against Valencia on Saturday 

AFP

Downtime 

29 


DT 

CROSSWORD 

CODE-CRACKER 

ACROSS 

1 Capsize (5) 

6 Spinning toy (3) 

7 Allude (5) 

10 Ornamental 

coronet (5) 

12 Malarial fever (4) 

13 Added clause (5) 

15 Whirled (4) 

16 Donkey (3) 

18 Observe (3) 

20 Crustacean (4) 

22 Swellings on skin (5) 

23 Yield (4) 

25 Farm birds (5) 

27 Illustrations (5) 

28 Fastener (3) 

29 Fruit (5) 

DOWN 

1 Says (6) 

2 Hawaiian dish (3) 

3 Meagre (6) 

4 Speak evil of (7) 

5 Barrel (3) 

8 Distant (3) 

9 Floor coverings (4) 

11 Tear (3) 

14 Angered (7) 

16 Away (6) 

17 Confectionery (6) 

19 Level (4) 

21 Beer (3) 

22 Fly trap (3) 

24 Female deer (3) 

26 Prosecute (3) 

How to solve: Each number in our 

CODE-CRACKER grid represents a 

different letter of the alphabet. For 

example, today 12 represents H so fill H 

every time the figure 12 appears. 

You have two letters in the control 

grid to start you off. Enter them in the 

appropriate squares in the main grid, then 

use your knowledge of words to work out 

which letters go in the missing squares. 

Some letters of the alphabet may not be 

used. 

As you get the letters, fill in the other 

squares with the same number in the 

main grid, and the control grid. Check 

off the list of alphabetical letters as you 

identify them. 

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 

CALVIN AND HOBBES 

SUDOKU 

How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the 

numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must 

contain all nine digits with no number repeating. 

PEANUTS 

SATURDAY’S SOLUTIONS 

CODE-CRACKER 

CROSSWORD 

DILBERT 

SUDOKU

30 


DT 

Showtime 

Rupa Ganguly joined the 20th 

National council of Awami league 

• Showtime Desk 

Popular actress from West Bengal, 

Rupa Ganguly came to Bangladesh 

to join the 20th National council 

of Awami League, ruling political 

party of Bangladesh. 

Actor-turned politician Roopa 

Ganguly, who played the role 

of the mythological character 

Draupadi in the hit television 

series Mahabharat, took an oath as 

the Rajya Sabha MP. 

Rupa Ganguly is also famous 

in Bangladesh for her historical 

performance as ‘Kapila.’ Kapila is 

a popular character of the movie 

Padma Nodir Majhi. Actor Raisul 

Islam Asad, was her co-artist. 

Ganguly was nominated by 

President Pranab Mukherjee, to 

the seat vacated by cricketerturned-politician 

Navjot Singh 

Sidhu, who resigned recently 

following differences with the BJP 

leadership. • 

J Law to star in Zelda 


With her self-deprecating 

humour and down to earth 

personality, Jennifer Lawrence 

has won the hearts of millions 

across the world. Despite 

the circulation of some of 

her scandalous photos, she 

managed to remain one of 

Hollywood’s most bankable 

actresses. 

According to Hollywood 

Report, Lawrence has been 

cast as Zelda Fitzgerald in Ron 

Howard’s upcoming biopic, 

which is currently titled Zelda. 

It would be interesting to see 

her as the spouse of one of 

America’s greatest writers. 

It is established that both 

the writer, F Scott Fitzgerald, 

and his wife, suffered from 

mental illness. And the Oscar 

winning actress would be more 

than capable of capturing the 

complex personality of Zelda 

Fitzgerald. 

In the past, Lawrence 

mesmerised viewers, by her 

performances in films like Silver 

Linings Playbook, Joy, American 

Hustle, and The Hunger Games. 

She has gained a reputation of 

making a bad movie good with 

her solid performances. • 

Bollywood’s new venture featuring 

Liberation War 1971 


A Bollywood film which is 

based on real events, will be 

featuring battles between two 

submarines which were involved 

in the India-Pakistan war in 1971. 

Bangladesh’s Liberation War of 

1971 is depicted in the film as 

well. 

The story of Sankalp Reddy’s 

new film, Ghazi will also feature 

the story of the Pakistani war 

submarine PNS Ghazi, which 

was destroyed by India’s INS 

Rajput during the war. Taapsee 

Pannu and Rana Daggubati will 

be playing the key roles in the 

film. 

Taapsee Pannu who plays 

Bangladeshi refugee in the 

film said, “I am very proud to 

be a part of it. It’s India’s first 

submarine film, and it’s based on 

a real incident of how a Pakistani 

submarine was sunk.” 

“This is the only period film 

I have done so far. But it is not 

a typical period drama,” she 

added. 

Sankalp Reddy, the director 

of the Indian bilingual war film, 

said, “I had researched about 

a few submarines, but the PNS 

Ghazi story intrigued me the 

most. There are two different 

versions of how Ghazi sank. 

While the Indian version claims 

the submarine sank because of 

a series of successful efforts by 

the Indian Navy, the Pakistan 

version claims its top vessel sank 

following an internal explosion, 

killing all on board.” 

The film is being 

simultaneously made in Hindi and 

Telugu. 

On the other hand, the 

Liberation War has been portrayed 

in Bollywood films in different 

ways. Among them, Children 

of War, 1971, and 16 December, 

are most recognised while the 

Liberation War was partially 

depicted in Indian Bengali 

film, Goynar Baksho. Besides, 

Bollywood 2014 feature Gunday, 

was criticised in Bangladesh for 

it’s controversial portray of the 

Liberation War in 1971. •

The finale of ‘Saatti 

Taarar Timir’ 

•Showtime Desk 

A group of friends reunite marking 

the return of a friend who has 

been living abroad for quite some 

time. Featuring the stories of 

these female friends, TV drama 

serial Saatti Tarar Timir, directed 

by Afsana Mimi, premiered on 

November 29, 2014. 

A sequel to Mimi’s earlier 

venture Doll’s House, the show 

boasts a strong female cast 

including Moutushi Biswas, 

Sanjida Preeti, Shormimala, 

Joyeeta Moholanobish, Moushumi 

Hamid, Mumtaheena Toya, 

Sadika Swarna, Suborna Mustafa, 

Khairul Alam Sabuj, Dilara Zaman, 

Intekhab Dinar, Wahida Mollik 

Jolly, and Monir Khan Shimul, 

among others. 

Nazrul Islam has written the 

drama for the screen which sets 

to end on it’s 300th episode. The 

show chronicles a group of girls 

who follow their intertwined lives 

in a vivid depiction of the ultimate 

metro life. 

Though the drama serial started 

as a daily soap, it later started 

airing two days a week. Today, 

the 300th episode of Saatti Tarar 

Timir will be aired on ATN Bangla, 

at 10:55pm. • 

Showtime 

•Showtime Desk 

According to a Buzzfeed report, 

the Mexican-born actress, 

Salma Hayek talked to El Show 

del Mandril on Radio Centro 

93.9, last Friday. She spoke 

about a time when presidential 

candidate, Donald Trump, leaked 

a false story to the National 

Enquirer after she rejected his 

request for a date. 

“When I met that man I had a 

boyfriend and he tried to become 

his friend to get my home 

telephone number,” she said, “He 

got my number and he would call 

me to invite me out.” 

After saying no to the date, 

Trump found it “disrespectful,” 

she continued, “He wouldn’t say 

he called, but someone told the 

National Enquirer.” 

“Someone told the National 

Enquirer — I’m not going to say 

who because you know that 

whatever he wants to come 

out, comes out in the National 

Enquirer. It said that he wouldn’t 

go out with me, because I was too 

short,” Hayek added. 

Hayek then went on to reveal 

how Trump reached out to her 

after the story was published, 

“Later, he called and left me a 

message. ‘Can you believe this? 

Who would say this? I don’t want 

people to think this about you.’ 

He thought that I would try to go 

out with him so people wouldn’t 

think that’s why he wouldn’t go 

out with me.” 

An outspoken Hillary Clinton 

supporter, Salma’s latest 

comments are far from her first 

about the Republican nominee. 

31 


Trump asked Salma Hayek on a date 

DT 

In July 2015, the Oscar nominee 

spoke exclusively to E! News 

about his controversial stance on 

immigration. 

“I’m aware that he would say 

anything to attract attention 

and create the publicity around 

him,” she told us. “If something 

generates publicity, I would never 

be surprised about anything he 

does,” admitting that she refuses 

to “say his name.” 

In early October, Hayek 

starred in a Spanish-language 

PSA on behalf of Clinton urging 

Latino voters to cast their vote on 

November 8. • 

Souce: E! News

32 


DT 

FIRST FINANCE FEELS THE PINCH 

FOR CORRUPT DIRECTORS PAGE 12 

Back Page 

HATHURUSINGHA PROUD 

OF BD DISPLAY PAGE 24 

FINALE OF ‘SAATTI 

TAARAR TIMIR’ PAGE 31 

1st Test balanced 

on a knife edge at 

end of 4th day 

• Mazhar Uddin from 

Chittagong 

The highest target that Bangladesh 

have successfully chased in Test 

matches was 215 against the West 

Indies at St. George’s in 2009. 

What’s more, the Tigers have 

scored more than 286 in the fourth 

innings thrice, but never won. 

The stats and records however, 

are meant to be broken as 

Bangladesh are 33 runs away from 

a historic victory with two wickets 

in hand. Hence, when the fifth and 

final day of the first Test against 

England gets underway today, the 

whole nation will be waiting with 

bated breath. 

Debutant Sabbir Rahman kept 

alive the home side’s expectations 

as he is still at the crease on a 93- 

ball 59 alongside a spirited Taijul 

Islam on 11. The unbroken ninth 

wicket duo’s effort in the fag end 

of the day will no doubt give hope 

to the Tigers, who concluded an 

eventful fourth day on 253/8. 

In pursuit of 286, Bangladesh 

to their credit were never out of 

the game. With that said, England 

also played their part well picking 

up regular wickets. By the look of 

things, both the teams seem to 

be involved in a boxing bout with 

punches being thrown from each 

side. 

The Tigers started off positively 

despite getting some unplayable 

deliveries as Imrul Kayes played 

shots every now and then, which 

released some pressure after 

England spinners Moeen Ali and 

Gareth Batty began their siege with 

the new ball. 

At the other end, Tamim Iqbal 

also fancied his chances but 

eventually departed after making 

nine while Imrul was removed 

following his 61-ball 43, comprising 

six fours; Bangladesh going to 

lunch on 86/2. 

The pendulum though swung 

in favour of the visitors after Batty 

dismissed Mominul Haque (27) 

and Mahmudullah (17) in quick 

succession; Bangladesh tottering 

on 108/4. 

Perhaps the stage was set for 

Shakib al Hasan to atone for his 

wayward dismissal in the first 

innings but the English were not 

willing to give him any inch. He 

was removed after scoring 24 to 

Internet distrupted by submarine 

cable maintenance 

Bangladesh debutant Sabbir Rahman executes a delightful square cut during the fourth and penultimate day of their first Test 

against England at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday 


become Moeen’s second victim. 

Amid the flurry of wickets, 

skipper Mushfiqur Rahim 

continued to display his patience, 

much like the first innings when he 

made 48. 

He was joined by Sabbir and 

thanks to their commanding 87- 

run partnership, Bangladesh were 

in the driving seat. They dominated 

the post-tea session, cutting down 

their runs required to 59 before the 

visitors struck again. 

The last hour approached and 

the excitement and intensity 

started to mount but Sabbir stood 

strong and struck a magnificent 

shot towards mid off to reach his 

maiden fifty. 

But it was not yet over as 

England dismissed debutants 

Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Kamrul 

Islam Rabbi in double quick time. 

Now, it was England who were 

sniffing victory. 

However, Taijul and Sabbir held 

the ship together right till the end 

without further damage, surviving 

some missiles thrown at them by 

the persisting English bowlers. 

And so, after four days of intense 

action, both the sides are preparing 

to dish out the final blow and in 

a few hours time, only one team 

will celebrate, leaving the other to 

ponder what might have been. • 

• Ishtiaq Husain 

The internet speed has been 

intermittently disrupted in 

the country because of a 

4-day long routine maintenance 

of the submarine cables 

in Singapore that began 

at 12:30am local time, yesterday. 

On October 20, Bangladesh 

Telecommunication 

Company Limited (BTCL) 

released a statement saying: 

“The SEA-ME-WE-4 Consortium 

would carry out maintenance 

work of the submarine 

cable at its Singapore end 

from 12:00am of October 23 

to 2:00pm of October 27 that 

may disrupt internet service 

temporarily in the country.” 

BTCL Director of Public 

Relations and Publication, 

Meer Mohammad Morshed 

said that in order to minimise 

user inconvinice the 

company had set up an alternate 

backup support which 

made sure that the internet 

was not entirely unavailable. 

Sources said at around 12 

o’clock, the connection with 

the eastern side of the world 

was temporarily shut down 

during the maintenance but 

as Bangladesh had set up 

a backup support with the 

western side of the world 

the internet only expericed 

slower speed. 

However, International 

Terrestrial Cable (ITC) based 

service did not face any disruption. 

Despite the disruption, 

BTCL would continue its 

services through alternative 

means, Assistant Director 

Tohura Sultana said in a 

statement. 

Earlier, Chief Strategy 

Officer of Fibre@home Limited, 

Suman Ahmed Davis 

told the Dhaka Tribune: 

“During the repair work, 

Singapore based traffic in 

Bangladesh will not get 

qualitative service but International 

Terrestrial Cable 

(ITC) based service or other 

subscribers will not face any 

disruption.” • 

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 

8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

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