e_Paper, Thursday, August 17, 2017

SECOND EDITION 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2017 | Bhadra 2, 1424, Zul-qaadah 23, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 5, No 101 | 24 pages | Price: Tk10 

FOCUS BANGLA 

Flood kills at least 57 in 13 

districts › 3 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

New JMB’s Shibir 

connection › 2 

India, China troops in 

high-altitude clash › 5 

DMP suspects the 

Mourning Day bomber 

had co-conspirators › 4 

Bangladesh sees fresh 

influx of Rohingyas 

from Myanmar › 5 

Govt to ban staff using 

personal email › 7

2 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2017 

DT 

News 

New JMB’s Shibir connection 

To join militant groups and carry out attacks, they are using a ‘get expelled from Jamaat-Shibir 

strategy,’ police say 

• Manik Miazee and 

Tarek Mahmud 

SPECIAL 

Leaders and activists of the Jamaat-e-Islami 

and its student wing 

Islami Chhatra Shibir are allegedly 

using a “get expelled strategy” to 

join the New JMB, a new faction of 

banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen 

Bangladesh, to carry out 

terror attacks across Bangladesh. 

With very little scope to play a 

role in the country’s political arena 

nowadays, Jamaat and Shibir over 

the years had secretly expelled over 

various unclear reasons a number of 

its members who were later found 

to be involved with militancy. 

Their goal is to create anarchy, 

native and international pressure 

on the Awami League-led government 

and ultimately oust it from 

power, police officials have said. 

New JMB, looking for fresh 

members after its top leaders and 

activists were either killed or arrested 

in recent operations by security 

agencies, is also eager to 

recruit the expelled members of 

Jamaat and Shibir as they would 

serve its purpose willingly. 

“Former Shibir members are 

the ones who are now leading New 

JMB,” Monirul Islam, chief of Dhaka 

Metropolitan Police’s Counter-Terrorism 

and Transnational Crime 

(CTTC) unit, claimed recently after 

arresting one of the Gulshan restaurant 

attack masterminds, Aslam 

Hossain Rashed alias Rash. 

Monirul said: “Rashed joined 

New JMB following the footsteps 

of Shibir leader Shariful Islam, who 

was involved in the killing of Rajshahi 

University teacher Rezaul 

Karim Siddiquee.” 

Another CTTC official, requesting 

anonymity, told the Dhaka 

Tribune that New JMB was now being 

led by one Ayub Bachchu who 

is a former Shibir activist. 

In the latest development, New 

JMB militant Saiful Islam, also a 

former Shibir member, blew himself 

up with mid-range explosives 

at a hotel room in the capital’s 

Panthapath, about 300 metre away 

from Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, 

during a police raid on Tuesday 

morning. 

Later, Inspector General of Police 

AKM Shahidul Hoque told reporters: 

“The militant Saiful, also 

the son of a Jamaat leader from 

Khulna, had planned to launch a 

bomb attack on the processions 

heading to the museum at Dhanmondi 

32 to pay tribute to Bangabandhu.” 

Home Minister Asaduzzaman 

Khan Kamal, in several instances, 

With the expelled Jamaat and Shibir members ready to serve New JMB’s purpose willingly, the terror group is also eager to 

recruit them 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

had claimed that Jamaat and Shibir 

were behind the militant outfits in 

the country. 

Jamaat, the country’s largest religious 

political party, have always 

denied such claims, but some intelligence 

reports last year had found 

the allegations to be true. 

According to the reports, many 

Jamaat and Shibir members were 

both directly and indirectly involved 

with different militant 

groups. Some organisations owned 

by Jamaat leaders were also found 

to be financing those outfits. 

Several high officials at the Police 

Headquarters, CTTC and Rapid 

Action Battalion also admitted that 

there was a connection between Jamaat-Shibir 

and New JMB. 

CTTC Additional Deputy Commissioner 

Abdul Mannan told the 

Dhaka Tribune: “We have found 

names of several persons, organisations 

and groups that are connected 

to New JMB. We are investigating 

them.” 

Militant ties nothing new for 

Jamaat-Shibir 

Connection with militancy, however, 

is not something new for the 

Jamaat and Shibir as many from 

these organisations were earlier 

found involved with different 

outfits including Ansar Al Islam, 

Shahid Hamza Brigade, Harkat-ul 

Jihad al-Islami and Hizb-ut Tahrir, 

police claimed. 

Even though the security agencies 

and government claim that the 

Islamic State does not exist in Bangladesh, 

they say the expelled Jamaat 

and Shibir members follow the Syria-based 

terror group’s ideology to 

carry out attacks in Bangladesh. 

Police also recently claimed to 

have found direct links between 

Jamaat-Shibir and recent terror attacks. 

Former Shibir member Marzan, 

who was an Arabic department student 

at Chittagong University, was 

the chief coordinator of the Gulshan 

attack that killed 22 people in 

July 2016. 

New JMB chief Tamim Chowdhury, 

killed in a police raid last 

year, and Ansarullah Bangla Team 

(later rebranded as Ansar Al Islam) 

chief Ziaul Haque, who is still on 

the run, had recruited many former 

Jamaat-Shibir members in 

their organisations and had them 

take part in most of the attacks in 

the past few years, police said. 

New JMB member Ershad alias 

Mamun, arrested in March 2015, 

is a former Shibir activist who had 

first revealed many plans of the 

new terror outfit during interrogations. 

The law enforcement agencies, 

apparently, did not pay much attention 

to his claims at that time. 

But a number of attacks, including 

the one at Holey Artisan Bakery, 

several murders and bomb blast at 

a naval base in Chittagong, since 

then had had them shocked and 

forced them to take New JMB more 

seriously. 

Since 2015, police have arrested 

many Islamist militants who were 

originally with Jamaat and Shibir, 

but later joined different terror 

groups, including the New JMB, directly 

or indirectly. 

After the nationwide simultaneous 

bomb attacks in August 2005, 

security agencies had arrested 

seven members of the original Jama’atul 

Mujahideen Bangladesh, 

all of whom were former members 

of Jamaat or Shibir. 

In October the same year, the 

courts and judges in different districts 

were targeted in another series 

bombings. The next month, a 

suicide bombing carried out by the 

JMB had killed two senior assistant 

judges and wounded three others 

in Jhalakathi. 

Police investigations later found 

that the bomber, Hasan Al Mamun, 

and his family members had close 

ties to Jamaat. Hasan was also a 

Shibir member. 

In October 2003, Bangladesh 

Bank had ordered all commercial 

banks and financial institutions to 

freeze the accounts of several Malaysian 

nationals associated with 

the Jamaat for their suspected involvement 

in financing terrorism. 

Militant activities had come into 

the spotlight again in February 2013 

after the gruesome killing of blogger 

and civil rights activist Ahmed 

Rajib Haider, who had helped coordinate 

the Shahbagh movement, 

allegedly by Shibir members. 

The Jamaat and its affiliated organisations 

earlier had accused Rajib 

of mocking Islam in his blog posts. 

However, a month later, police’s 

Detective Branch (DB) arrested five 

North South University students in 

connection with Rajib’s murder. 

CTTC Unit chief Monirul Islam, 

who was the DB spokesperson at 

that time, had said that these five 

murdered Rajib following direct 

orders from a Shibir leader named 

Rana. 

Expulsions of Jamaat and Shibir 

members over reasons such as violation 

of party rules and ties to 

various crimes have become more 

of a trick move that grants them the 

right to officially claim that they do 

not endorse militancy, police officials 

said. 

Dhaka Tribune’s attempts to 

contact top Jamaat and Shibir leaders 

over phone, text messages and 

emails for comments on the issue 

yielded no response. •

News 

THURSDAY, 

3 

AUGUST 17, 2017 

DT 

Flood kills at least 57 in 13 districts 

• Abu Siddique 

CURRENT AFFAIRS 

At least 57 people have died in 

13 districts, as of 6pm yesterday, 

due to the monsoon flood that is 

currently plaguing the country’s 

northern and northeastern regions, 

according to disaster management 

officials. 

The highest number of deaths 

occurred in Dinajpur, where 23 

people have died, while Kurigram 

has the second highest death toll 

– nine. 

Some of the victims were swept 

away by floodwater, some died 

from snake bites and lightning and 

others were crushed when walls 

collapsed on them, said the officials. 

Around 3,326,864 people in 22 

districts have been severely affected 

by the latest bout of flood that 

hit last week, their houses and 

croplands inundated, according to 

the Flood Monitoring Cell of the 

Department of Disaster Management. 

However, local sources say the 

real count of death toll and damage 

is bigger than the government 

numbers. 

Relief efforts 

The government has already 

opened flood and relief centres as 

part of its relief and rehabilitation 

works, where 471,553 people have 

already taken shelter, said the Department 

of Disaster Management 

sources. 

However, shortage of food grains 

in its stock is causing problems in 

the relief distribution process. 

The sources said the government 

had already allotted 321,259 

tons of rice for the flood-affected 

people, 3,387 tons of which has already 

been distributed. 

As of Tuesday (August 15), the 

government’s rice reserve for Gratuitous 

Relief (GR) is only 1,517 tons 

against the demand of 5,335 tons, 

according to the department’s 

flood situation report. 

Sources at the Ministry of Food 

say as of yesterday, the government 

reserve of food grains stands 

at 434,000 tons – 287,000 tons of 

rice and 147,000 tons of wheat. 

The government reserve is 

mainly for covering its different 

social safety net programmes including 

Vulnerable Group Feeding 

(VGF), Vulnerable Group Development 

(VGD), Open Market Sale 

(OMS) and Gratuitous Relief (GR). 

Due to the food grain shortage, 

the government has already suspended 

its VGF programme for the 

Haor basin in Sylhet division which 

was badly affected by flash floods 

in April. 

Yesterday, the government decided 

to import 1.5 million tons of 

rice and 500,000 tons of wheat to 

tackle the crisis. 

In addition, it decided to reduce 

the rice import duty to 2% to encourage 

rice import in private sector. 

At an event in Dhaka yesterday, 

Finance Minister AMA Muhith 

said there was no food crisis in the 

country due to the persisting flood 

and there would be no crisis in the 

future either, reports UNB. 

However, he admitted that the 

flood had caused temporary losses 

which would be overcome soon. 

“For that, we have to spend more 

money and we have this capacity,” 

he said. 

FLOOD DEATH TOLL 

As of 6pm, August 16, 2017 

District 

Death toll 

Dinajpur 23 

Kurigram 9 

Lalmonirhat 5 

Nilphamari 5 

Jessore 3 

Chapainawabganj 2 

Sunamganj 2 

Netrokona 2 

Gaibandha 2 

Thakurgaon 1 

Jamalpur 1 

Sirajganj 1 

Moulvibazar 1 

Total 57 

Pankha 

WEST BENGAL 

(INDIA) 

Thakurgaon 

Panchagarh 

Dalia 

Bhushirbandar 

Badarganj 

Dinajpur 

Phulbari 

Mohadevpur 

Rohanpur 

Naogaon 

Chapai Nawabganj 

Rajshahi 

WEST BENGAL (INDIA) 

Kaunia 

The current situation 

The floodwater has started to recede 

in some flood-affected districts, 

including Thakurgaon, Dinajpur, 

Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat and 

Kurigram, according to the Flood 

Forecasting and Warning Centre 

(FFWC). 

The FFWC flood bulletin, issued 

yesterday, said the water flow in 

the Ganges-Padma River is in the 

rising trend, while the Brahmaputra-Jamuna 

and the Surma-Kushiyara 

rivers are in the falling trend. 

The Brahmaputra-Jamuna River 

is likely to become steady in the 

next 24 hours. 

The Ganges-Padma River is likely 

to continue rising in the next 72 

hours, while the Surma-Kushiyara 

River is likely to continue falling in 

the next 24 hours. 

Tough days ahead for central 

Bangladesh 

On Sunday (August 13), the FFWC 

projected that the water level in 

the Brahmaputra was supposed to 

cross the danger level – 19.5m – at 

Bahadurabad point by yesterday 

(August 16). The water level at that 

point was recorded at 20.84m yesterday, 

exceeding last year’s 20.71m 

– the highest ever recorded. 

The FFWC further predicted 

Noonkhawa 

Kurigram 

Chilmari 

Gaibandha 

Dewanganj Nakuagoon 

Chakrahimpur 

Bahadurabad 

Bogra 

Sariakandi 

Jamalpur 

Kazipur 

Atrai 

Singra 

Sirajganj 

Chanchkoir 

Talbaria 

Hatboalia 

Chuadanga 

Hardinge 

Bridge 

Jhikargacha 

Kalaroa 

Shakra 

Kaliganj 

Gorai Rly 

Bridge 

Baghabari 

Sundarban Forest 

Elashinghat 

Porabari 

Mymensingh 

Durgapur 

Jariajanjail 

Lourergorh 

Khaliajuri 

Mathura 

Aricha Jogir Nayarhat Tongi Narsingdi 

Taraghat 

Demra 

Goalondo 

Mirpur 

Bayder Bazar 

Dhaka 

Narayanganj 

Jibanpur 

Faridpur 

Meghna Bridge 

Rekabi 

Kamarkhali 

Bhagyakul Kalagocha 

Bazar 

Kongsanagar 

Mawa 

Comilla 

Sureshswar 

Chandpur 

Madaripur 

Khulna 

Mongla 

Rayenda 

Patherghata 

Barisal 

MEGHALAYA (INDIA) 

Lakhpur 

Dasmunia 

Daulatkhan 

Brahmanbaria 

Bhairab Bazar 

that the water level of the Ganges 

– which takes the name Padma in 

Bangladesh – will also cross the 

danger level by tomorrow or Saturday 

(August 18-19). 

The FFWC data also says the water 

in the Padma River at Goalando 

and Bhagyakul points was flowing 

77cm and 15cm, respectively, 

above the danger level yesterday. 

Water level in the Meghna river 

basin is also likely to rise as many 

of the rivers, including the Surma 

and the Kushiyara, have already 

seen the water level rise above the 

danger level. 

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, 

hydrologist Prof Ainun Nishat said 

the latest data suggested that the 

water level in the three major rivers 

systems – Jamuna, Padma and 

Meghna – would reach their peak 

between tomorrow and Sunday 

Water level status 

Normal Level - more than 50cm below Danger Lever 

Warning Level - below Danger Level within 50cm 

Flood - At and above Danger Level upto 1m 

Sever Flood - More than 1m above Danger Level 

Sunamganj 

Biral 

Sylhet 

Sarighat 

Sheola 

Kanaighat 

Markuli 

Sherpur 

Moulvi Bazar Monu Rly Br 

Habiganj 

Kamalganj 

TRIPURA 

(INDIA) 

Parshuram 

Ballah 

Ramgarh 

Narayan Hat 

Panchpukuria 

Dohazari 

Chiringa 

Amalshid 

Bandarban 

Lama 

SOURCE: FLOOD FORECASTING AND WARNING CENTRE 

ASSAM 

(INDIA) 

MIZORAM 

(INDIA) 

(August 18 and August 20). 

Added to that is the new moon 

phase that falls during the same 

period of time, which will result in 

high tide in the Bay of Bengal. Because 

of the high tide, the water in 

the swelled-up river systems will 

not be able to flow downwards to 

the sea, he added. 

If that happens, large areas 

of central Bangladesh, including 

Munshiganj, Faridpur, Madaripur, 

Shariatpur, Tangail, Kushtia and 

some parts of East Dhaka city will 

be inundated for at least 10-12 days, 

he cautioned. 

According to Bangladesh Meteorological 

Department, the country 

experienced severe rainfall in 

different parts of the country in the 

last 24 hours as of 6pm yesterday. 

The weather is likely to remain the 

same in the next 24 hours as well. •

4 


DT 

News 

DMP suspects the Mourning Day 

bomber had co-conspirators 

• Arifur Rahman Rabbi 

MILITANCY 

Police yesterday said they suspect the 

Mourning Day bomber, Saiful Islam, 

21, had other co-conspirators who had 

planned to bomb the procession leading 

up to the Bangabandhu Memorial 

Museum on National Mourning Day. 

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) 

Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia said: 

“We strongly suspect that the co-conspirators 

are hiding somewhere in 

Dhaka and we are doing everything to 

find them.” 

Police also said militant Saiful was a 

member of New Jama’atul Mujahideen 

Bangladesh (New JMB) who had encouraged 

him to carry out the attack. 

Saiful, blew himself up on Tuesday 

at Hotel Olio International in Panthapath 

after he was cornered by police 

during a raid. 

Only hours before the incident, 

President Abdul Hamid and Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina were paying 

their respects to the Father of the Nation 

on the National Mourning Day at 

the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, 

located roughly 300 metres away from 

the hotel. 

DMP Commissioner assured that 

militant organisations have become 

weak in Bangladesh which is why they 

now attempt sporadic attacks. 

“The organisational power New 

JMB and Ansarullah Bangla Team 

(ABT) has significantly decreased, 

they no longer have the capability to 

carry out big attacks,” he said. 

The investigation officers said a 

case has not been filed yet, but the the 

process is underway. They also said 

that Saiful was likely radicalised online. 

The dead militant’s autopsy has 

been done by Dr Shohel Mahmud, head 

of the forensic medical department of 

Dhaka Medical Collage, who said the 

cause of death was a splinter piercing 

his right eye and into his brain. 

Samples of his organs have been 

collected for a toxicology analysis to 

determine if he was under the influence 

of any mind altering drugs during 

the incident. • 

Militant Saiful’s 

father in police 

custody 

• Hedait Hossain Molla, 

Khulna 

MILITANCY 

Khulna police are interrogating 

the father and two friends 

of Saiful Islam, who was 

killed in an anti-terror operation 

in Dhaka a day ago. 

Saiful’s father Mohammad 

Abul Khair and friends Mohammad 

Sani, 22, and Isan, 

21, were detained hours after 

the operation on Tuesday. 

Khulna district police 

chief Mizanul Haque Mollah 

said they had questioned 

several people to learn more 

about Saiful. 

Some were released after 

questioning but some others 

were still in police custody. 

However, a former UP 

Bangladeshi 

document forger 

arrested in Malaysia 

• Tribune Desk 

CRIME 

Immigration authorities in 

Kuala Lampur have arrested 

an infamous document forger 

known to immigrant workers 

as “The Professor,” who they 

say is of Bangladeshi origin. 

The man, whose real name 

the Malaysian Immigration 

Department did not reveal, 

was allegedly an expert in 

forging passports, work permits 

and other official documents. 

Malaysian newspaper The 

Star reported that the forger 

was a 32-year-old Bangladeshi 

man and he was caught 

with another Bangladeshi 

associate by an Immigration 

Department sting operation 

on August 12. 

He was highly sought after 

amongst foreign workers 

in the country, making 

RM50,000 to RM70,000 a 

month, the paper said. 

The officials seized some 

229 stickers for employment 

passes, temporary work passes, 

social visit passes, student 

passes, fake Malaysian 

visa stickers, Construction 

Industry Development Board 

(CIDB) cards, E-Cards, i-Cards 

chairman claimed that the 

law enforcement officials had 

said they set Khair free after 

being asked by locals. 

Police Superintendent 

Mizanul said they suspected 

Saiful was a member of Islami 

Chhatra Shibir, the student 

wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. But 

no evidence was found to 

support the claim. 

Saiful’s sister Sabia Khatun 

claimed her brother was not 

involved in student politics. 

“He went to Dhaka looking 

for a job as he was struggling 

with his tuition fees,” she 

said. 

According to a local, Saiful’s 

father was once suspended 

from the post of 

Imam at a local mosque because 

of his involvement 

with Jamaat. • 

and Bangladeshi passports, 

computers, printers and 

scanners from his home. 

“They can produce a fake 

E-Kad in just five minutes, 

while a fake passport would 

take two hours. We believe 

these were sold for between 

RM1,000 and RM4,000,” said 

Immigration Department 

director-general Datuk Seri 

Mustafar Ali at a press conference 

on Monday. 

‘This syndicate 

run by the 

Professor is on a 

much larger scale 

than the one by 

Doctor Harun’ 

Last March, the department 

busted a similar syndicate in 

Kuala Lumpur – operated by 

Myanmar national “Doctor 

Harun.” 

“This syndicate run by the 

Professor is on a much larger 

scale than the one by Doctor 

Harun,” said Mustafar. •

News 5 


India, China troops in high-altitude clash 

• AFP, Srinagar 

WORLD 

Indian and Chinese troops clashed 

briefly on a disputed area of land 

in the Himalayas, officials said 

Wednesday, exacerbating tensions 

during a months-long standoff between 

the two armies. 

Chinese troops threw stones at 

Indian soldiers near Pangong Lake, 

a major tourist attraction in the picturesque 

mountain region of Ladakh 

on Tuesday, an Indian defence 

official said. 

He said Chinese soldiers had 

twice tried to enter the Indian territory 

but had been pushed back. 

The incident occurred as the nations 

are locked in a tense standoff 

in another border region. 

“There was a minor incident. 

There was some stone pelting from 

the Chinese side but the situation 

was quickly brought under control,” 

he told reporters on condition 

of anonymity. 

The brief confrontation was resolved 

after Indian and Chinese 

sides retreated to their respective 

positions, he added. 

Chinese foreign ministry 

spokeswoman Hua Chunying said 

she was not aware of the latest reports, 

but she added that “Chinese 

border troops are always committed 

to maintaining peace on the 

India-China border”. 

“We always patrol along the Chinese 

line of control. And we urge 

the Indian side to abide by the line 

of control and relevant conventions 

between the two sides,” Hua said. 

Bangladesh sees fresh influx of 

Rohingyas from Myanmar 

• Abdul Aziz, Cox’s Bazar 


Hundreds of Rohingyas have entered 

Bangladesh in recent days following a 

fresh military build-up in Rakhine state 

of neighbouring Myanmar, community 

leaders said on Wednesday. 

Reports suggest at least 500 Rohingya 

had made the difficult journey into 

Bangladesh, some claiming they had 

been abused by soldiers in Myanmar. 

The latest influx follows a bloody 

military crackdown on the mainly Muslim 

minority in Myanmar which began in 

October 2016 and has led to an influx of 

tens of thousands of refugees into Bangladesh. 

The United Nations has said the 

violence may amount to ethnic cleansing. 

Local sources said the Myanmar 

army has been deployed with heavy 

weapons in addition to the Myanmar 

Border Guard Forces (BGF). 

According to the accounts of three 

Rohingya refugees who spoke to this 

correspondent by phone, in the past 

week alone around 200 Rohingyas 

have been detained in so-called ‘militant 

drives’ which have targeted houses 

in 11 Rohingya villages. 

With large numbers of Army personnel, Ladakh is one of the most sensitive border area in India 

Mujib Ullah, Mina Ara Begum, and 

Maulana Mofiz Mia said the Myanmar 

army have been arresting Rohingya 

men from their houses. Even though 

the army let go of a few of these men, 

most of them are still missing. Meanwhile, 

locals fear leaving their houses. 

BGB on alert 

Lt Col Monzurul Hasan Khan, commander 

of the 34 battalion of Border 

Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in Cox Bazar, 

said his force was currently on alert and 

was observing the situation. 

“We strongly oppose the decision 

taken by Myanmar to deploy the army at 

their border,” he said. “According to the 

international law, any state which deploys 

an army at its border like this has to 

notify its neighbouring countries.” 

At the same time, Lt Col Monzurul 

said the BGB could not allow new Rohigya 

refugees to come into Bangladesh 

“in any way possible”. 

However, another commander from 

the 2nd battalion of BGB in Teknaf, Lt 

Col SM Ariful Islam said the BGB was 

not upset with Myanmar’s decision to 

deploy its army at its border, ”because 

it is their international affair”. 

“However, by taking a counter initiative, 

we have expressed our disapproval 

toward their decision. Our force 

is on alert in the Bangladesh-Myanmar 

border,” he said. 

Dhaka estimates that nearly 

400,000 Rohingya refugees are living 

in squalid refugee camps and makeshift 

settlements in Cox’s Bazar. 

The numbers swelled last October 

when more than 70,000 Rohingya villagers 

began arriving, bringing stories 

of systematic rape, murder and arson 

at the hands of Myanmar soldiers. 

Last week, the UN special rapporteur 

Yanghee Lee voiced alarm at reports 

that an army battalion had flown 

into Rakhine state to help local authorities 

boost security in the region. 

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has 

long faced criticism for its treatment 

of the more than one million Rohingya 

who live in Rakhine, who are seen as 

interlopers from Bangladesh, denied 

citizenship and access to basic rights. 

An official with the UN International 

Organisation for Migration (IOM), 

which looks after settlements for unregistered 

Rohingya refugees, said the 

organisation was aware of new arrivals. 

The numbers were “not as alarming 

as the October influx,” the official said. • 

Police in the north Indian state 

of Jammu and Kashmir, where 

Ladakh is located, said clashes 

were relatively common along the 

de facto border known as the Line 

of Actual Control (LAC). 

“These things happen every 

DT 

summer but this one was slightly 

prolonged and more serious but no 

weapons were used,” said a police 

source in Srinagar. 

The Pangong area lies over 13,000 

feet high on the Tibetan plateau. 

The latest incident comes amid 

an ongoing dispute between the 

two sides over a strategic Himalayan 

plateau thousands of kilometres 

away where hundreds of 

Indian and Chinese soldiers have 

been facing off against each other 

for more than two months. 

The border trouble began in 

June when Chinese soldiers started 

to extend a road through the 

Doklam territory, known as “Donglang” 

in Chinese. The area is disputed 

between China and Bhutan. 

India, a close ally of Bhutan, 

then deployed troops to stop the 

construction project, prompting 

Beijing to accuse India of trespassing 

on Chinese soil. 

China has said India must withdraw 

its troops before any proper 

negotiation takes place. India said 

both sides should withdraw their 

forces together. • 

India hedges pledge to 

expel Rohingya amid outcry 


WORLD 

ISTOCK 

A day after the UN chief voiced 

concern about India’s plans to potentially 

deport tens of thousands 

of Muslim Rohingya refugees, an 

Indian government official said 

Wednesday that authorities are 

only working to identify those who 

fled persecution in neighbouring 

Myanmar – not expel them. 

An estimated 40,000 Rohingya 

Muslims have taken refuge in various 

parts of India, though fewer than 

15,000 are registered with the UN 

High Commissioner for Refugees. 

Last week, India’s Home Affairs 

Minister Kiren Rijiju told lawmakers 

that state authorities had been 

asked to identify and deport illegal 

immigrants, including but not only 

Rohingya. A ministry memo sent 

August 8 to the states warns that 

immigrants are susceptible to recruitment 

by “terrorist” organisations 

and “not only infringe on the 

rights of Indian citizens but also 

pose grave security challenges.” 

On Wednesday, a Home Ministry 

official said worries of Rohingya 

being shipped back to Myanmar 

were overblown, and that the government 

was only trying to count 

and identify how many refugees 

were in the country. Contrary to 

what was said in last week’s memo, 

the official said no decisions had 

been made about deporting any 

refugees. He refused to give his 

name as he was not authorised to 

speak with media. 

A day earlier, the head of the 

UN said any plan to send refugees 

back to a country where they face 

persecution was cause for alarm, 

according to his spokesman. “Obviously, 

we have our concerns about 

the treatment of refugees,” said 

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for 

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. 

It was not immediately clear 

if Rohingya who had yet to be registered 

with the UNHCR would receive 

any of the same protections. 

The Rohingya face severe discrimination 

in Myanmar and are 

the targets of violence in Rakhine 

state, where security forces have 

been accused of abuses against 

them. They have long been denied 

citizenship, freedom of movement 

and basic rights in Myanmar. • 

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY 

HEAVY RAINFALL 

LIKELY 


Dhaka 33 27 Chittagong 33 27 Rajshahi 33 26 Rangpur 33 26 Khulna 32 26 Barisal 32 27 Sylhet 33 25 

DHAKA 

TODAY 

TOMORROW 

SUN SETS 6:30PM 

SUN RISES 5:35AM 

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW 

34.6ºC 24ºC 

Rajshahi 

Rangamati 

Source: Accuweather/UNB 

PRAYER 

TIMES 

Cox’s Bazar 31 26 

Fajr: 5:00am | Zohr: 1:15pm 

Asr: 5:00pm | Magrib: 6:44pm 

Esha: 8:30pm 

Source: Islamic Foundation

6 


DT 

News 

Former bureaucrats, army officers queuing 

up for AL ticket in next polls 

• Fazlur Rahman Raju 

ELECTION 

The Awami League is set to hand 

tickets to compete in the next parliamentary 

election to a number of 

businessmen and former bureaucrats 

and military officers, party 

sources have revealed. 

Many of the aspiring candidates 

are so confident of receiving the 

ruling party’s nod, they have already 

started unofficial campaigning 

around the country. 

Several sources of the Awami 

League have confirmed to the Dhaka 

Tribune that the party will bring at 

least 60 to 70 new faces into politics 

ahead of the 11th national polls due 

between late 2018 and early 2019. 

However, an Advisory Council 

member who wished to remain 

anonymous said they would only 

give nominations to those candidates 

who can prove their commitment 

to the party and who fully 

support the 1971 Liberation War. 

“We could nominate around 100 

or more (candidates),” the source 

said. “That’s not yet certain, but 

it’s quite sure that at least we will 

see 60-70 new faces in the next 

election.” 

The Awami League has a tradition 

of nominating businessmen, 

former bureaucrats and defence 

personnel to stand in parliamentary 

polls. Currently, the party has 

170 Members of Parliament (MP) 

from these backgrounds. 

A member of the party’s Central 

Working Committee, asking not to 

be named, told the Dhaka Tribune 

that these new faces will replace 

lawmakers who have “generated 

controversies and failed to work 

properly for the Awami League and 

the people”. 

“A recent survey has found that 

there were accusations of corruption 

and irregularities against at 

least 50 lawmakers,” said the Awami 

League leader. “Not nominating 

them again will be their punishment. 

We are looking for their replacements 

in the next election.” 

Speaking with the Dhaka Tribune, 

Presidium Member Pijush 

Kanti Bhattacharya was unable to 

say how many businessmen, former 

bureaucrats and military officers 

will get the nominations. 

“The number of good candidates 

is increasing day by day. Only 

good and prominent candidates 

will get the nods,” he said. 

Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, 

one of the organising secretaries 

of the party, said businessmen are 

playing a role in taking the country 

towards progress. 

“If they want to join politics to 

serve the country more, we’ll welcome 

them,” he said. “(But) not 

just them. The Awami League will 

also welcome former bureaucrats 

and military personnel with the 

highest commitment.” 

Many aspiring candidates from 

these backgrounds have already 

started unofficial electoral campaigns 

in their areas of the country 

in a bid to convince the party’s 

high command of their acceptance 

among the voters. 

Those who have recently 

launched their campaigns include 

Square Hospital Director 

Dr Sanowar Hossain in Tangail; 

Brig (retd) Shahjahan Mandal in 

Panchagarh; former Agrani Bank 

Ltd director Balram Poddar in Barisal; 

and Abdul Mabud, the former 

director general of the passport division, 

in Jessore. 

Khalid, also the Dinajpur-2 MP, 

said: “Awami League’s parliamentary 

committee will evaluate every 

one of them before handing out 

nominations. If they are popular 

among the voters, they will get 

the nod. The number might even 

increase from 70 if we find more 

good candidates.” 

However, the party’s information 

and research secretary, Afzal 

Hossain, played down the importance 

of an individual candidate’s 

professional credentials. 

“It doesn’t matter who is from 

what background. If they believe 

in the Liberation War, work for the 

party and are popular among the 

voters, then they will get nominations,” 

he said. 

“In every election, we introduce 

some fresh and new faces as party 

candidates. It’s a normal process. If 

someone works for Awami League 

with commitment, then party chief 

Sheikh Hasina and the nomination 

board will consider them for nominations.” 

Afzal did not give the exact 

number of people who will be nominated 

to contest the next polls. 

Both Afzal and Khalid hinted 

that many of the present lawmakers 

who have not been working for 

the party and their constituencies 

properly might not receive nominations 

for the next election. • 

Former Pakistan PM 

Sharif challenges ouster 


WORLD 

Pakistani ousted prime minister 

Nawaz Sharif 

AFP 

Pakistan's former prime minister 

Nawaz Sharif has hit 

back against his ouster by the 

Supreme Court over corruption 

allegations, demanding a 

review of his case. 

Sharif on Tuesday filed 

three separate petitions in the 

Supreme Court to review and 

stay further implementation 

of the Panama Papers verdict 

that resulted in his disqualification. 

The appeal, in reply to the 

petition filed by Sirajul Haq, 

was submitted by Nawaz's 

lawyer Khawaja Harris. The 

five-member apex bench that 

took the unanimous July 28 

decision last month is expected 

to hear the review petition. 

The allegations against 

the prime minister spiralled 

from the Panama Papers leak 

last year, which sparked a 

media frenzy over the lavish 

lifestyles and luxury London 

property portfolio of the Sharif 

dynasty. 

In a lengthy petition demanding 

that his case be reviewed, 

Sharif's legal team 

laid out 19 points challenging 

the court's judgement, saying 

the ruling suffered "from errors 

floating on the surface". 

Nawaz, through his appeal, 

has argued that the July 

28 decision should have been 

given by a three-member 

bench since Justice Asif Saeed 

Khosa and Justice Gulzar 

Ahmed's jurisdiction had expired 

after their dissenting 

judgement on April 20. 

The appeal alleges that the 

members of the JIT considerably 

overstepped authority 

and that the bench of the Supreme 

Court assumed National 

Accountability Bureau's 

function by directing it. 

Five more petitions are 

expected to be filed soon by 

Nawaz's sons — Hassan and 

Hussain Nawaz; his daughter 

Maryam Nawaz; Captain Safdar; 

and Ishaq Dar. •

News 

THURSDAY, 

Govt to ban staff using 

personal email 

• Ishtiaq Husain 


Government employees will no 

longer be able to use Gmail, Yahoo, 

Outlook or other email services for 

their official communication under 

a new initiative being taken to protect 

the privacy of government programmes 

and boost cybersecurity. 

The government will soon make 

the use of the ‘dot bd’ domain mandatory 

for all emails sent by government 

employees, and will also 

switch to using its own servers. 

Sources at the ICT Division said 

the policy will apply to the employees 

of all government, semi-government, 

autonomous and statutory 

organisations of Bangladesh. 

At the ICT Division, employees 

including ICT Affairs Advisor Sajeeb 

Wazed Joy have already started 

using the domain for all official 

communication. 

The new servers are located in 

Bangladesh and are managed by 

the Bangladesh Computer Council 

(BCC), a government organisation. 

In order to 

establish a uniform 

government e-mail 

system, a proper 

policy guidelines 

need to be 

formulated 

Trump under fire over 

Charlottesville remarks 

It has its own acceptable and disclosure 

e-mail usage policy and 

its own backup, retention and information 

security policy in compliance 

with the relevant laws of 

Bangladesh. 

Abu Nasher, public relations officer 

of the ICT Division, told the 

Dhaka Tribune that the government 

employees should be provided 

with a secured government 

e-mail service to conduct their official 

communication effectively and 

efficiently. 

“Due to the lack of uniform and 

standard guidelines and policies 

for the usage of government email 

within the government organisations, 

employees are using different 

services including private 

email service provider which poses 

a threat to their information security,” 

he said. 

“In order to establish a uniform 

government e-mail system, a proper 

policy guidelines need to be formulated 

where the scope and the 

process of operation of email services 

should be clearly identified.” • 

7 

AUGUST 17, 2017 

DNCC Mayor Annisul Huq admitted 

to ICU at London hospital 



Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) 

Mayor Annisul Huq has been admitted 

to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a 

hospital in London. 

“He has been in London for about a 

month, and was admitted to the hospital 

four days ago,” the mayor’s Personal 

Secretary Mizanur Rahman informed 

media through SMS on Wednesday. 

“DNCC Mayor Annisul Huq has 

been admitted to the ICU as his 

brain vessels were inflamed. He 

has been unwell for some time, although 

the problem was not identified 

when he was in Bangladesh,” the 

SMS read. 

“He had received treatment at 

the London hospital earlier,” Mizanur 

added in the SMS, saying that the 

London doctors had asked Annisul to 

take rest. 

DNCC Public Relation Officer 

Monowar Hossain told the Dhaka tribune: 

“According to the last update in 

the morning, sir (Annisul) is admitted 

to the hospital for treatment.” 

Responding to a query, Monowar 

added that the mayor had not suffered 

from a stroke or any other serious 

complication, and had only been admitted 

to the ICU as any issue related 

to the brain is sensitive. 

His wife Rubana Huq told reporters: 

“The doctors put him on steroid 

and other drugs.” • 

DT 

Demonstrators hold placards during an anti-fascist protest outside the US Embassy in London, Britain 

on August 14, 2017 

REUTERS 

• Reuters, Washington, 

DC 

WORLD 

US President Donald Trump 

found himself in the eye of 

a political storm Wednesday 

after his stunning remarks on 

the unrest in Charlottesville, 

which sparked unease within 

his own camp and could be a 

turning point in his already 

chaotic presidency. 

Trump inflamed tension 

after a deadly rally by white 

nationalists in Virginia by 

insisting that counter protesters 

were also to blame, 

drawing condemnation from 

some Republican leaders 

and praise from white supremacists. 

In a combative news conference, 

Trump backed off 

from his Monday statements 

explicitly denouncing the 

Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis 

and white supremacists for 

the violence that erupted at 

a “Unite the Right” rally in 

Charlottesville, and reverted 

to his weekend contention 

that “many sides” were 

to blame. 

“You had a group on one 

side that was bad,” Trump 

said on Tuesday. “And you 

had a group on the other side 

that was also very violent. 

And nobody wants to say 

that. But I’ll say it right now.” 

Trump later said, “I 

think there is blame on both 

sides and I have no doubt 

about it,” adding that there 

were “very fine people” on 

both sides. 

Counter-protesters came 

equipped with sticks, helmets 

and shields. 

Trump’s remarks drew 

swift criticism from many 

Republican leaders. 

“No, not the same,” former 

Massachusetts governor 

and Republican presidential 

candidate Mitt 

Romney wrote on Twitter. 

“One side is racist, bigoted, 

Nazi. The other opposes 

racism and bigotry. Morally 

different universes.” •

8 


DT 

News 

2005 JMB SERIAL BOMB ATTACKS 

More than a decade later, 

justice still not served 

• Arifur Rahman Rabbi and Tarek 

Mahmud 

MILITANCY 

It has been 12 years, since the nationwide 

bomb attacks that simultaneously went 

off in 500 places on August 17, 2005 that 

brought the militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen 

Bangladesh (JMB) into light. 

More than a 100 people were injured 

and two killed in the bomb attacks in 63 

districts – except Munshiganj. A total of 

161 cases were filed with different police 

stations across the country. 

After the simultaneous bomb attacks, 

security agencies arrested JMB 

kingpin Sheikh Abdur Rahman, Siddikur 

Rahman alias Bangla Bhai and several 

hundred members of the militant 

outfit. The top leaders were awarded 

the gallows in 2007. 

A total 660 people were accused in 

the 161 cases out of which 455 people 

were arrested, said Rapid Action Battalion 

sources. 

Within the 12 years, 102 cases has already 

been tried and awarded sentences 

by different courts in the country while 

59 cases are still under trial, RAB said. 

They also said that the 262 accused 

were rewarded with different sentence 

and 118 were acquitted from the charges. 

“Some 50 of the accused are still on 

the run,” RAB added. 

Sources said that a total of the 35 accused 

are out on bail, adding that the remaining 

cases are pending because they 

are in other districts that has a slower 

judicial system and has been lacking in 

witnesses. 

Prosecution counsels said that they 

were trying to located the witnesses, 

many of them have moved to different 

address, which is why it is taking so 

long to find them. 

Finance minister to 

file Tk100cr libel suits 

against two newspapers 

• Asif Showkat Kallol 


Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday 

said he would file Tk100 crore libel 

suits against two newspapers for publishing 

false reports that he had sought 

family tickets from China to attend an 

event in the country. 

The newspapers in question are Amader 

Arthonity and Asian Age. 

Speaking to reporters at the Finance 

Ministry secretary’s office, Muhith said: 

“I have called you here today (yesterday) 

to say that I will file Tk100 crore libel 

suits against these two newspapers. 

I will file them before I leave the office 

because these reports are completely 

fabricated.” 

Muhith added that when he contacted 

the Economic Relations Department 

(ERD), who was cited as a source by the 

news papers, the ERD secretary said 

they had no record of any such conversation 

with the newspapers. 

“Only thing they (ERD) know is this 

– that Euro Money invited me to go to 

China to have a discussion on Bangladesh-China 

economic relations,” the 

finance minister said. 

Furthermore, Muhith told reporters 

there were no plans to go to the event 

at all, as the Bangladesh ambassador in 

China, after speaking to Chinese officials, 

could not verify the programme. 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

“Chinese foreign ministry officials 

told the Bangladesh ambassador in China 

that they had no knowledge of the 

programme at all. Euro Money had not 

approached them. In that case, I told 

him I would be happy if this programme 

was cancelled, as I do not like travelling,” 

he said. 

The minister also said that the Chinese 

foreign ministry confirmed that 

there was no such event by Euro Money 

on the cards two days after the initial 

phone call. • 

Meanwhile, this delay is allowing the 

militants to plea for bail or have already 

been awarded bail, said prosecution 

counsels. Although security agencies 

managed to catch several members 

of JMB and get the outfit banned, the 

group is still alive and active in by using 

different names. 

Police said JMB broke into two parts, 

the old one led by Slahuddin, who fled 

the prison van in Trishal, Mymensingh 

District in February 2014 and the other 

one called New JMB. 

Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Counter 

Terrorism and Transnational Crime 

Unit Chief Monirul Islam said: “We have 

successfully broken up the groups although 

some small clusters of them remain 

that cannot carry out big attacks 

any longer. 

In 2016, New JMB carried out two big 

attacks,the Gulshan Terror Attack and 

the Sholakia Attack. • 

Bogra madrasa 

student’s head 

shaved for praising 

PM on Facebook 

• Nazmul Huda Nasim, Bogra 

NATION 

The father of a Bogra madrasa student, 

who was heavily beaten and had his 

head shaved after posting a poem praising 

the incumbent Bangladesh prime 

minister, lodged a formal complaint 

against the perpetrators with Shahjahanpur 

police station on Monday. 

According to the father Abdul Halim, 

his son Abu Talha, 18, a recent Alim graduate 

from Domonpukur Aminia Senior 

Kamil Madrasa in the area, was tied up 

and beaten allegedly by his Jamaat supporting 

maternal cousin Abu Bakar Siddique 

and his cohorts on Friday. 

Talha, a caddy at the Majhira Cantonment 

Golf Course in Bogra, posted the 

poem styled “Prodhanmontri Sheikh 

Hasina ke niye ekti kobita” (A poem in 

honour of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina) 

on his Facebook page a day before. Talha’s 

father Halim, who currently works 

as a security guard at a Shahjahanpur establishment, 

was a freedom fighter. 

In the formal complaint, Halim wrote 

Siddique called Talha away to a quiet location, 

tied his hands, blindfolded him 

and held a knife to his throat, threatening 

him to delete the poem or be killed. 

Talha’s hair was shaved off later. 

Local union parishad member Shahidul 

Islam said he was not aware of 

this incident. 

Zia Latiful Islam, OC of Shajahanpur 

police station assured that legal action 

will be taken upon investigation. •

News 

9 


DT 

Pre-polls dialogue: 

Majority of journos for 

army deployment, ‘no 

vote’ option 

• Manik Miazee 

ELECTION 

Singing the same tune of civil 

society personalities, a majority 

of journalists at a discussion 

have advised that the Election 

Commission restore the provision 

of army deployment and 

provide “no vote” option to 

the electorate by amending the 

Representation of Peoples Order 

(RPO) in order to hold the 

next parliamentary polls in a 

free and fair manner. 

The Election Commission 

has organised the two-day dialogue 

at its office in Dhaka with 

Chief Election Commissioner 

KM Nurul Huda in the chair. 

Yesterday, the first day of 

the dialogue, 26 out of the 37 

invited journalists from print 

media attended the discussion 

organised as part of the 

commission’s action plan for 

the polls slated for early 2019. 

Electronic media journalists 

will join the discussion today. 

Emerging from the dialogue, 

the participants told reporters 

that they emphasised 

deploying army for a participatory, 

inclusive election alongside 

the need for a political 

unity among the parties. 

They said the Election Commission 

would have to go a long 

way to regain the people’s trust, 

and it would be impossible to 

hold a credible election if any 

vital parties boycott the polls. 

Manzurul Ahsan Bulbul, 

president of a faction of the 

Bangladesh Federal Union of 

Journalists (BFUJ), said: “Election 

Commission will have to 

earn trust of all political parties. 

We urged it to take measures 

to make sure that all registered 

political parties take part 

in the polls.” 

M Abdullah, secretary general 

of a BFUJ faction, said: 

“Awami League and BNP will 

have to find out the way to organise 

a fair election. Only a 

neutral government can hold a 

credible election. The present 

parliament will have to be dissolved 

before the election.” 

Editor of the daily Bangladesh 

Pratidin, Noim Nizam, 

said: “Election Commission 

invited us to discuss the ways 

to hold a fair election...We said 

if the commission deems army 

deployment necessary to hold 

a fair election, then it can deploy 

the force alongside other 

law enforcement agencies. 

“Also, we suggested strengthening 

the role of law enforcers 

so that they can control possible 

untoward situations.” 

The EC must have the power 

to ensure the people’s voting 

rights and control black money 

during the polls. Therefore, 

it needs to revise electoral expenditure 

and ensure that the 

money allocated for the election 

is properly utilised, said Noim 

“Demarcating the constituencies 

is essential. Miscreants 

and illicit flow of arms have to 

be controlled during the election… 

The commission must 

exercise its constitutional power 

to hold an election acceptable 

to all,” he said. 

Senior journalist Amanullah 

Kabir suggested deploying 

army and ensuring a level playing 

field. 

Shyamal Dutta, editor of the 

daily Bhorer Kagoj, said: “Political 

unity and participation of 

all parties have to be ensured. 

Atmosphere for a fair election 

has not been created yet. So, 

the commission must regain 

trust of the parties and hold 

discussion with them.” 

Senior journalist Mahfuz Ullah 

suggested the commission 

appoint those officials who did 

not work at the field level in 

the last three years. He, however, 

did not say anything about 

army deployment. 

Some of the participants 

opined, however, that the deployment 

of army is not necessary 

as long as the law enforcement 

agencies can control the 

situation. 

National Press Club President 

Muhammad Shafiqur 

Rahman said: “Law enforcement 

agencies are enough. 

Army deployment is not necessary.” 

The commission has to be 

careful about observers as 

some of them, according to 

Shafiqur, often try to influence 

polls on behalf of the “imperialist 

powers” rather than working 

for a credible election. 

Mahfuz Anam, editor of the 

Daily Star, and Matiur Rahman, 

editor of the daily Prothom 

Alo, are among those who did 

not attend the discussion. 

On July 31, at least 40 civil 

society personalities attended 

another pre-election dialogue. 

They, too, suggested deploying 

army and introducing “no 

vote” option for the voters. •

10 


DT 

News 

Chief Justice to AG: You are compromising with the administration 



Chief Justice Surendra Kumar 

Sinha told the Attorney General 

Mahbubey Alam that he was making 

compromises with the administration 

for political gains. 

The chief justice made the remarks 

during a hearing on three 

leave-to-appeal petitions yesterday 

against a High Court order banning 

mobile courts. 

When Attorney General Alam 

told the court that banned “Current 

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam 

Jal” (monofilament synthetic fibre 

net) was still in use, the chief justice 

pointed out that the court had 

Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha 

banned its use. 

Mahbubey Alam said his house 

was by the river Padma, adding: “I 

still see Current Jal being used.” 

Chief Justice Sinha replied: 

“What can we do if the law enforcement 

agencies are not vigilant 

enough? 

“I have heard that you visit your 

locality as you are planning to contest 

the next election. You continue 

to compromise with the administration.” 

Earlier, the chief justice said he 

would give the attorney general a 

list of the sections of Mobile Court 

Act that contradict with the Code 

of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). 

“These sections should be fixed,” 

he said, telling the attorney general 

that operating mobile courts with 

executive magistrates was in the 

government’s best interest. 

He said the court could judge 

cases without overstepping its legal 

boundary. The attorney general 

sought time to prepare. 

Then the six-member Appellate 

Division bench extended a stay until 

October 10 on a High Court order 

that declared the operation of mobile 

courts illegal. • 

This article was first published on 

banglatribune.com 

Trump leaves top strategist 

Bannon’s future in limbo 

• Reuters, Washington, DC 

WORLD 

For months, US President Donald 

Trump’s national security 

adviser and his chief strategist 

have battled for influence 

behind the scenes, and their 

feud may force another shakeup 

at the White House. 

The dispute between Lieutenant 

General H R McMaster 

and political strategist Stephen 

Bannon has reached a level of 

animosity that is destabilising 

Trump’s team of top advisers 

just as the administration tries 

to regain lost momentum, 

three senior officials said. 

Under pressure from moderate 

Republicans to fire Bannon, 

Trump declined to publicly 

back him on Tuesday, 

although he left his options 

open. “We’ll see what happens 

with Bannon,” he told 

reporters at Trump Tower in 

New York. 

Whatever Trump decides 

could chart the fate of a nuclear-weapons 

deal with Iran, US 

troop deployments to Afghanistan 

and White House staffing 

decisions – all issues over 

which Bannon and McMaster 

have sparred. 

Bannon has been in a precarious 

position before but Trump 

has opted to keep him, in part 

because his chief strategist 

played a major role in his election 

victory and is backed by 

many of the president’s most 

loyal rank-and-file supporters. 

“The president obviously is 

very nervous and afraid of firing 

him,” a source close to the 

White House said. 

The source floated the possibility 

that Bannon could be 

demoted instead of fired, noting 

that he might turn into a 

harsh critic of the administration 

if he is forced out of the 

inner circle. 

Two other senior officials, 

both supporters of McMaster 

who asked not to be identified, 

said he blames Bannon 

for a series of attacks against 

him by right-wing website 

Breitbart News, which Bannon 

used to lead, and other 

far-right conservative groups. 

One of the senior officials 

said McMaster’s anger over 

the campaign “is known to 

the president” but declined to 

say whether the national security 

adviser had told Trump 

directly or through General 

John Kelly, an ally and the 

president’s new chief of staff. 

In a television interview on 

Sunday, McMaster repeatedly 

declined to answer when asked 

if he could work with Bannon. • 

White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, right, and National Security 

Adviser H R McMaster 

REUTERS

News 11 


Vacant seats on Hajj flights worry Biman 

DT 

• Ishtiaq Husain 


Biman Bangladesh Airlines runs a 

low load factor as agencies procrastinate 

over sending an optimum 

number of Hajj pilgrims to Saudi 

Arabia. 

According to sources, the national 

flag carrier keeps operating 

flights amid such situation that hits 

its revenues hard. 

As of yesterday, Biman ran seven 

flights with not as many Hajj 

pilgrims as expected to fill its seats. 

As the load factor is on the 

downswing, so is its revenues, said 

a Biman official. 

Shakil Meraj, general manager 

(PR) and spokesperson of Biman, 

told the Dhaka Tribune: “Though 

Boeing 777 300 ER has a capacity of 

419 seats, most flights are leaving 

Dhaka with a less number of devout 

pilgrims.” 

The airliner sees at least 100 

seats vacant on each flight, leading 

to a huge revenue loss for the national 

flag carrier. 

The national flag 

carrier keeps 

operating flights 

amid such situation 

that hits its 

revenues hard 

As of yesterday, Biman transported 

33,310 pilgrims while Saudi Arabian 

Airlines transpoted 35,954. 

This year, a total 127,198 pilgrims 

are set to perform Hajj. 

Meanwhile, Biman has sought 

eight more slots from Saudi Arabian 

civil aviation authority. Earlier, 

it got 14 additional sots. 

Sources said a Boeing 777 200 

ER aircraft would be taken on lease 

and added to the Biman fleet on 

Sunday to facilitate transportation 

of the pilgrims. 

A total of 25 slots allocated to 

Hajj flights have been cancelled as 

pilgrims failed to board on account 

of visa complications. 

Of the slots, Biman cancelled 21 

flights while Saudi Arabian Airlines 

four. 

The cancelled flights with a total 

of 11,000 seats incurred a loss of 

Tk44 crore in revenue. 

In a bid to make more aircraft 

available, Biman rescheduled its 

regular flights reducing flight frequencies 

on Dhaka-London, Dhaka-Muscat, 

Dhaka-Dubai, Dhaka-Abudhabi, 

Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur 

routes. It cancelled all Dhaka-Doha 

flights till August 26. • 

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Dhaka Tribune

DT 

12 

Editorial 


TODAY 

The point of 

no return 

He will be spoken of as just another 

faceless, misguided youth who tried to 

do something extremely stupid 

PAGE 13 

RAJIB DHAR 

A radical proposition 

to de-escalate 

North Korea 

The US has the opportunity to 

demonstrate responsible leadership 

once again 

PAGE 14 

Smoke them out 

While we are infinitely grateful 

to our police forces for foiling 

numerous militant attacks in 

recent times, with Tuesday’s 

being the latest in the series, it is impossible 

to ignore the underlying danger that the 

frequency of militant raids points to. 

A worrying degree of militant activity is 

going on in the country and now, even the 

DMP have admitted as much: There are many 

more like Saiful, still hiding, still planning, 

still preparing. 

The Panthapath raid made it clear that 

they are lurking right in the heart of our 

capital city, ready to strike. 

We urge our police, intelligence agencies, 

and the government to do everything they 

can to smoke out every single one of these 

militants, for the sake of our national security. 

There are many more 

like Saiful, still hiding, 

still planning, still 

preparing 

What India 

stands to lose 

One thing China is developing expertise 

in is cyber-warfare, which can cripple 

India’s economy 

Be heard 

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PAGE 15 

The centre of trade 

Regardless of many of our infrastructural 

inadequacies, Bangladesh has done a 

terrific job in retaining its economic 

momentum. 

Our nation remains an excellent destination 

for foreign investment. To that end, the 

expansion of a trade centre in Assam is welcome 

news. 

The expansion of the Sutarkandi trade centre 

is expected to boost Indo-Bangla trade, but it also 

stands to positively affect our business ties with 

other South Asian countries to a great extent. 

We need more initiatives such as this. 

Given the close proximity, there is ample 

scope to further trade between Bangladesh and 

our immediate neighbours, and building more 

trade centres and expanding existing ones is the 

right way to go about achieving it. 

There is ample scope to 

further trade between 

Bangladesh and our 

immediate neighbours

The point of no return 

There is no glory in blowing yourself up 

Opinion 13 

DT 


HARD TARGET 

• Abak Hussain 

On Tuesday morning, just 

across the street from the 

Dhaka Tribune offices, 

21-year-old militant 

Saiful Islam was holed up in a 

hotel room, knowing there was no 

way out for him. 

His plan, which could’ve ended 

in the deaths of a large number of 

people, had failed. 

But he wasn’t surrendering -- in 

his mind he was going to a better 

place, perhaps a place where 

things forbidden in this life were 

all the rage. 

Perhaps his martyrdom would 

give him all the celestial virgins he 

could ever want, and everything 

else this cruel world never gave 

him in this life. 

With no escape in sight, he set 

off a couple of bombs, ending his 

own life. 

Nobody else was killed. 

And even though his belief 

system sees suicide as the gravest 

A pointless death 

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN 

He will be spoken 

of as just another 

faceless, misguided 

youth who tried 

to do something 

extremely stupid 

before even getting 

to be old enough to 

know what’s what 

of sins, in his warped mind, 

somehow what he did was OK. 

Was it the method -- suicide by 

explosion -- that justified his 

actions? 

Or was it his grand plan to 

carry out mass murder on the 

death anniversary of the Father 

of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur 

Rahman, just a stone’s throw away 

from Bangabandhu’s home in 

Dhanmondi Road 32? 

We will never know exactly 

what went through the mind of 

this fanatic, what led him to the 

point of no return causing him to 

blow himself up, and what his last 

thoughts were as his life ended. 

What we do know, though, is 

that Saiful was not the only one of 

his kind. 

There are many others out 

there, brainwashed into a similar 

manner of thinking. 

And these confused, hurt, 

angry young men (and I use the 

word men as opposed to people, 

because, let’s face it, how many 

women militants can you really 

think of?) aren’t away in some 

shady lair doing bad things in 

another world. 

They’re here, very much a part 

of this country. 

They grow somewhere inside 

our own rotting value system, in 

a place where critical thinking is 

not allowed, in a society where 

extremists are pacified at every 

turn. 

***** 

As I write this, I look out the 

window at my desk, and I can see 

the exact spot where the suicide 

bomber’s dead body lay. 

An entire wall is gone, and 

bricks and debris lie strewn across 

the footpath. The cleanup job 

seems to have been decent, and 

the substantial amount of rubble 

no longer seems to be blocking the 

main road. 

However, an AC still 

precariously dangles from the 

building, threatening to fall on a 

pedestrian. 

A green sign of Hotel Olio, 

proclaiming something about 

honesty and courage bringing 

success, once part of the third 

floor, lies shattered on the 

footpath. It looks almost symbolic. 

Olio now looks like someone, 

well, blew themselves up. But 

traffic on Panthapath, both on foot 

and on the road, seems almost 

normal. 

Life goes on, and that’s a good 

thing. 

***** 

If Saiful could see the aftermath 

right now, he would probably 

be utterly disappointed by the 

general response to his work. 

No one is singing his praises. 

His name will not be etched in the 

list of great martyrs. 

He will be spoken of as just 

another faceless, misguided 

youth who tried to do something 

extremely stupid before even 

getting to be old enough to know 

what’s what. 

But looking at this sad sight, 

will all other Saiful-wannabes wise 

up? 

Will they realise that they have 

been brainwashed into playing a 

game where nobody wins? 

Ever since Holey, we have been 

talking about the serious need 

to stop militancy at the source, 

to make sure more young people 

don’t fall prey to militant bosses 

who use young people as pawns in 

their game of death. 

To be fair, several successful 

raids have been conducted, and 

many lives have been saved. 

Operation August Bite was a 

triumph of law enforcement, and 

the brave men and women behind 

the operation deserve our heartfelt 

thanks. 

A militant was successfully 

taken out, and a tragedy was 

averted. But a bigger question 

remains -- how many more such 

raids will we need? When it comes 

to really rooting out the belief 

system behind militancy, how 

much progress have we made 

since Holey? 

As one battle gets fought with 

good intelligence, timely action, 

and well-executed raids, another 

should be waged on the social 

and cultural level, to educate 

young people, to make it clear that 

terrorism is not a viable career 

option, and that there is no glory 

whatsoever in blowing yourself 

up. • 

Abak Hussain is Editor, Editorial and Op-Ed, 

Dhaka Tribune.

14 


DT 

Opinion 

A radical proposition to 

de-escalate North Korea 

Stepping away from inflammatory rhetoric. This is the concluding part of yesterday’s op-ed 

Time to take action from the South? 

REUTERS 

This diplomatic conundrum has 

the potential to be resolved with a 

mutually assured draw-down. In 

this scenario, Washington would 

commit to a phased reduction in 

troops along the DMZ, following 

North Korea’s commitment to 

phase out its nuclear weapons 

program. 

This phased and scheduled 

draw-down would continue until 

both sides are mutually assured 

in one another’s fulfillment of 

pledges. 

Any draw-down would occur 

with reassurances to US allies 

in the region that its security 

commitment to the region remains 

unchanged. Additionally, North 

Korea must feel secure that its 

territorial integrity will remain 

intact from any potential (however 

unlikely) South Korean bid to 

unify the peninsula with its vastly 

superior military. 

This effort should not be 

read as appeasement, nor an 

abandonment of its interests 

in the region. To the contrary, 

today’s capabilities are very 

different than what they were in 

willingness on the part of South 

Koreans to depart previous 

hawkish stances towards the 

North, in favour of direct bilateral 

talks. This is backed by polls that 

show strong support (80% in 

favour) towards the resumption 

of talks for de-nuclearisation and 

eventual reconciliation. 

In an acknowledgment of these 

realities, the US can begin to shift 

its role from one of protector to 

mediator. 

It can remain the guarantor of 

security and stability for its allies, 

but from a reasonable distance. 

This move would phase the US out 

of the direct line of conflict, and 

into the role of mediator at the 

peace table. 

There are three goals that can 

be accomplished through this shift 

in policy: 1) Reduce US tensions 

with the North, 2) Support 

opportunities for mediated 

reconciliation between the North 

and South, and 3) Remove the US 

from the line of fire both along the 

DMZ, and the homeland. 

Considered together, these 

policies aim to achieve an 

• Samier Mansur 

Since so much of what Kim 

is after is dependent on 

improved relations with 

the US, there is leverage to 

negotiate a meaningful peace with 

North Korea. In this context, the 

following four steps offer a path to 

help alleviate the current tensions, 

and set a trajectory for an eventual 

reconciliation in the peninsula. 

Reduce threat perceptions 

The nuclear age is not the time to 

engage in armed brinksmanship. 

Each provocation brings with 

it the very real possibility of 

miscalculation. The graveyard of 

history is replete full with wars 

that began under such faulty 

premises. 

In the current scenario, North 

Korea is like a caged beast that 

feels provoked (warranted or not) 

to the point that it has lashed 

out in increasingly alarming 

ways. Threats and repeated 

demonstrations of force have not 

worked for over half a century 

with this regime. 

To reduce the current threat 

perception, it becomes necessary 

to demonstrate restraint through 

control of rhetoric and actions 

that can be perceived as a threat 

to the regime. These include 

public statements made by US 

officials and perhaps even a 

reconsideration of this month’s 

joint military exercises between 

the US and South Korea (that are 

said to have included decapitation 

strike drills in the past), at least 

until the ongoing tensions are 

reduced. 

Open bilateral talks 

When Vice President Mike Pence 

visited South Korea earlier this 

year and warned the North that 

the “era of strategic patience is 

over” -- it missed the point that 

strategic patience combined 

with bilateral dialogue has, in 

fact, helped the US secure peaceful 

outcomes with nuclear rivals in 

the past. 

When Stalin’s Soviet Union 

and Mao’s China pursued a path 

of nuclear confrontation with the 

US, the US adopted a policy of 

restraint, and engaged in highlevel, 

bilateral talks until mutual 

agreements were reached. 

The US secured a big win at 

the UN Security Council this 

month, which demonstrates its 

continued ability to lead the global 

community on the issue. If this 

is coupled with a joint US-China 

approach towards Pyongyang, it 

The US has the opportunity to demonstrate responsible leadership once 

again by being the example of restraint, stability, and calm it hopes to 

achieve in the peninsula 

would send a strong message that 

its physical security and economic 

potential are directly tied to its 

commitment to regional peace. 

Strategic patience combined 

with skillful diplomacy has 

worked for the US in the past and 

can be leveraged in this current 

situation just as effectively. 

De-militarisation for denuclearisation 

It’s worth asking the question: 

To what extent are US interests 

served with the continuation of its 

military presence along the DMZ 

for the past 64 years? Is it worth 

the possibility of a nuclear war? 

To complicate matters, the 

current situation is reminiscent 

of the chicken and egg scenario: 

North Korea will not let up its 

nuclear weapons program so long 

as it feels threatened by the US, 

while the US refuses to budge until 

North Korea gives up its nuclear 

program. 

1950s: If North Korea violates the 

agreement (which it has often 

done in the past), or worse, takes 

action against the South, the US 

can, and should be in a position 

to intervene locally with swift 

precision. 

Secretary of Defense Mattis’ 

recent statement warning against 

any action that would threaten the 

US or its allies is the appropriate 

tone to convey in this regard. 

Re-conceptualise and reconcile 

Perhaps it’s time to take a step 

back and reconsider the US’ 

broader role in the region. 

Currently the US is caught 

between an ally and a bad place. 

To add complexity, there is some 

sentiment among the Southern 

ally that US military presence 

along the DMZ comprises 

prospects for an inter-Korea 

reconciliation process. 

The recent election of President 

Moon Jae-in demonstrated a 

immediate reduction of tension 

and a long-term possibility of 

peace. Fortunately, despite 

the concerning rhetoric of the 

past week, there are no visible 

indications that a war is imminent. 

There would be two telltale 

signs of this: 1) The mass 

evacuation of American citizens 

and dependents along the DMZ; 

and 2) a build-up of US military 

presence in the region. 

That said, the first step towards 

peace is to step away from the 

inflammatory rhetoric. The US has 

the opportunity to demonstrate 

responsible leadership once again 

by being the example of restraint, 

stability, and calm it hopes to 

achieve in the peninsula.• 

Samier Mansur is a writer, thinker, and 

entrepreneur who is driven by ideas 

and technologies that make this world 

a happier, and more peaceful place. 

This article first appeared on Huffington 

Post.

What India stands to lose 

China can do a lot of damage to India 

Opinion 15 

DT 


No friendship here 

• Sharif Hasan 

Indian and Chinese troops are 

still in a tense standoff at the 

Doklam Plateau. The rhetoric 

emanating from Beijing 

continues to be belligerent and 

hostile. 

A Chinese commentator was 

quoted saying: “China could carry 

out small scale military action 

if India didn’t immediately and 

unconditionally withdraw its 

troops.” 

But in terms of economic 

relations between the two trading 

partners, who really has the edge? 

And what effect could this conflict 

have on the trade front? 

Bilateral trade between India 

and China is around $71.5 billion, 

but it is not an entirely level 

playing field. 

India’s imports from China 

stand at around $61bn and India’s 

exports to China is around $10bn, 

so the trade deficit is palpable. 

Also, China is becoming a 

significant investor on key areas 

of India’s start-ups. A crucial part 

of this sector of India is getting 

Chinese money, funding, and 

investment. 

Needless to say, the Chinese 

have a considerable influence on 

the Indian economy already. 

For example, more than 50% 

market share of all handsets today 

in India are Chinese, and the 

figures are growing. 

India’s concerns 

In the last three years alone, 

China’s trade surplus with India 

has doubled. The Chinese are 

flooding the Indian market, 

and China has emerged as an 

important creditor, creating a 

Mumbai lobby that’s beholden into 

China. 

So now, India has three major 

concerns strategically. The first 

is that New Delhi is underwriting 

China’s India containment 

strategy, for example, the CPEC 

(China Pakistan Economic 

Corridor) that China is building 

through Pakistan-occupied 

Kashmir (POK) -- it’s total value is 

less than the annual trade surplus 

that China enjoys with India 

(and that’s just one year’s trade 

surplus). 

So, whatever China is doing in 

terms of containing India -- India 

is actually indirectly funding 

that by allowing China to reap 

these burgeoning trade surpluses, 

an estimate of around $60bn 

annually. 

A second concern is the 

domination by China of India’s 

telecommunication and power 

sector, while the third is the 

fact that China is leveraging 

its credit to certain important 

Indian companies, and it has 

created a lobby within India that’s 

putting pressure on the Indian 

government not to do anything on 

the trade front. 

On an even more serious note, 

one thing China is developing 

expertise in is cyber-warfare, 

which can cripple India’s economy. 

What can India do? 

Three sectors are crucial: 

Communication, transportation, 

and energy. 

I don’t think India seems 

to realise that in the event 

of a serious showdown with 

China, they can cripple India’s 

transportation, energy, and 

communication. In order to 

prevent that from becoming 

a reality, giving incentives to 

Taiwan, South Korea, the Japanese 

and others to make India a more 

attractive destination can be more 

beneficial than it seems. 

India doesn’t manufacture 

semi-conductors, it doesn’t 

manufacture the basics of 

insulators or handsets. 

These particular sectors should 

consult and negotiate with private 

sectors, especially where there 

may be certain disincentives for 

the Chinese. 

How to reduce Chinese 

dominance in strategic areas like 

telecom? 

India can’t separate the 

economic elements from the 

geo-strategic elements. Geostrategy 

includes economics as an 

REUTERS 

One thing China is developing expertise in is cyber-warfare, which can 

cripple India’s economy 

essential component. In fact, India 

has to have a holistic, integrated 

approach in which it blends 

military, diplomatic, and economic 

elements into a coherent strategy 

vis-à-vis China. 

When China is waging 

economic warfare against India, 

its goal is to establish a robust 

manufacturing base in India. 

By dumping goods in the Indian 

market, China ensures that Indian 

manufacturing sector doesn’t 

grow. It deprives the Indian 

government of billions of dollars in 

customs, levies, and tax revenue. 

It’s a two-pronged economic 

warfare that is being waged and 

India can only address that if it’s 

part of its geo-strategic plan. • 

Sharif Hasan is currently working as a 

field researcher on behalf of Centre for 

Genocide Studies (CGS), University of 

Dhaka.

16 


DT 

Downtime 

CROSSWORD 

CODE-CRACKER 

ACROSS 

1 Pursue (5) 

4 Fate (3) 

6 Capital of Peru (4) 

8 Swift (5) 

9 Extremities (4) 

11 Emit fumes (4) 

12 Singer (5) 

15 Out of sorts (5) 

18 Require (4) 

20 Not working (4) 

21 Row (5) 

22 Military forces (4) 

23 Heavenly body (3) 

24 Rate of progress (5) 

DOWN 

1 Gem weight (5) 

2 Trembling poplar (5) 

3 Church office holder (5) 

4 Narrow way (4) 

5 Long, protruding 

tooth (4) 

7 Combine (5) 

10 Exploit (4) 

13 Observed (4) 

14 Command (5) 

15 Kills (5) 

16 Bird of prey (5) 

17 Surrender (5) 

18 Pinches (4) 

19 Dash (4) 

How to solve: Each number in our 

CODE-CRACKER grid represents a 

different letter of the alphabet. For 

example, today 2 represents H so fill H 

every time the figure 2 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 

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS 

CODE-CRACKER 

CROSSWORD 

DILBERT 

SUDOKU

Biz Info 

Bengal Meat’s online Qurbani 

haat returns 

17 


Sajida Foundation and Team 

Broken Earth organise 

training on high risk labour 

and delivery management 

DT 

• Features Desk 

Complete Qurbani and Live 

Cattle Delivery – with these 

two services Bengal Meat has 

launched its Online Qurbani Haat 

for the third year in a row. The 

highlight of this year is the sale 

of farm cattle that have been 

fed natural feed, health checked 

by registered veterinarians, 

and rearing management by 

animal husbandry experts with 

minimum three months to one 

year at feedlot. This will allow 

consumers to have steroid, antibiotic, 

and disease free healthy 

cattle for the Qurbani sacrifice. 

Customers can buy live cattle 

or can have Qurbani full service 

online from the Bengal Meat site 

(www.bengalmeat.com/qurbani). 

Live cattle will be delivered at the 

customer’s home with a delivery 

charge, delivery starts 5 days 

before Qurbani and will continue 

till 2 days before the Eid. 

The full service offer entails 

slaughter, cutting of the meat 

as per food safety standards of 

the company, packing the cut 

meat in categorised portions 

in food grade packaging, and 

delivery to customer’s home on 

the second day of the Qurbani 

Eid. Live cattle are available for 

Dhaka, Chittagong, and Sylhet 

city areas and the full service 

will only be catered to Dhaka 

city. Online Haat sales will 

close on 26 August or earlier 

depending on stock. Bengal 

Meat is the only internationally 

certified abattoir in Bangladesh 

with Halal compliance met by 

Islamic Foundation Bangladesh 

and JAKIM of Malaysia. The 

slaughters are monitored by 

dedicated personnel from 

Islamic Foundation Bangladesh 

to ensure that the necessary 

steps in sacrificing animals were 

followed. Bengal Meat plans to 

provide the same service for the 

expats in the near future. • 


Sajida Foundation’s Institute 

of Health Sciences (IHS) in 

collaboration with Team Broken 

Earth - a renowned Canadian 

volunteer task force - organised 

a three-day comprehensive 

training program for healthcare 

professionals to strengthen their 

capacities on high risk labour 

and delivery management. The 

program, sponsored by Renata 

Pharmaceuticals Limited, was 

inaugurated on August 16. 

Md Abdul Karim, Managing 

Director of Palli Karma-Sahayak 

Foundation (PKSF) and former 

Principal Secretary to the 

Government of Bangladesh 

attended the event as the Chief 

Guest. Prof Dr. AHM Enayet 

Hossain, Additional Director 

General of Health Services 

(Planning and Development) and 

Line Director, Non Communicable 

Diseases Control, DGHS, Ministry 

of Health and Family Welfare 

(MoHFW) also joined as Special 

Guests. Guests of Honor at the 

event included Ms. Phedra Moon 

Morris, Head of Aid (Development 

Cooperation), High Commission of 

Canada, Dhaka; Dr Khaleda Islam, 

Director, Primary Healthcare, 

DGHS, MoHFW and Prof Dr. 

Laila Arjumand Banu, President 

Obstetrical and Gynecological 

Society of Bangladesh. 

The three-day hands-on 

training took into consideration 

the high burdens of maternal 

and newborn mortality during 

intra and postpartum periods 

in Bangladesh. The course 

is designed to provide an 

understanding of the latest best 

practices and will help health 

practitioners in providing better 

care for women during labour. • 

Symphony to give away travel 

packages to customers 


Mobile handset brand 

Symphony is launching 

a new consumer offer 

‘Symphony Eid Offer’ 

from today. 

Under this offer, 

customers can win 

foreign travel package, 

free handset and up to 

Tk1000 recharge when 

buying a Symphony handset. 

Edison Group’s premium 

handset brand Helio series is also 

included in this offer. 

Along with the Eid offer, Helio 

S10, S25 is offering free backpack 

and Helio S2 is offering T-shirt, key 

ring as gift. 

Also, Symphony Z9 is being 

offered with free backpack, Z8 

with power bank, ZVII with free 

T-shirt and with P9 comes with a 

Bluetooth speaker as a gift. 

After purchasing a handset, 

customers will have to send a 

message with his/her existing SIM, 

in the reply message he/she will be 

informed the gift he/she has won. • 

NSU observes National Mourning Day 


North South University 

(NSU) held day-long 

program to mark the 

National Mourning Day 

2017 remembering the 

Father of the Nation 

Bangabandhu Sheikh 

Mujibur Rahman and 18 

members of his family, 

who were brutally killed on 

August 15, 1975. 

The program includes 

placing wreath at the 

portrait of Bangabandhu 

Sheikh Mujibur Rahmanat at 

Dhanmondi 32, discussion 

meeting and dua mahfil. 

The national flag was 

hoisted at half-mast along 

with the raising of the black 

flag at the campus. •

DT 

18 

Sports 


The waterlogged Fatullah 

Khan Shaheb Osman 

Ali Stadium makes for 

grim viewing yesterday 

as persistent rainfall 

engulfed the entire 

ground. As per the MoU 

signed by CA and the BCB, 

the lone practice match 

between Australia and 

BCB XI was supposed to 

be held in Fatullah. But 

that looks highly unlikely 

now 

MD MANIK 

CA delegation team inspects ULAB field 

Continuous rain means Fatullah is under threat as venue for Australia’s warm-up game 

• Ali Shahriyar Bappa 

A delegation team from Australia 

arrived in Bangladesh and inspected 

the University of Liberal Arts 

Bangladesh campus field yesterday 

regarding the selection of the 

practice match venue, ahead of the 

two-match Test series between the 

visiting and the home side. 

The two-day warm-up game is 

scheduled to be held on Tuesday 

and Wednesday. 

According to the MoU signed 

by the BCB and Cricket Australia, 

Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in 

Fatullah was selected as the venue 

for the practice match. 

But seasonal rain and waterlogging 

from adjacent factories 

made the venue unavailable for the 

warm-up game. 

The BCB is still trying to manage 

the Fatullah field for the match by 

installing pump and sucking water 

out from the ground. 

But persistent rainfall made it 

difficult to prepare the ground on 

time. 

As a result, the BCB has offered 

three different venues to the delegation 

for the practice match. 

They are Bangladesh Krira Shikkha 

Protisthan field, ULAB campus 

field and Sylhet Stadium. 

The Australia delegation team 

inspected the ULAB field and made 

their remarks on the ground. 

The final decision however, will 

be made after two days. 

The delegation team will visit 

Fatullah Stadium today to inspect 

the overall situation. 

“We are very happy to be here. 

The series is starting soon. The 

Australian team are preparing 

in Darwin at the moment. Frank 

Dimasi and I are here to look at all 

the facilities available and that are 

put up by the BCB,” CA security 

unit manager Sean Carroll told the 

media. 

“Weather is beyond our control 

which we are aware of during any 

series. We will work with BCB to 

get a suitable venue for the practice 

match. 

“We will do a full assessment of 

all our inspections in the next 24- 

48 hours, and then we will sit down 

with the BCB to work out the suitable 

venue for the warm-up game,” 

he said. 

The ULAB field is situated at the 

Mohammadpur Ramchandrapur 

area near Beribadh. It was constructed 

in 2005. 

No first class match has been 

held here. 

But Dhaka Premier Division 

Cricket League team Dhaka Abahani 

Limited and BPL T20 franchise 

Khulna Titans trained here last 

year. 

The other option is BKSP but it 

was learnt that Australia are not 

willing to travel so far. 

It will take almost one and a half 

hours amid normal traffic for the 

Australia team to reach the venue 

from their hotel. 

BKSP has three cricket grounds, 

one of which has hosted practice 

matches for touring sides in the past. 

Fatullah is 25.5km to the south 

from their team hotel in Dhaka, 

while Sylhet is situated 240 kms to 

the east of the capital. 

Sylhet hosted matches during 

the 2014 World T20. •

Sports 19 

DT 


BPL football 

matches 

postponed 

• Tribune Report 

The Bangladesh Premier Football 

League matches, scheduled 

for yesterday evening, were postponed 

due to unplayable condition 

at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, 

which was caused by heavy 

rainfall. 

Newcomer Saif Sporting Club 

were scheduled to play Muktijoddha 

Sangsad Krira Chakra at 5pm 

while Arambagh Krira Sangha and 

Brothers Union were supposed 

to face each other in the second 

match at 7:15pm. 

A head coach of one of the aforementioned 

clubs, who preferred 

not to be named, informed that he 

got the news of the postponement 

in the afternoon, hours before kick 

off. 

A federation official however, 

said they notified the respective 

clubs in the morning. 

It has become a regular occurrence 

in recent times that the premier 

league matches get postponed 

and rescheduled due to unplayable 

pitch during the rainy season. 

Almost every season, the BFF 

sets the league fixtures during this 

time of the year. 

Through a press release yesterday, 

the federation termed 

“unavoidable circumstances and 

playing ground” as reason for postponing 

the matches. 

The two matches are likely to be 

held tomorrow. 

As a result, the rest of the fixtures 

will be bodily shifted for a 

day, which is a common scene in 

domestic football. • 

Rain halts Tigers’ two-day 

practice match 


Bangladesh cricketers spent a lazy 

day yesterday as day one of their 

two-day practice match at Sher-e- 

Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur 

got washed off due to persistent 

rainfall. 

The national selection 

committee had shortened the 

preliminary squad to a 17-member 

team for the warm-up game, which 

failed to start due to overcast 

weather. 

If weather allows, the match 

will start from scratch today at the 

same venue. 

The two-dayer is Bangladesh’s 

second preparation game ahead of 

the two-match Test series against 

Australia, scheduled to begin on 

August 27. 

The Tigers during their twoweek 

long camp in Chittagong had 

played the first practice match, 

which was also affected by rain. 

The Aussies are scheduled to 

reach Dhaka tomorrow night for 

their first longer version series 

against Bangladesh in 11 years. 

Before going into the series, the 

visiting side will play a two-day 

Miraz optimistic with Australia Tests 


Bangladesh cricketer Mehedi 

Hasan Miraz returned home on 

Tuesday from the CPL T20 without 

playing a game during his 18-day 

long stay with franchise Trinbago 

Knight Riders. 

Miraz was available for six 

matches for the Knight Riders and 

despite missing out on on-field action, 

the former Bangladesh U-19 

captain believes he has bagged 

some much needed experience, 

which will aid him in his career. 

The Rajshahi lad also brought 

back memories from Port of Spain, 

the Knight Riders’ home ground 

where Bangladesh registered history, 

defeating India in the 2007 50- 

over World Cup. 

“I had seen that game on television. 

Mushfiqur [Rahim], Shakib 

[al Hasan] and Tamim [Iqbal] had 

scored half-centuries while Abdur 

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha makes a point before training in Mirpur yesterday 

Razzak bhai picked up three wickets. 

Mashrafe [bin Mortaza] was 

the man of the match for taking 

four wickets. Bangladesh bagged 

their maiden win against India 

there so I was really excited to have 

that venue as my home ground in 

the CPL,” Miraz told the media. 

Miraz joined the Bangladesh 

camp in Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla 

National Stadium yesterday. 

With the two-match Test series 

against Australia fast approaching, 

the right-arm all-rounder appeared 

well prepared for the longer format, 

which made him a star overnight. 

Miraz emerged as the next big 

Bangladesh star in his debut series 

against England at home in October 

last year. 

The off-spinner made a sensational 

debut, notching 19 wickets 

in the two-Test series. 

Miraz marked his arrival with 

seven wickets in the first Test, including 

six in the first innings and 

one in the second essay. 

The young Bangladesh bowler 

and his team mates moved to 

Dhaka for the second and final 

Test with a lot of confidence and 

Miraz kept up his match-winning 

exploits, taking six scalps in each 

innings. 

“I do not have a set ambition for 

the Australia series to be honest. It 

is not possible to repeat my performance 

from the England series. It 

happens once or may be twice in 

a lifetime. But then again I will try 

to do my best and fulfill the team’s 

demand. One or two wickets or a 

breakthrough in a good moment 

will do good to the team I believe. 

So I am focusing on those at the 

moment. I have just returned from 

CPL playing with the white ball so 

I have some 10 to 12 days in hand 

to prepare myself for the red ball,” 

said Miraz. 

tour game against a BCB XI. 

The venue for the match 

however, is yet to be decided after 

the primary choice - Fatullah’s 

Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium 

- fell into jeopardy due to severe 

waterlogging problem caused by 

heavy rain. 

The BCB proposed two more 

venues - BKSP and University of 

Liberal Arts Bangladesh’s ground - 

for the Australia tour game. 

A two-member Cricket Australia 

delegation is now in Dhaka to 

inspect the venues for the practice 

match. • 

Bangladesh will be contesting a 

Test series against Australia for the 

first time in 11 years. 

None of the members in the 

Bangladesh squad have ever faced 

the Aussies in this format. 

The senior men in the dressing 

room, including the likes of Shakib, 

Tamim and Mushfiq had to wait 

more than 10 years for a series 

against Australia but not Miraz, 

who is yet to complete a year in international 

cricket. 

“The opportunity is big to play 

Test against a top side like Australia. 

It will be great if I get to 

play them and do well. Playing at 

home is a big advantage so I will try 

my best to make use of it and get 

the best possible result. We have 

Shakib, Taijul [Islam] and myself in 

the spin attack and if everyone do 

their job, then we can get a good 

outcome from the series,” said 

Miraz. • 

Head knock 

won’t stop 

Warner’s 

Bangladesh 

tour 

• AFP, Sydney 

MD MANIK 

Australian vice-captain David 

Warner is expected to be fit for the 

upcoming Bangladesh tour after 

retiring hurt when he was struck 

in the neck by a bouncer during a 

warm-up match. 

The opener was hit by a Josh 

Hazelwood delivery in a chilling 

blow Tuesday that saw him drop to 

his knees and let go of his bat, with 

captain Steve Smith rushing from 

slips to check on his deputy. 

Appearing shaken, Warner removed 

his helmet and immediatly 

walked off the field leaving his bat 

behind. 

Cricket Australia’s news site 

cricket.com.au said the fiery 

left-hander had passed a concussion 

Test and would be available 

for the tour of Bangladesh, but 

would sit out the rest of the intra-squad 

match in Darwin, Australia’s 

Northern Territory. 

“It’s good that Davey’s fine,” 

Aussie pacemen Pat Cummins said 

after close of play Tuesday. “He’s 

a little bit stiff and sore, but just 

speaking to him then, he’s all fine.” 

A focus on player safety has 

been heightened since the tragic 

death of Australian batsman Phillip 

Hughes. 

Hughes, who played 26 Tests, 

died from bleeding on the brain in 

November 2014 after being hit on 

the base of the skull by a rising ball 

at the Sydney Cricket Ground during 

a domestic match. 

The Australian squad flies to 

Dhaka tomorrow for the two-Test 

tour which begins on August 27. •

20 


DT 

European Transfer 

Albion sign Everton midfielder Barry 

West Bromwich Albion signed former England midfielder 

Gareth Barry from Everton for an undisclosed fee 

on Tuesday. Barry has agreed a one-year contract with 

the Baggies after being told he could leave Goodison 

Park following Everton’s summer spending spree. The 

36-year-old missed Everton’s opening Premier League 

match against Stoke City on Saturday because of an 

ankle problem, but he hopes to be back in action with 

his new club soon. “I want to come and help the team. That’s always been the 

same for me wherever I have played,” Barry told Albion’s website. “I want to help 

the team improve, work hard and hopefully add quality.” Former Aston Villa and 

Manchester City midfielder Barry has made 628 Premier League appearances. 

PSG’s Matuidi set for Juventus medical 

Midfielder Blaise Matuidi is on the verge of signing for 

Juventus, who have agreed to pay Paris Saint-Germain 

20 million euros plus bonuses, according to reports on 

Wednesday. French international Matuidi is expected at 

Torino’s Caselle airport later on Wednesday to undergo 

a medical and sign a deal that would see the 30-yearold 

earn 3.5m euros ($4.1m) per season, according 

to Gazzetta dello Sport. If confirmed, Matuidi would 

become Juve’s ninth signing of the season alongside the likes of Douglas Costa 

(Bayern Munich), Mattia Di Sciglio (AC Milan), Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina) 

and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny (Roma). 

Sports 

Liverpool survive missed penalty 

to win in Hoffenheim 

• Reuters 

Teenager Trent Alexander-Arnold 

curled in a magnificent free kick 

on his European debut to set Liverpool 

on the way to a 2-1 win at 

Hoffenheim which put them on the 

brink of Champions League group 

stage place on Tuesday. 

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet 

saved an early penalty and 

James Milner’s shot was deflected 

into his own net by Havard Nordtveit 

for the English Premier League side’s 

second goal in an end-to-end match. 

A last-minute own goal by 

Young Boys defender Kasim Nuhu 

handed CSKA Moscow a 1-0 away 

win while Sporting were held to 

a goalless draw at home by FCSB, 

formerly Steaua Bucharest, in the 

RESULTS, 1ST LEG 

Nicosia 2-0 Prague 

De Camargo 2, Aloneftis 10 

Young Boys 0-1 CSKA 

Nuhu 90+1og 

Hoffenheim 1-2 Liverpool 

Uth 87 Alexander-Arnold 35, 

Nordtveit 74og 

Sporting 0-0 FCSB 

Qarabag 1-0 Copenhagen 

Madatov 25 

other playoff ties. 

Alexander-Arnold, 18, who only 

made his Premier League debut 

in December, curled a free kick 

through a gap in the Hoffenheim 

wall 10 minutes before halftime as 

Liverpool survived a rocky start. 

It could have been very different 

if Andrej Kramaric had converted a 

penalty for the Bundesliga side in 

the 12th minute but he saw a weak 

effort saved by Mignolet. 

Liverpool had another let-off 

just before halftime when Mignolet 

saved from Kramaric and Sandro 

Wagner rolled the rebound wide 

of the post. Hoffenheim had more 

possession but Liverpool were more 

threatening and went further ahead 

in the 77th minute. 

The host lost possession trying 

to play their way out of defence, 

the ball was switched to substitute 

Milner on the left and his shot from 

a narrow angle deflected off Nordtveit’s 

chest and into the top corner. 

Mark Uth pulled one back with 

three minutes left. • 

Bacca returns to La Liga with Villarreal loan 

Villarreal have landed Colombian striker Carlos Bacca 

on loan for the season from AC Milan, replacing the 

departed Roberto Soldado, who joined Fenerbahce last 

week. Bacca, who signed for Milan in 2015 after two 

seasons at Sevilla, was the Serie A side’s standout player 

during a disappointing season. “The deal includes an 

option to buy the player once the campaign is finished,” 

Villarreal said in a statement. Bacca, 30, has scored 165 

goals in 336 games in his career, with 13 in 39 coming for Milan last season. 

Spaniard Jese joins Stoke on loan from PSG 

Spanish forward Jese has joined Stoke City on a season-long 

loan from Paris Saint-Germain, the two clubs 

announced yesterday. “Jese was a man in demand when 

PSG made it clear they would allow him to leave on loan 

and we’re delighted he has chosen to join us,” said Stoke 

chief executive Tony Scholes. “He hasn’t had the happiest 

of periods in his career in Paris but he’s still only a 

young man and is hungry to make a big impression in 

the Premier League.” The 24-year-old Spanish youth international only joined PSG 

from Real Madrid a year ago but failed to establish himself in the French capital 

and spent the second half of last season on loan at his native Las Palmas. He won 

the Champions League twice with Real and was top scorer when Spain lifted the 

European U-19 Championship in 2012. He is Stoke manager Mark Hughes’s sixth 

signing of the season joining the likes of Darren Fletcher, Kurt Zouma, Eric Maxim 

Choupo-Moting, Bruno Martins Indi and Josh Tymon at The Potters. 

Newcastle sign Spanish striker Joselu 

from Stoke 

Rafael Benitez’s frustration at missing out on several 

transfer targets abated a little as Spanish striker Joselu 

yesterday agreed a move to Newcastle United from 

Stoke City. The 27-year-old, who scored just four times 

for Stoke in 27 appearances, cost Newcastle a reported 

£5m (5.4m euros, $6.4m) and signed a three year 

contract. “I feel very happy because I have signed for a 

very big club,” he told the club website. “I’m very happy 

to be part of this club, and so excited. I’m looking forward to getting to know my 

team-mates, the city, the training ground, the stadium and all the supporters,” 

added Joselu, who spent last season on loan with Deportivo la Coruna. Joselu, 

who will compete with Dwight Gayle and Aleksandar Mitrovic for a place up 

front, is Benitez’s sixth summer signing. 

Hoffenheim’s Ermin Bicakcic and Liverpool’s Sadio Mane vie for the ball during their Champions League qualifier in Sinsheim, 

Germany on Tuesday 

AFP 

‘Arsenal risk losing Sanchez for free’ 

• Reuters 

Arsenal risk losing striker Alexis 

Sanchez for free next season, according 

to manager Arsene Wenger, 

who confirmed the club have made 

no progress on a new contract for 

the Chilean striker. 

Sanchez, 28, is currently in the 

final year of his contract. 

He has been linked with a move 

to Paris St Germain in the current 

transfer window. 

“We have not progressed on 

that front,” Wenger said in a news 

conference before Arsenal head to 

Stoke City on Saturday. 

“At the moment, he is a player 

who goes into the final year of his 

contract and prepares for the season. 

We have not made any progress 

on the other front. 

“It’s not an ideal situation on the 

financial side and it demands some 

sacrifice...but it doesn’t mean the 

players who are in the final year of 

their contract will not extend their 

contract. We will work on that as 

well.” 

Wenger said Sanchez is still recovering 

from an abdominal strain 

but is expected to regain full fitness 

before the club’s match in Liverpool 

on Aug. 27. 

“For Sanchez, it (Stoke) looks 

a little early, but he works hard 

in training,” Wenger added. “He 

should be available for next game 

against Liverpool. 

“His recovery is going very well, 

he is working very hard. But you 

have to be very cautious. It was a 

muscle strain and (you have to be 

wary) not to have any setback on 

it.” 

The manager confirmed midfielders 

Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 

who are also in 

the final year of their contracts, are 

firmly in his plans for the current 

season. 

Wilshere returned to action 

from a fractured leg during Arsenal 

Under-23’s 3-2 win over Derby 

County earlier this week. 

“It’s good that he is back and 

available,” Wenger said. •

Sports 

21 


DT 

England’s Ali ready 

for life in the pink 

• AFP, Birmingham 

Moeen Ali is confident it will take 

more than a pink ball to put him off 

his stride during England’s inaugural 

day/night Test. 

The off-spinning all-rounder 

was England’s man-of-the-series 

after starring with both bat and ball 

during the recent 3-1 Test triumph 

at home to South Africa. 

Now Birmingham-born Moeen 

returns to the city’s Edgbaston 

ground, where he came through 

the youth ranks with Warwickshire 

before joining Midlands rival 

Worcestershire, for what will also 

be the England team’s first taste 

of floodlit Test cricket in a series 

opener against the West Indies 

starting today. 

There has been much talk about 

how the pink ball - required for 

floodlit Tests as the players’ traditional 

clothing makes the white 

ball familiar from one-day internationals 

as unusable as the standard 

red - will affect bowlers. 

But Moeen, who hit a fifty but 

bowled just three overs during 

the day-night round of County 

Championship fixtures scheduled 

as preparation for this Test, said: 

“It’s different...it feels lighter off 

the bat. 

“Sometimes you don’t feel 

like you’ve hit it, and it goes; other 

times you’ve nailed it, and it 

doesn’t,” he added at an event 

staged by series sponsors Investec. 

“But you get used to it...I did by 

the end of the (net) session.” 

As for bowling with a pink 

ball, the 30-year-old Moeen, who 

against South Africa became the 

first man to take 25 wickets in a 

four-Test series, said: “The seam is 

good - it’s not quite as slippery. It 

spun, maybe because the seam is 

hard. 

“Seeing it is fine. It will be interesting 

at twilight, but I will try not 

to think about it.” 

There have been suggestions 

that the pink ball does not swing as 

much or for as long as the traditional 

red cricket ball. • 

Ranatunga slams Sri Lanka Cricket over whitewash 

• AFP 

Former skipper Arjuna Ranatunga 

blamed Sri Lanka’s cricket board 

Tuesday for the squad’s crushing 

three-Test series whitewash on 

home soil against India. 

Ranatunga said Sri Lanka’s XI 

could not be faulted for the humiliating 

3-0 drubbing described by skipper 

Dinesh Chandimal as the worst 

series of his career, but squared the 

blame entirely with management. 

“Sri Lanka cricket is going 

through the worst period,” Ranatunga 

told reporters in Colombo. 

“You can’t blame only the players, 

they are demoralised. It is the 

fault of the management.” 

The comprehensive series defeat 

Neymar becomes 

goodwill ambassador 

for world’s disabled 

• Reuters 

Neymar, fresh from his first win with Paris St. Germain and his 

world-record signing for the club, became a goodwill ambassador for 

Handicap International on Tuesday, pledging to work for millions who 

are “less visible” but deserve equality. 

The Brazilian forward, whose 222m-euro ($259.72m) signing from 

Barcelona this month doubled the world- record transit fee, mounted 

a huge statue of a chair outside the U.N. in Geneva that symbolises 

landmine victims. He kicked a football to fans standing below and into 

the U.N. grounds. He wore a black baseball cap and Handicap International 

black t-shirt with the inscription “Repair Lives”. • 

Newly appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Handicap International Neymar kicks the ball in Geneva on Tuesday 

compounded woes for a side beset 

by injuries and leadership changes. 

Ranatunga renewed calls for Sri 

Lanka Cricket chief Thilanga Sumathipala 

to be sacked, and urged the 

International Cricket Council to investigate 

management at the board. 

Last week, Ranatunga, 53, told 

AFP there was no “proper discipline” 

in the national side, which 

AFP 

has suffered a string of humiliating 

home defeats in recent months. 

“We don’t have selectors with a 

backbone,” Ranatunga said, referring 

to the panel headed by Sanath Jayasuriya, 

a former teammate of Ranatunga’s 

1996 World Cup-winning side. 

Ranatunga has accused Sumathipala 

of involvement in gambling 

– a charge which would preclude 

him from a board position at 

SLC – and urged the ICC to investigate. 

Sumathipala has vehemently 

denied the allegations. 

Sumathipala told AFP last week 

that Ranatunga was leading a 

smear campaign against him in a 

bid to wrest leadership of the board 

for himself. • 

DAY’S WATCH 

CRICKET 

STAR SPORTS SELECT 2 

6:58 PM 

West Indies Tour of England 2017 

1st Test, Day 1 

TENNIS 

SONY ESPN HD 

9:00 PM 

ATP 1000 Masters 2017 

Open Cincinnati Day 4, Session 1 

Sharapova awarded US Open wildcard 

• Reuters 

Former world No 1 Maria Sharapova 

will make her first grand slam 

appearance in over 18 months after 

she was awarded a main-draw 

wildcard for the upcoming U.S. 

Open, organisers said on Tuesday. 

The 30-year-old Russian, who returned 

from a 15-month doping ban 

earlier this year, was denied a wildcard 

at the French Open, then missed 

the grasscourt season, including 

Wimbledon, with a thigh injury. 

Sharapova tweeted on Tuesday: 

“Thank you, @usopen. This is so so 

special. #goosebumps”. 

Sharapova tested positive for 

the drug meldonium in 2016, 

which had been added to the World 

Anti-Doping Agency banned substances 

list in January of that year. 

The winner of five grand slam 

titles, including the 2006 U.S. 

Open, said she was unaware of the 

change. 

“Her suspension under the 

terms of the tennis anti-doping 

programme was completed and 

therefore was not one of the factors 

weighed in our wild card selection 

process,” the United States Tennis 

Association said in a statement. •

22 


DT 

Showtime 

Nirab awaiting Bollywood 

debut 

• Showtime Desk 

Bangladeshi actor-model Nirab 

Hossain is all set to make his 

Bollywood debut with a horrorthriller 

this October. The film, 

titled, Sheitaan (also known 

as Raaz E Sheitaan), is based 

on a true story and depicts the 

controversial understandings 

between the Shia and Sunni 

Muslim communities. The film 

is scheduled to be released in 

Indian theaters on October 11, 

2017. 

Nirab Hossain will pair up 

with Bollywood actress Kavita 

Radheshyam in the film while 

Pakistani actress Meera is said 

to have played an important 

role in it. Written by Faisal Saif 

and directed by Sameer Khan 

from his personal banner Faith 

Pictures Inc, the filming for 

Sheitaan began at end of last 

year. 

While talking about the 

release, Nirab said, “I would 

be very happy if the film gets a 

Bangladeshi release. However, 

the producers of the film are the 

right people to talk about this.” 

The film was previously 

known by its working title, 

Balaa.• 

IGCC’s musical soiree 


The Indira Gandhi Cultural 

Centre has organised a musical 

soiree of Rabindra Sangeet, 

featuring performances from 

Sutapa Chakrabarty, and a 

tabla recital performed by 

Pandit Parimal Chakrabarty 

from India, at the Poet 

Sufia Kamal Auditorium, 

Bangladesh National 

Museum, in Shahbagh on 

August 19 at 6.30pm. 

Being inspired by her 

parents in early childhood, 

Sutapa Chakraborty star 

learning how to play the 

sitar at the tender age of 

five, under the guidance 

of Smt Dipti Chanda, and 

later from eminent sitarist 

Sri Satyanarayan Mondol. 

Sutapa Chakraborty 

learnt Rabindra Sangeet 

under the tutelage of 

Sri Prasanta Sengupta, 

a renowned Rabindra 

Sangeet artiste and a senior 

disciple of eminent artiste 

Sri Subinoy Roy. A regular 

artiste of All India Radio and 

Kolkata Doordarshan, Sutapa 

Chakraborty has performed 

with well known artists in 

different parts of India. She has 

also done extensive research 

on Rabindranath Tagore and 

Rabindra Sangeet. 

One of the leading tabla 

players in India, Pandit Parimal 

Chakrabarty started exploring 

the hidden joys of music from 

the tender age of four, under the 

guidance of his father Sri Nikhil 

Chandra Chakrabarty. Later, he 

got the opportunity to take talim 

from Late Ram Dhrube and Late 

Padmabhushan Pandit Gyan 

Prakash Ghosh. 

Since 1976, he was under 

the tutelage of versatile tabla 

maestro Late Pandit Shankar 

Ghosh, a doyen of Farukkabad 

Gharana. He stood first in the All 

India Radio Music Competition 

from Kolkata and thereafter 

became an “A” grade artiste of All 

India Radio. He has participated 

in more than seventy National 

Programmes of All India Radio 

and Doordarshan, including tabla 

solos and Akashvani Sangeet 

Sammelans. He has given 

performances at many major 

events in India, as well as abroad, 

with well known artists. He has 

worked with several music labels 

including HMV, Times Music, 

T-Series and Bihaan Music.• 

Cate Blanchett 

to play witch in a 

gothic horror 


Cate Blanchett is on the verge 

of landing a role in The House 

With a Clock in Its Walls. 

The Academy Award winner 

would star alongside Black 

Jack in the big screen version 

of the gothic horror novel. 

Directed by Eli Roth, 

the film is an adaptation 

of the 1973 horror novel by 

author John Bellairs, while 

Eric Kripke, the creator of 

Supernatural, will pen the 

film’s screenplay. 

The story revolves around 

a recently orphaned 10-yearold 

boy, who finds himself in a 

world of hidden passageways, 

magic, and danger in his 

uncle’s old house. Soon, the 

boy discovers a clock inside 

the walls of his house that 

is designed to bring about 

doomsday. 

The Lord of the Rings alum 

has a list of exciting upcoming 

films including Ocean’s 8 

and a Lucille Ball biopic for 

Amazon. She will also be seen 

as the villainous Hela in Thor: 

Ragnarok. •

Showtime 

Ananta Jalil preaches on 

23 


WHAT TO WATCH 

DT 


Famous Dhallywood actor Ananta 

Jalil last made headlines after 

his preaching antics at Dhaka’s 

Dhanmondi lake, on July 29. The 

actor was seen inviting his fans to 

join hands with him for the love 

of Islam at Rabindra Shorobar 

which was cut short since he 

did not ask for permission from 

relevant authorities regarding the 

gathering. 

Ananta’s sudden religious 

stance was also publicised by 

various international media 

outlets. 

However, the actor seems to 

be committed to Tabligji Jamaat 

after he recently announced his 

stay at a Naraynaganj mosque for 

the purpose of preaching Islam. 

Ananta confirmed on a Facebook 

post about his stay at the Baitul 

Aqsa mosque of Fatulla’s Enyaet 

Nagar from August 18 onwards. 

AJ also invited his fans to join 

him with a video message saying, 

“I am announcing the time and 

place of the Tablighi Jamaat for 

your convenience so that you can 

join me.” 

The actor also called for help for 

the people affected by the recent 

floods. “A severe flood has affected 

our country. Let’s help the affected 

people with all we have - let’s 

stand beside them,” he added. • 

Lights Out 

6:28pm, HBO 

A former heavyweight boxing 

champion struggles to find his 

identity after retiring from the 

ring. 

Cast: Holt McCallany, Stacy 

Keach, Catherine McCormack, 

Pablo Schreiber, Meredith 

Hagner, Ryann Shane, Lily 

Pilblad 

Casino Royale 

3:20pm, Movies Now 

Armed with a license to kill, 

Secret Agent James Bond sets 

out on his first mission as 

007 and must defeat a private 

banker to terrorists in a high 

stakes game of poker at Casino 

Royale, Montenegro but things 

are not what they seem. 

Cast: Eva Green, Mads 

Mikkelsen, Judi Dench, Jeffrey 

Wright, Daniel Craig 

Daniel Craig to return as James Bond 


After creating quite the buzz 

among the James Bond fans, 

Daniel Craig officially confirmed 

that he will return to playing 

the role of Agent 007 in the 

upcoming edition of the 

franchise, Bond 25 on The Late 

Show with Stephen Colbert, 

last Tuesday. Prior to the 

announcement, there were 

rumours that the actor is in 

talks to portray the iconic spy 

yet again. But Craig never 

confirmed it personally — until 

his appearance on Colbert’s 

show where he made the 

announcement that he will be 

returning for his fifth film as the 

famous spy. 

The 49 year actor said that he’s 

known he would reprise the role 

for “a couple of months” now. 

“We’ve been discussing it, we’ve 

just been trying to figure things 

out. I always wanted to, I needed 

a break,” he explained. 

Craig also added that it would 

be the last time he would tackle 

the iconic role, 

saying, “I just want to 

go out on a high note, 

and I can’t wait.” 

Earlier in a Boston 

radio program 

Craig said, “I’d hate 

to burst the bubble, 

but no decision has 

been made at the 

moment. There’s a lot 

of noise out there and 

nothing official has 

been confirmed and 

I’m not, like, holding 

out for more money 

or doing anything like 

that. It’s just all very 

personal decisions 

to be made at the 

moment.” 

“I know they’re 

desperate to get going and I 

would, in theory, love to do it but 

there is no decision just yet,” he 

added. 

However, Craig apologised 

on The Late Show for previous 

statements, saying, “I have to 

apologise to all the people I’ve 

done interviews with today, 

because I wanted to tell you,” 

referring to Colbert. 

Daniel Craig has been playing 

Agent 007 since 2006’s Casino 

Royale, and has since starred 

in three other Bond films: 

2008’s Quantum of Solace, 

2012’s Skyfall and 2015’s Spectre. 

The actor made headlines 

following the release of the 

latter after making negative 

comments about the possibility 

of continuing the role. “I’d 

rather break this glass and slash 

my wrists,” the star told Time 

Out London in 2015 regarding a 

possible return to the role. • 

Baby’s Day Out 

2:09pm, Star Movies 

Baby Bink couldn’t ask for 

more; he has adoring (if 

somewhat sickly-sweet) 

parents, he lives in a huge 

mansion, and he’s just about 

to appear in the social pages of 

the paper. Unfortunately, not 

everyone in the world is as nice 

as Baby Bink’s parents 

Cast: Kevin Showker, Joe 

Mantegna, Lara Flynn Boyle, 

Joe Pantoliano, Brian Haley 

The Departed 

5:19pm, WB 

An undercover cop and a mole 

in the police attempt to identify 

each other while infiltrating an 

Irish gang in South Boston. 

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt 

Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark 

Wahlberg, Martin Sheen

24 


DT 

Back Page 

DNCC MAYOR ANNISUL HUQ ADMITTED 

TO ICU AT LONDON HOSPITAL › 7 

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INSPECTS ULAB FIELD › 18 

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PM Hasina calls 

on president 

• Fazlur Rahman Raju 


Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, 

Road Transport and Bridges Minister 

Obaidul Quader and Law Minister 

Anisul Huq met with President 

Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban in 

Dhaka yesterday. 

The top leaders of the ruling 

party Awami League went to Bangabhaban, 

the president’s official 

residence, around 7:30pm. The 

meeting continued till 10pm. 

“During the meeting, Sheikh 

Hasina talked about the verdict on 

the 16th Amendment and its observation, 

but we are yet to take 

the decision of review,” Obaidul 

Quader told journalists after the 

70 years on, Bangladesh outperforms India, Pakistan 


FEATURE 

It is now 70 years since British colonial 

rule in India was ended with the country’s 

partitioning into three successor 

nations we know today as India, Pakistan 

and Bangladesh. 

The United Nations considers these 

states to be at levels of “medium human 

development”, while collectively the economies 

of South Asia are termed “powerhouses 

of Asian economic growth”. 

And yet in each country, and in Bangladesh 

particularly, most people still live 

below the poverty line and work irregular, 

unstable jobs with little to no security. 

So how much progress has really 

been made since partition? 

Examining how each country has 

fared since 1947 can serve as a corrective 

to the chest-thumping that is often 

so far removed from the reality. 

Eight charts compare Bangladesh to 

India and Pakistan. Data for China has 

PID 

meeting. 

“The PM also described the 

flood situation in the country’s 

northern region to the president,” 

he continued. 

In this regard, President Abdul 

Hamid advised the premier take 

necessary measures to meet the 

needs of flood-affected people. 

Awami League Joint General 

Secretary Abdur Rahman told the 

Dhaka Tribune: “During the meeting, 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina 

discussed the verdict and the problems 

that followed.” 

Earlier, Obaidul Quader, who is 

also Awami League general secretary, 

met with Chief Justice Sinha 

on August 13. Quader and Sinha 

met with President Abdul Hamid 

the following day. • 

also been included, so as to illustrate 

what might have been had Bangladesh 

taken a different direction after 1971. 

Bangladesh has made unquestionable 

progress since 1947, even more 

so since independence from Pakistan 

was achieved in 1971. Indeed, what the 

data shows is that Bangladesh seems to 

have, in large part, shrugged off the economic 

legacy of its 24 years as a structurally 

disadvantaged East Pakistan. 

Yet, while it often performs more 

strongly than India and Pakistan, in absolute 

terms the figures that Bangladesh 

posts are still poor by global standards. Indeed, 

China, which was in 1950 even poorer 

than East Pakistan, outperforms Bangladesh 

in seven of the eight indicators. This 

is something that must be rectified. 

Bangladesh lags behind in GDP 

per capita 

In 1950, East Pakistan lagged marginally 

behind West Pakistan and India in per 

capita income. In 2010, despite doubling 

its per capita income from $540 to $1,276 

PM: Mustaque, Zia were also behind 

Bangabandhu’s assassination 


EVENTS 

Renewing her allegation that 

Khandker Mustaque Ahmad and 

Ziaur Rahman had their part in the 

conspiracy to kill Father of the Nation 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur 

Rahman along with most of his 

family members, Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina urged countrymen 

to remain alert against those who 

wanted to push the country backward. 

“The killers executed the killing 

mission in a planned way and 

there was a big conspiracy behind 

that. Killer Mustaque and 

his cohort Ziaur Rahman were 

involved in that conspiracy as 

Mustaque declared himself president 

illegally and made Zia the 

army chief soon afterwards,” 

the premier said on Wednesday, 

reports UNB. 

She was addressing a discussion 

organised by Awami League at the 

Bangabandhu International Conference 

Centre marking the 42nd 

anniversary of martyrdom of Father 

of the Nation Bangabandhu 

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. 

“We want to take the country 

forward, but still there’re some 

in the intervening 60 years, an independent 

Bangladesh had fallen further behind 

in relative terms. Pakistan, which had 

only been $103 better off, was now $1,218 

richer in per capita terms, while India’s 

growth was even more impressive, swelling 

from $619 in 1950 to $3,372 in 2010. 

Bangladeshis live the longest 

India and Pakistan’s superior economic 

performance, however, has surprisingly 

not led to better life expectancy. The average 

Bangladeshi can expect to live to 

72, while Pakistanis and Indians can expect 

to live to 66 and 68, respectively. 

people who want to push it backward. 

The country’s people will 

have to remain alert about them,” 

Sheikh Hasina added. 

With the passage of time, she 

said, Ziaur Rahman grabbed power 

illegally and held three posts 

– President, Chief Martial Law Administrator 

and the Army Chief – 

simultaneously. 

Sheikh Hasina said Ziaur Rahman 

then promulgated the Indemnity 

Ordinance blocking the path 

for holding trial of the killers of 

Bangabandhu, apart from rehabilitating 

them through appointing 

them in various Bangladesh missions 

abroad. 

“Even Zia freed the convicted 

war criminals,” she added. 

The prime minister said Barrister 

Mainul Hosein then had formed 

a progressive political party with 

killers Huda and Shahriar while Zia 

had made Bangabandhu’s killers 

prime minister, ministers and even 

his advisers, Ershad had formed 

Freedom Party with killers Rashid 

and Huda and Khaleda Zia had 

made killers Rashid and Huda opposition 

MPs through the controversial 

and voter-less February 15 

election in 1996. 

Mentioning that nowadays all 

become vocal when a killing takes 

India more unequal than 

Bangladesh 

Bangladesh’s relatively higher life expectancy 

could be explained by its better 

performance in inequality rates. The Gini 

coefficient of disposable income, a measure 

of inequality, sees Bangladesh lodged 

between India and Pakistan. Nonetheless, 

in Bangladesh, where the economic 

pie is smaller, its effects are more pronounced 

than in either India or Pakistan. 

Bangladeshi women have highest 

average incomes 

Bangladesh is again strong when it 

comes to women’s purchasing power, 

significantly outperforming Pakistan 

and standing marginally ahead of India. 

This is likely because of Bangladesh’s 

garments industry, which is driven by a 

mainly female workforce. 

Bangladeshi poverty rates similar 

to those of Indi 

Bangladesh, despite performing marginally 

better than India, nonetheless 

performs weakly when it comes to the 

percentage of its population living in 

poverty. Bangladesh and India’s poverty 

rates, of 56.8% and 58%, are far worse 

than the Pakistan rate of 36.9%. 

place, she said but no one questions 

why those who remained 

in power after 1975 rewarded the 

Bangabandhu killers, Hasina said 

further. 

She alleged that after that heinous 

killing, she could not seek 

justice as that right was snatched 

through the Indemnity Ordinance. 

“Even Ziaur Rahman didn’t allow 

my younger sister Sheikh 

Rehana to renew her passport,” 

she said. 

Sheikh Hasina said Rehana first 

joined a rally in Sweden in 1979 in 

protest against the Bangabandhu 

killing. 

Later, an inquiry commission 

was constituted in 1980 in London 

comprising Nobel laureate Sharon 

Bright and British parliament 

member Sir Tomas William to investigate 

the killing. 

“But Ziaur Rahman didn’t 

allow them to come to Bangladesh,” 

she said adding had not 

Zia been involved in the killing 

he would have let the Investigation 

Commission to conduct their 

investigation.” 

She also sought the blessings of 

all so that no one can play ‘ducks 

and drakes’ with people’s fate and 

so that no one can snatch the possibility 

of enjoying a better life. • 

Lowest rates of child hunger are in 

Bangladesh 

Among the three South Asian states, Bangladesh 

performs best in rates of child hunger. 

Indeed, measured as the percentage 

of children under five receiving adequate 

nutrition, it scores 36.1%, far better than 

Pakistan and marginally more than India. 

Bangladesh takes better care of 

children 

Bangladesh not only performs better in 

child hunger statistics, but posts the lowest 

under five mortality rates. Almost a 

quarter better than India and more than 

50% better than Pakistan’s, Bangladesh’s 

37.6/1000 is, in relative terms, impressive. 

Bangladesh posts highest 

percentage of stable jobs 

Bangladesh also posted the highest percentage 

of stable jobs, at 57.8%. In contrast, 

India posted over 80% in what the 

UN defines as ‘vulnerable employment’, 

which is defined as “percentage of employed 

people engaged as unpaid family 

workers and own account workers”. • 

A version of this story was first published 

in the Mint 

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, 

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