United News of Bangladesh

Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Sunday attended the Foreign Ministers' preparatory meeting for the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha, convened to discuss Israel’s recent military attack on the State of Qatar. The meeting was chaired by Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Qatar is hosting the two-day summit of Arab and Muslim leaders to formulate a joint response following what it called Israel’s “cowardly” aggression against Doha. Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha and Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit also addressed the meeting, according to a statement from Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Foreign Adviser Hossain, who arrived in Doha on Sunday morning, is leading the Bangladesh delegation. The delegation includes Additional Foreign Secretary M Forhadul Islam, Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the OIC MJH Jabed, and Bangladesh Ambassador to Qatar Mohammad Hazrat Ali Khan. The government of Bangladesh on Wednesday unequivocally condemned the recent Israeli military aggression against Qatar. Such actions constitute a clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar, as well as of international law and the principles of the UN Charter, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement. Bangladesh called upon the international community, particularly the United Nations and relevant stakeholders to take appropriate measures to ensure accountability and to uphold respect for international law and the UN Charter. Bangladesh said it stands in steadfast solidarity with the government and people of the brotherly State of Qatar in the face of this unlawful and unprovoked attack. This incident is yet another indication of Israel’s continued disregard for regional stability, international peace, and established international norms, Bangladesh said in its statement. "Such actions undermine global efforts towards peace and security," the statement read.

BNP will soon announce extensive programmes across the country to register protests against ongoing Israeli genocide and barbaric aggressions in Palestine. BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed made the announcement on Thursday while speaking at a protest rally on the Dhaka University campus. Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal arranged the programme at the Raju Memorial Sculpture to express solidarity with the people of Palestine and protest against the genocide and barbaric attacks in Gaza and Rafah by Israeli occupation forces. "On behalf of BNP, I would like to announce that we will soon launch extensive programmes across the country and centrally to protest this Israeli genocide and barbaric aggression and to express our support for the Palestinian people," Salahuddin said. He said the Palestinian people are among the most persecuted, oppressed and subjected to mass killings in the world at the hands of Israel. The BNP leader urged the leaders of Muslim countries to raise their voices strongly against the ongoing genocide in Gaza and Rafah by Israeli occupation forces. "We call upon the leaders of all Muslim countries, as well as the superpowers that support Israel, to take action right now to stop the genocide in Palestine," Salahuddin said. He questioned the role of the United Nations (UN) regarding the Palestinian genocide. "Israel has never respected any UN resolution. They do not respect any UN rules or regulations, nor do they follow any directives or resolutions of the UN." The BNP leader lamented that whenever a resolution in favour of the Palestinian Muslims is passed at the United Nations, one or two superpower countries that support Israel use their veto power. BNP blames govt, police for failure to contain vandalism He said these superpowers are behind Israel's aggression and they must be held accountable to the people of the world for their role. “We demand an immediate end to the mass killings in Gaza and Rafah. People across the globe have woken up. People worldwide, including in Bangladesh, protested yesterday (Monday) and joined the 'No Work, No School' campaign,” the BNP leader said. Salahuddin alleged that the previous fascist Awami League government indirectly granted recognition to Israel by removing the clause from passports that barred the people of Bangladesh from visiting Israel. “Yet they used to shed crocodile tears for the Muslims of Bangladesh and for Muslims worldwide. Bangladeshi passports used to bear a clause that said, “This passport is valid for all the countries of the world except Israel.” But the Awami League government, in 2021, removed this clause without any public announcement when it introduced the new e-passport. Salahuddin claimed that Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government had procured Pegasus spyware from Israel, which was used to persecute opposition political leaders, activists, democratic forces, social groups and anyone who had protested against the fascist regime. "No matter where Hasina has now taken shelter, the people of Bangladesh will continue to denounce the fascist and anti-Islam regime of Awami League,” he said. The BNP leader also said Sheikh Hasina regime was hostile to Muslims, Islam, and the Ulema as it was supporter of pro-Israelis in the world.