Government
No government-funded overseas tours for public sector employees
The government on Wednesday imposed a bar on foreign travels of all officers and employees of state-owned organisations under its operational and development budget amid dwindling foreign exchange reserves and the current global context.
The bar on foreign tours will apply to all government officials, working at different ministries, divisions, directorates, departments, offices, public sector corporations, state-owned, autonomous and semi-autonomous companies until further notice, the Finance Division said in a notification.
However, taking permission from the government, the officials will be able to go abroad for education, training and workshop if expenses are covered by development partners and other countries, it added.
Earlier, they were previously barred from travelling abroad due to the ongoing global crisis and post-Covid economic recovery.
Read more: $4.5 billion loan: IMF reaches preliminary agreement with Bangladesh
In May, the finance ministry, in an order, asked all government, semi-government, and autonomous organisations, together with government banks and financial institutions, to restrict their employees' foreign tours.
Read more: BB halts foreign trips of its officials, employees
'Environment for 5G rollout already in place': Mustafa Jabbar
The environment required for rolling out 5G services in the country is already in place, Post and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar said on Tuesday.
The minister was speaking at a roundtable discussion on '5G Technology: Prospects and Actions' organised by Telecom Reporters' Network, Bangladesh (TRNB) and mobile operator Robi at a city hotel.
“Along with the business purpose of 5G, we all need to work towards solving the problems of the people,” he added.
Read more: '5G can change the face of industry in Bangladesh'
Speaking at the same event, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder said an integrated market survey needs to be conducted to understand how the 5G services can be rolled out commercially.
Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) can play a leading role in this regard, he added.
However, Hossain Sadat, corporate affairs officer of Grameenphone, said the ecosystem needs to be transformed to roll out 5G here. Besides, the towers will need a lot of electricity.
“5G spectrum needs to be rolled out, we have 700 and 3.5 spectrum ready,” said BTRC system and service division director general Brigadier General Md Nasim Parvez
"If necessary the existing policies will be changed for the welfare of all. Even if there is a need to share the spectrum, initiatives will be taken," he added.
Read more: Modi unveils 5G mobile internet services in India
At the event, the managing director of the state-owned Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) Md Rafiqul Matin said, “We are connecting the economic zones. We are trying to use a 5G connection when it rolls out. Working together with all the operators, we will move forward through infrastructure sharing.”
Shaban Mahmood gets 2-year extension at Bangladesh's New Delhi mission
The government has extended the contractual appointment of Shaban Mahmood for two more years as minister (press) at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi.
His two-year appointment will be effective from November 22 or the date of his joining as part of the continuation of the current appointment.
Read more: Journalist Shaban Mahmood new minister (press) in Delhi
The Ministry of Public Administration issued a gazette notification on his re-appointment on Wednesday.
Shaban Mahmood, former special correspondent of daily Bangladesh Pratidin, was appointed as minister (press) in November 2022.
BNP chairperson’s adviser Sabihuddin laid to rest
BNP Chairperson's advisory council member and former secretary to the government Sabihuddin Ahmed was laid to rest in the capital on Tuesday night.
Sabihuddin, also a former Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK, was returned to the earth at the Banani Graveyard around 8:50pm, BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan told UNB.
Earlier, his namaz-e-janaza was held at Gulshan Azad Mosque after Esha prayers.
Before the janaza, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir placed a wreath at Sabihuddin’s coffin as a mark of last respect on behalf of the party.
Sabihuddin, who had been undergoing treatment at United Hospital after suffering a brain stroke, breathed his last at around 7:35am on Monday at the age of 76.
He is survived by his wife, a son, a daughter and a host of relatives and well-wishers to mourn his death.
Mirza Fakhrul and Sabihuddin Ahmed were particularly close throughout their life, having been students of the same batch of the Economics Department at Dhaka University and they remained close friends.
Completing his education, Sabihuddin joined the Pakistan Civil Service. After the independence of Bangladesh, he served as the information officer of different ministers.
Read: AL leader Sajeda Chowdhury laid to rest
He served as the private secretary to then Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia in 1991. Later he returned to the information cadre.
In 2001, Sabih Uddin Ahmed joined the Ministry of Forest and Environment as Secretary. Later he was appointed as Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK.
After retiring as a secretary, Sabihuddin actively joined BNP politics and was appointed as a foreign affairs advisor of the party chairperson.
He became inactive in politics from 2017 after developing neurological complications.
Govt office hours rescheduled to 9am-4pm
The government has changed work hours for all government and autonomous offices in Bangladesh.
The changed office timing is 9 am to 4 pm, which will be effective from November 15 next.
The decision came at the regular cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her office here.
Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam briefed reporters after the meeting at the secretariat.
Read: Govt likely to reduce office hour or introduce virtual office: State Minister
However, the Supreme Court and Bangladesh Bank will fix their respective office hours, he said.
On August 22, Bangladesh government rescheduled office timing, from 8am to 3pm, for all government and autonomous offices and from 9am to 4pm for all banks to save electricity amid the energy crisis.
Land-related disputes: Act being planned to handle offences
The government is contemplating on ‘Prevention and Remedies of Land Related Offences Act’ to reduce the number of land-related lawsuits as it thinks the major share of the country’s criminal and civil cases originate from land disputes.
Once enacted, according to an official document, the government thinks that it will enable immediate trial of the land-related offences and reduce the number of criminal and civil cases involving land.
As per available data, nearly 3.7 million cases remain pending at courts, including the Supreme Court.
To reduce the number of land-related lawsuits, the government has taken steps to reform existing laws and regulations and introduce new ones, the document says.
The government has taken steps to complete quickly and timely the e-mutation in land management, collection of land development tax online, and distribution of ledger and mouza map through the postal department, it says.
The e-mutation activities have been introduced in a total of 487 Upazila and Circle Land Offices and 3,617 Union Land Offices across the country, except in three hill districts.
“This has reduced time, cost, travel, suffering and harassment of the people,” according to the document.
Service Portal (land.gov.bd) or Call Center (16122) or Union Digital Center (UDC) has been launched. It is because of these interventions, landowners at any time from any part of the world can get QR code enriched receipts instantly for paying land development tax online.
It says that Bangladesh has recently been awarded prestigious “World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)” for successfully implementing the online Land Development Tax System.
Steps have been taken to deliver e-Record of Right (ROR) called Khatian to the citizens through the Bangladesh Postal Department.
Moreover, arrangements have been made to get printed Records of Rights immediately by setting up kiosks in various populated places.
A call center has been set up through which people can lodge any complaints and receive any services related to land.
The document also said that steps have been taken to establish a link between e-registration and e-mutation system to simplify land service and improve its quality.
It says sub-registrars will be able to verify the land records from the Digital Record Room System online before land registration because of this.
Read: ‘Hearing of e-mutations, miscellaneous cases to start soon through video conferences’
Similarly, the Assistant Commissioner (Land) will get the documents of registration and information of the land sold through the e-mutation system along with the registration, based on which the mutation process can be started automatically.
Once the e- mutation is connected with the e-registration across the country, the suffering of the people will be reduced and the relevant land records will be updated automatically. As a result, the chances of lawsuits and forgery will be reduced, it says.
As part of digital land management, arrangements have been made to upload all information related to acquired land and Sairat Mahal.
There are initiatives to preserve all the information in Land Information Bank related to waterbody, balumahal, khas land, vested property, hat-bazar, tea garden, chingrimahal and all information related to the acquired land.
“As a result, it is possible to get all the information related to the leased and settled land, Sairat Mahal, the public landed property immediately,” the document says. “The Land Information Bank is also playing an important role in making decisions regarding land acquisition and land allotment,” it says.
Women must take bold steps forward: KM Khalid
State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid has said the government is implementing various steps to empower women, to which they need to be aligned by taking bold steps of their own.
The state minister shared his remarks as the chief guest at an event marking the first anniversary of a special Gender Equity & Empowerment Program, or GEEP, undertaken by Vromonkonnya, a women-focused travel organisation.
A two-day workshop titled ''Leadership Boot-camp & Peace Concert 1.0" was held at Dhaka University’s TSC auditorium.
The journey of 'Vromonkonnya-Travelettes of Bangladesh' as an organisation started in November, 2016 as the first women-focused travel organisation in Bangladesh.
In addition to travelling, they are working in 64 districts to raise awareness on the liberation war, self-defence techniques, women's health, prevention of child marriage, adolescent problems and more, among students of various educational institutions.
Congratulating Vromonkonnya, Khalid said, “We want to congratulate the team of Vromonkonnya for taking these bold and noteworthy steps and setting up great examples that our women need to follow.”
Adding to the importance of travelling, he said, “Our Bengali culture is traditional, rich and diverse for thousands of years. We have more than 500 archaeological sites. Through travelling, we can learn about our history and heritage on the one hand, and on the other hand, we can enrich ourselves with knowledge.”
Read: Cinema preserves time through narrating real-life stories: KM Khalid
The event, featuring its slogan "End racism, Build peace," was also joined by Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Abul Monsur.
It also featured several panel discussants representing different sectors in society, including Bangladesh Police Special Branch DIG (Counter Terrorism Intelligence) Shamima Begum, Deputy Secretary and Bangladesh Tourism Board Deputy Director Rahnuma Salam Khan, US-Bangla Airlines Public Relations GM Md Kamrul Islam, UNDP Bangladesh Youth Coordinator Mahamudul Hasan, cartoonist and monthly satire magazine UNMAD’s Assistant Editor Morshed Mishu and popular band Chirkutt’s founder-vocalist Sharmin Sultana Sumi.
Akbar Ali Khan no more
Former advisor to the caretaker government and economist Dr Akbar Ali Khan passed away in Dhaka Thursday night after a prolonged illness. He was 78.
Akbar Ali Khan was born in 1944 at Nabinagar in the Brahmanbaria district. He studied history at Dhaka University and secured first place in first class in both BA and MA exams. He studied economics at Queen's University Canada and obtained MA and PhD in economics.
He joined the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) in 1967. He actively participated in the Liberation War and was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment in absentia by a military court of the occupation forces. He joined the provisional government of Bangladesh as deputy secretary, Ministry of Defense.
Akbar Ali taught development economics and development administration for three years at the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center as a member directing staff. He taught postgraduate courses in governance and development studies departments at Brac University after his retirement.
He served with distinction in various ministries. He worked at the Ministry of Finance for more than 16 years at levels of joint secretary and above. He was chairman of the NBR and secretary of the Internal Resource Division for nearly three years.
Akbar Ali served as finance secretary for more than five and half years covering three consecutive governments. He was appointed the cabinet secretary in 2001 and retired from that position in 2002.
He was an advisor in charge of the ministries of finance, planning, commerce, post, telegraph and telephones in the caretaker government in 2006 and resigned in protest against the failure of the chief advisor in ensuring a free, fair and impartial election. He also served as the first chairman of the Regulatory Reforms Commission during 2007-2009.
As Finance Secretary, he played a prominent role in establishing Grihayana Tahbil (Fund for Housing of the Poor) and Karmasangsthana (Employment Generation) Bank. He was the chairman of the Social Development Foundation for two years.
Dr Khan served as minister (economic) at Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC for four years from 1987-1991. He was the alternative executive director of the World Bank for more than three years, as the representative of the governments of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and India.
He was elected chairman of the 42-nation FAO sub-committee on Surplus Disposal (Food Aid) for the year 1989. He was elected Vice Chairman of the Officials Committee of the UNCTAD Trade Summit in Columbus, Ohio in 1995.
He has published 14 books and several articles on economics, history, public administration, literature and water resources in various national and international journals. His first book "Some Aspects of Peasant Behavior in Bengal" was praised by The Journal of Economic History (USA) as "a significant contribution to the growing body of new economic history in South Asia."
Dr Khan's book "Discovery of Bangladesh" was rated by the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh as the best publication in humanities for the period 1996-98 and was awarded the Justice Md Ibrahim gold medal. His book "Parathaparatar Arthaniti" was highly commended for its wit and originality by Desh – the most widely circulated literary magazine of Kolkata.
His book "People's Participation in Budgetary Process in Bangladesh: In Search of Policy Reforms" was published in 2008 by Shamunnay – a national advocacy NGO. His latest publications include "Abak Bangladesh Bichitra Chhalanajale Rajneeti" (2017), "Gresham's Law Syndrome and Beyond" (2015,) "Ajab and Jabor Ajab Authraneeti" (2013), "Andhakarer Utsa Hote" (2011), "Friendly Fires, Humpty Dumpty Disorder and other Essays" (2010).
Akbar Ali was a member of the American Economic Association and a life member of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. He was awarded the Maulana Akram Khan gold medal for distinguished public service and the Mercantile Bank gold medal for economics research.
He was elected fellow of Bangla Academy in 2010 in recognition of his contribution to the economics and history of Bangladesh.
Also read: Momen mourns Akbar Ali Khan's death
One year on, Afghans at risk await evacuation, relocation
More than a year after the Taliban takeover that saw thousands of Afghans rushing to Kabul’s international airport amid the chaotic U.S. withdrawal, Afghans at risk who failed to get on evacuation flights say they are still struggling to find safe and legal ways out of the country.
Among those left behind is a 49-year-old interpreter who worked for a NATO contractor in 2010 accompanying convoys in Kandahar. Only six days after the Taliban reached the capital last August, they came looking for him.
“They come to my house and they threatened my son and my wife (when) I was not at home. They (then) destroy my office,” he told AP via WhatsApp referring to the place where he taught English. He asked that his name not be revealed for security reasons.
This month, he was interrogated by the Taliban again for more than two hours.
During the chaotic days of the U.S. pullout, he had tried several times to reach Kabul Airport but, like many, failed to get through massive crowds made even more dangerous by attacks around the airport that killed dozens. He then tried to leave Afghanistan by crossing the land border with Pakistan but was stopped by the Taliban who demanded $700 per person to cross — money he did not have. To make matters worse, his passport is no longer valid.
Like millions of Afghans, he’s also been impacted by the country’s economic freefall, caused in part by international sanctions and vanishing foreign aid.
“We eat once a day,” the interpreter said. Still, he continues hoping he and his family will leave Afghanistan at some point.
“I never give up because of my future and my children future,” he said.
Since their return to rule, the Taliban have been trying to transition from insurgency and war to governing, with the hard-liners increasingly at odds with the pragmatists on how to run a country in the midst of a humanitarian and economic crisis. But a year on they have so far failed to gain international recognition. Initial promises to allow girls to return to school and women to continue working have been broken.
Those who have failed to evacuate include interpreters and drivers but also women journalists, activists and athletes who say they cannot live freely under a Taliban-led government.
The U.S., together with other Western nations, hastily evacuated more than 120,000 people, both foreign nationals and Afghan citizens, in August last year.
Some 46,000 Afghans who remained in the country after Aug. 31 have since applied for U.S. humanitarian parole, according to the Migration Policy Institute. But only 297 have been approved so far.
Because there is no longer a U.S. consulate in Afghanistan, asylum-seekers must make their way to other countries with consular services for in-person interviews.
The list of obstacles to getting out of Afghanistan is extensive, starting with the difficulty in obtaining passports as offices repeatedly close due to technical problems.
“Today, the vast majority of Afghans don’t have access to legal identity, meaning if they need tomorrow to be able to get to safety legally, they can’t,” said Nassim Majidi, co-founder and executive director of Samuel Hall, an independent think tank that conducts research on migration and displacement. Majidi was speaking at a seminar organized by the Migration Policy Institute looking at the situation of Afghans in Afghanistan and abroad a year after the withdrawal.
Read: Taliban: 2 civilians killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan
Around 2,000 Afghans and their families who worked with NATO, its agencies, and member countries were among those evacuated from Kabul according to the military alliance. But the evacuations were organized by individual member countries. NATO, as an organization, had no repatriation plan.
Evacuations from third countries are still happening, although sporadically. Earlier this month a plane carrying nearly 300 Afghans who had collaborated with the Spanish government landed in Madrid. Germany and France also have continued to work on evacuation cases, Majidi said.
But thousands of Afghans are still living in limbo in third countries including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo and Albania while they wait for their applications to be processed for resettlement to the United States and Canada.
Though life-saving for many, the evacuations also fractured families. Among them is that of an Afghan journalist who asked to remain anonymous, fearing for the safety of her relatives in Kabul.
“It was really difficult to leave everything behind in an hour,” she told the Associated Press in a phone interview from her new home in Nijmegen, in the Netherlands, which she moved into after months of living in a temporary refugee shelter.
The government of the Netherlands had called her on Aug. 26 offering a single spot on an evacuation flight. Her relatives told her she needed to save herself first if she wanted to help them.
A year later, three of her family members have recently managed to get evacuated to France, she said. But despite repeated family reunification requests to the Netherlands and other European countries, the majority of her siblings remain in Kabul, living across the street from a police station now in Taliban hands.
On June 17 one of her older brothers was allegedly beaten to death by Taliban forces on the street after he was found carrying a photo of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the leader of the Northern Alliance that fought the Taliban, she said.
Days later, she said, the men showed up at the family’s home and forced them to sign a death certificate that stated he had died of “natural causes.” The AP was unable to independently verify her claims.
With most of her family still in Afghanistan and many bureaucratic hurdles to face in the Netherlands, it has been difficult to start a new life, she said.
“Until now it is just darkness.”
Office timing rescheduled for 8:00am to 3:00pm to save electricity
The government on Monday rearranged the office timing from 8:00am to 3:00pm for all the government and autonomous offices and from 9:00am to 4:00pm for all banks in a bid to save electricity amid short supply.
The decision came from the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who joined it through a virtual platform from her official residence Ganobhaban.
Other cabinet members attended the meeting from the conference room of the Cabinet Division in Bangladesh Secretariat.
“The new office timing would be effective from Wednesday next,” said Cabinet Secretariat Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing reporters after the meeting.
Besides, there would be two weekly holidays in the educational institutions, he said, adding that the education ministry will now issue a circular in this regard.
Read: Govt likely to reduce office hour or introduce virtual office: State Minister
In the meeting, the Cabinet asked the power, energy and mineral resources ministry to ensure the uninterrupted electricity supply in the rural areas from midnight to dawn for the next 10-15 days so that the irrigation is not hampered.
The Cabinet directed the government offices to remove curtains from there to get natural lights as well as to use air coolers as little as possible in order to reduce the use of electricity, said Anwarul Islam.
In the meeting, the governor of Bangladesh Bank declared the new timing for the banks, he said.
The decisions (new office timing and two weekly holidays in educational institutions) will save electricity and ease traffic congestion, said the top bureaucrat.