Tens of thousands of Muslims gathered near Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka for the annual Biswa Ijtema, one of the largest Islamic congregations in the world. The three-day event takes place on the banks of the Turag River in Tongi. Devotees from across Bangladesh and 72 other countries are attending the congregation with scholars from India, Pakis...
ISLAMABAD (AA) – With at least 685 fatalities, 2024 was a deadly year for Pakistani security forces, the Center for Research and Security Studies said in a report. Security forces killed 934 suspected militants. The violence took the heaviest toll on the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, followed by southwestern Balochistan provi...
Bangladesh is ramping up trade with Pakistan in apparent retaliation to India, signaling a shift in regional dynamics. The government is encouraging importers to source goods from Pakistan, as seen with the arrival of a Panama-flagged cargo ship at Chittagong port on Sunday. The ship carried 811 containers of industrial materials, garment raw ...
ISLAMABAD (AA) – Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for improved relations with Afghanistan and urged Kabul to take action against violent elements living on their soil. Speaking during a Cabinet meeting, Premier Sharif said the Afghan interim government should take practical actions to eliminate militant hideouts on its s...
Bangladesh has asked India to extradite ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. She fled to India on Aug. 5 after a student-led uprising against her 15-year rule. The uprising left more than 700 people dead and led to a transitional government under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain confirmed a formal request for Hasina’s ...
ISLAMABAD (AA) – Pakistan has rejected claims by a senior US official regarding its ballistic missile program, labeling them as baseless and counterproductive to bilateral ties. In a statement, Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that the allegations are “unfounded, devoid of rationality and sense of his...
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and top officials are accused of running a systematic program of enforced disappearances, according to a preliminary report by a government inquiry. The report alleges thousands of victims, mostly political opponents and dissidents, were abducted and held in secret prisons during Hasina’s 15-year ...
A Bangladesh inquiry commission has implicated former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her top security officials in cases of enforced disappearances. The commission, led by retired Justice Mainul Islam Chowdhury, submitted its report, “Unfolding the Truth,” to transitional government leader Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka. Preliminary findings revea...
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – People in Bangladesh would have to wait a year or more to elect a new government, the country’s transitional leader said as the South Asian nation marked its 54th “Victory Day” on Monday. “I have repeatedly appealed to you to complete all the major reforms and hold the election. However, d...
An Afghan minister in the Taliban-led administration was killed, along with six others, in an explosion on Wednesday. Afghanistan’s local media reported acting Refugees and Repatriation Minister Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani was killed inside his ministry building in the capital Kabul. Haqqani’s nephew, Anas Haqqani, told reporters the ...
