Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, second from right, and her delegation attend a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on July 10, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met President Xi Jinping and her Chinese counterpart Li Qiang in Beijing on July 10 as the two countries signed 21 agreements, MoUs and announced seven more projects to further elevate their strategic cooperative ties.

During the meetings, both countries agreed to elevate their “strategic partnership” to a “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership,” Bangladesh’s state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) reported.

Also Read | India is a political friend, China is a friend for attaining development: Bangladesh Minister

China will help Bangladesh economically in four ways by giving grants, interest-free loans, concessional loans and commercial loans, the Chinese President said during the bilateral meeting with Ms. Hasina, it said.

Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Bangladesh’s State Minister at the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications & Information Technology posted a photo of the two leaders’ meeting on X and said, “Hon’ble President of China, H E Mr Xi Jinping met and held a bilateral meeting with the Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday.”

Foreign Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud briefed the newsmen about the outcome of the meeting between the two leaders and described it as: “A very successful discussion was held between the two leaders in a very cordial environment.”

Giving out details about the Li-Hasina meeting, BSS said the agreements were inked in the presence of Ms. Hasina and Mr. Li after the delegation-level talks between the two countries.

Earlier, the Bangladesh Prime Minister was accorded a red carpet reception and greeted by Premier Li as she reached for the bilateral meeting.

The bilateral talks mainly featured the Rohingya issue, business, trade and commerce, investments, and bilateral relations alongside various regional and international matters.

The instruments on cooperation in the economic and banking sector, trade and investment, digital economy, infrastructure development, assistance in disaster management, construction of 6th and 9th Bangladesh-China friendship bridges, export of agricultural products from Bangladesh and people-to-people connectivity were signed, the BSS report said.

Beijing:

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived here on Tuesday on a four-day visit for talks with China’s top leadership, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang to further cement the bilateral strategic ties.

In her separate meetings with Xi and Li on Wednesday, the entire gamut of the bilateral relations alongside the regional and international matters will come for discussion, the official BSS news agency reported.

This visit of the Bangladesh premier to China is taking place within 15 days after her last visit to India from June 21 to 22, the Bangladeshi news agency reported.

Hasina had her last discussions with President Xi in a recent meeting on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Hasina will also hold a delegation-level bilateral meeting with her Chinese counterpart Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People. Following the meeting, Bangladesh and China are likely to sign and renew 20 to 22 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), the report said.

“The MoUs on cooperation in the economic and banking sector, trade and investment, digital economy, infrastructure development, assistance in disaster management, construction of 6th and 9th Bangladesh-China friendship bridges, export of agricultural products from Bangladesh and people to people connectivity are likely to be signed,” Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud said on Sunday at a curtain raiser press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Bangladesh.

During the visit, Dr Hasan said the inauguration of several projects of the two countries will also be announced.

The issues like Rohingya, and cooperation on business, trade, commerce and development will dominate the discussions.

This is Hasina’s fourth visit to China and the trip is expected to elevate the relations between Bangladesh and China to “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership” from “strategic partnership”, the report said.

The two countries would celebrate the golden jubilee of their diplomatic relations next year.

Meanwhile, China’s top political advisor Wang Huning met with Prime Minister Hasina on Tuesday in Beijing.

Wang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said that under the strategic guidance of the two countries’ leaders, China and Bangladesh have respected and treated each other with equality, setting a good example of friendly coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation between countries.

China is ready to deepen practical cooperation with Bangladesh in various fields, and push the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries to a new height, to better benefit the two peoples, Wang was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Dhaka:

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Tuesday that Bangladesh would gauge proposals from both India and China to build a mega project on the cross-border Teesta River involving a reservoir and accept the better one for her country.

PM Hasina, who visited India last week at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, described her trip as “very fruitful” and said the outcome of her talks with India’s top leadership will play a “pivotal role” in strengthening the existing bilateral relations and opening new avenues of cooperation.

“We undertook the Teesta projects. China has proposed, and so has India. We will evaluate both proposals and accept the one that is most beneficial and acceptable in terms of the interests of our people,” the 76-year-old leader said while addressing a press conference here.

Asked which side she favoured more as far as India and China were concerned regarding the Teesta Project, PM Hasina said, “We maintain our friendships based on the developmental needs of our country”.

“When we receive a proposal, we consider factors such as its suitability for us, our capacity to repay any loans, the returns we will enjoy after project completion, and how it will benefit the people of our country,” she said.

China has completed a physical survey on the project while India expressed its willingness to do another study regarding the implementation of the Teesta project.

India is presumed to have a reservation over China’s involvement in a major project near its strategic Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chicken’s Neck, while Bangladesh’s foreign ministry earlier said Dhaka would “take into cognizance the geopolitical issues” in proceeding with the proposal.

According to Bangladesh officials, China in 2020 proposed a major dredging work on the Teesta River and building reservoirs and embankments without India having to play any role, but Bangladesh has kept the billion-dollar project on hold.

Several analysts said the Chinese involvement in the project could complicate the India-Bangladesh dispute over the major common river.

The Teesta water sharing agreement has been in the talks since the Awami League government returned to power in 2009 while PM Hasina today said “Bangladesh has a longstanding issue over Teesta River water sharing with India”.

“So, it will be easy for Bangladesh if India does the Teesta project. In that case, we won’t need to talk about the Teesta water sharing always,” she added.

PM Hasina simultaneously said Bangladesh has a longstanding issue with India over water sharing of the 54 common rivers but added that “if there are problems, there are solutions as well”.

“India has agreed to cooperate with us on the Teesta project. A joint committee will be formed to decide not only how the water will be shared but also how to revive the river, use it for cultivation in the northern region, and enhance its navigation,” she said.

She said the water-sharing discussion included river dredging, constructing embankments and water conservation measures as well.

“India will send a technical team after the 1996 Ganges water treaty expires in 2026. The team (with their Bangladesh counterparts) will explore options and negotiate the terms,” she added.

Dhaka and New Delhi were set to ink the Teesta Agreement during former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Bangladesh visit in 2011 when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was also supposed to be his entourage member.

But Ms Banerjee precluded her from his entourage at the last minute, opposing the treaty.

India and Bangladesh agreed to sign the deal but it could not be materialised due to opposition from the West Bengal government.

Indian media reports have suggested that the West Bengal government decided in principle to dig two new canals to divert the Teesta waters for irrigation purposes in the Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts.

Replying to another query about Ms Banerjee’s objection to the Indian government’s move over the Teesta and Ganges rivers water sharing with Bangladesh, PM Hasina said she doesn’t want to make any comment over the issue as it is solely their internal matter.

But PM Hasina said she has a good relationship with all the political parties in India, including PM Modi and Ms Banerjee.

Asked how she wanted to strike a balance regarding ties between India and China in her fifth term, four in a row, the premier said there was nothing to balance as her government was following a foreign policy principle that suggests — “Friendship to all, malice to none”.

Mr Hasina said India is very important for Dhaka as they along with the Freedom Fighters shed blood for the independence of Bangladesh during the 1971 Liberation War.

Simultaneously, she said, there were many things to learn from China about how the country could be developed.

“We maintain the relations considering all these aspects,” she said, adding that she never interfered with what relations the two countries have.

“I work for the welfare and development of the country and people maintaining friendly relations with all.” She also said she didn’t see any problem with maintaining relations with India and China.

The premier said she went to New Delhi as she was first invited to visit India to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Modi and later invited for a state visit to India and now, she would visit China as that country has also invited her.

Replying to a question about rail transit to India, she said Bangladesh and India decided to resume the rail connectivity considering their trade and commerce and socio-economic development.

The premier said Bangladesh is an independent country and “we liberated the country through the Liberation War”.

She said everyone should keep in mind that India was the only force in the world which left a country after helping in its liberation and referred to the American troops of allied forces which were still staying in Japan and Russian troops in Germany.

“Even then, some talk about the rail issue that Bangladesh will be sold to India. How do they say this? Those who talk like this are themselves sold to India,” she said.

They criticise India publicly and flatter secretly, she added.

“Look at Europe where there are no borders. Is one country selling itself to another country there? …will we keep our doors shut in Bangladesh?” she added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The inherent strength of India-Bangladesh relationship was once again in evidence as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, decided to visit New Delhi days after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ease with which the top leadership in Delhi and Dhaka now interact and engage each other is a tribute to the manner in which Modi and Hasina have managed to build this important partnership over the last decade, often under very difficult circumstances. If Modi had to contend with the opposition at the state level in West Bengal, where the ruling party decided to veto the Teesta Pact, Hasina had to face the anti-India constituency in Bangladesh. Despite this, both leaders stood firm in their belief that building resilience in this partnership is important for not only bilaterally but also regionally.

“Trusted Friend”

On her first official overseas visit to any country since she returned to power earlier this year in January, Hasina underlined: “India is our major neighbour, trusted friend and regional partner. Bangladesh-India relations are growing at a fast pace.” Modi reciprocated by highlighting the special nature of this visit: “Because she is our first state guest after our government returned to power for the third term.”

Also Read | “Unilateral Discussions…”: Mamata Banerjee To PM On Bangladesh Talks

The visit saw the signing of 10 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), which covered areas as diverse as digital and green partnerships, maritime cooperation, and, notably, the ‘Shared Vision for India-Bangladesh Rail Connectivity’. The joint statement outlined a shared bilateral and regional vision for peace, prosperity and development, driven by connectivity, commerce and collaboration. In that spirit, some important new initiatives were announced, including e-visa for patients from Bangladesh, new train and bus services, joint technical committee for Ganga Water Treaty, visit of an Indian technical team to Bangladesh for a mega project to conserve and manage the Teesta river, export of 40 MW of power from Nepal to Bangladesh through Indian grid, and training of Bangladeshi police officers. Building Bangladesh’s defence capability has also emerged as a priority, with the two nations deciding “to explore defence industrial cooperation for modernisation of the Armed Forces of Bangladesh”.

Identifying Opportunities, Counterbalancing China

Hasina will be visiting China in July. It is a sign of a new maturity in India-Bangladesh relations that the two nations continue to work closely together even as they develop their ties with other nations. New Delhi has not stopped Dhaka from its engagement with China but it has some concerns that Hasina has always ensured are addressed. Since 2020, China has been regularly expressing an interest in the $1 billion project to develop the Teesta river. Last year, Beijing submitted a formal proposal.

Also Read | Tripura Chief Minister Gifts 500 Kg Of Queen Pineapples To Bangladesh PM

For Bangladesh, this has been a long-standing priority. The Manmohan Singh government had an agreement in place in 2011, which could not be taken forward due to the opposition from the Chief Minister of West Bengal. For Hasina, the situation had become unsustainable, with the opposition clamouring for a response amidst moves by the Chinese. Her visit before going to China was a wise move to ensure that New Delhi had a chance to respond, and India has done well to respond to the initiative. The decision to send an Indian technical team to Dhaka for talks on the conservation and management of Teesta river is an indication that New Delhi is not willing to cede its strategic space in the neighbourhood despite domestic challenges. The decision to commence technical negotiations for the renewal of the 1996 Ganga Water Treaty is also a timely move to respond to the concerns in Dhaka on an issue that is a priority for the Hasina government.

Rock-Solid Ties

For India, the importance of Bangladesh cannot be overstated as New Delhi seeks to emerge as an Indo-Pacific player with the Bay of Bengal as the regional epicentre. For Bangladesh, a partnership with India remains key to realising its full potential as a critical economic and strategic player in the region. As the two nations become more ambitious in defining their strategic outlooks, their bilateral partnership will continue to be a key enabler in shaping their behaviour.

The China factor, while important, should not be overstated. India-Bangladesh ties today stand on their own merit. Hasina and Modi have ensured that by focusing concrete tangible outcomes for the people of both nations, they have redefined the contours of what an ideal partnership between two neighbours should look like. Mutual respect, mutual interest and mutual sensitivity have made this relationship an exemplar for all others.

[Harsh V Pant is Vice President for Studies and Foreign Policy at ORF.]

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina will hold wide-ranging talks on Saturday to give a new momentum to the bilateral ties.

Hours after Hasina began a two-day state visit to India, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met her and discussed various bilateral issues.

“Delighted to call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh this evening. Her State visit to India underlines our close and abiding ties.

Appreciate her guidance on the further development of our special partnership,” he said on X.

Bangladesh is a key partner and trusted neighbour of India and PM Hasina’s visit will give a major boost to the “celebrated bilateral partnership”, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

It is the first incoming bilateral state visit by a foreign leader after the formation of the new government in India following the Lok Sabha elections.

The Bangladesh prime minister was received at the airport by Minister of State in the external affairs ministry Kirti Vardhan Singh.

PM Modi and Sheikh Hasina are scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks on Saturday during which both sides are likely to firm up a raft of agreements providing for cooperation in several sectors.

Hasina was among seven top leaders from India’s neighbourhood and the Indian Ocean region who attended the swearing-in ceremony of Modi and the Union council of ministers at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 9.

Apart from holding bilateral consultations with Modi, the visiting leader is scheduled to call-on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

The talks between the two prime ministers are expected to focus on taking the bilateral ties to new heights, said a source.

The overall strategic ties between India and Bangladesh have been on an upswing in the last few years.

Bangladesh is an important partner for India under its “Neighbourhood First” policy and the cooperation extends to areas of security, trade, commerce, energy, connectivity, science and technology, defence and maritime affairs among others.

The achievements in the connectivity sector included the inauguration of the Maitri Setu bridge over river Feni in Tripura and the rollout of the Chilahati-Haldibari rail link.

Bangladesh is India’s largest development partner with nearly one-fourth of New Delhi’s commitment under the Line of Credit has been made to that country.

The neighbouring country is India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia and India is the second biggest trade partner of Bangladesh in Asia.

India is Bangladesh’s largest export destination in Asia, with approximately USD 2 billion of Bangladeshi exports recorded to India in 2022-23.

The two countries share 4096.7 km of border — the longest land boundary that India shares with any of its neighbours.

There is active cooperation between various agencies of both countries to cooperate on police matters, anti-corruption activities and to combat illicit drug trafficking, fake currency, human trafficking, among others.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday jointly inaugurated three projects via virtual mode, including a key rail link between Tripura’s Nischintapur and Gangasagar in Bangladesh.

The other two projects inaugurated by PM Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart are the 65-km Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line and Unit 2 of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant in Bangladesh’s Rampal.

The cross-border rail project near Tripura’s capital Agartala and Akhaura in Bangladesh is expected to boost cross-border trade, and significantly reduce the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata via Dhaka. When fully completed, the cross-border rail link will cut the travel time from Kolkata to Agartala from 36 hours to 12 hours.

PM Modi hailed the inauguration of the Cross Border Rail Link as a “historic” moment.

“It is a matter of joy that we have come together again to celebrate the successful cooperation between India and Bangladesh. Our relationship is touching new highs. Together, we have achieved in the last nine years what has not been achieved in decades,” Prime Minister Modi said.

The projects are important for India’s Look East Policy and will also boost connectivity to the northeast which is heavily dependent on the narrow Chicken’s Neck or Siliguri Corridor. They are also a testament to India’s commitment to the region around the Bay of Bengal with organizations like the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) which has its secretariat in Bangladesh.

‘First Rail Link Between Northeast, Bangladesh’

During the inauguration of the Agartala-Akhaura Rail Link, PM Modi highlighted the impact of these projects, especially during the pandemic with oxygen trains. “This is the first rail link between the northeast and Bangladesh,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

“We have focused especially on infrastructure, connectivity and in the last nine years, we have started three new bus services. We have connected Dhaka, Shillong, Agartala, Guwahati and Kolkata. In the last nine years, we have started three new railway services. From 2020, we started container and parcel services,” he added.

“In the last nine years through Chittagong and the Mongla Port, we have connected the northeastern states of India. Our connectivity initiative worked as a lifeline during the Covid pandemic,” Prime Minister Modi said.

“In the last nine years, four new immigration check posts have been opened on the India-Bangladesh border and our bilateral trade has nearly tripled. The journey of these nine years has made us reach the inauguration of the Agartala Akhaura Railway Link and it is a historic moment,” he added.

‘Firm Cooperation Between Countries’

Sheikh Hasina said the relationship between Bangladesh and India is anchored in history culture language and both countries share values of secularism, democracy, and countless other commonalities.

She added that Bangladesh attaches the highest importance to its relationship with India with a focus on connectivity, trade, and commerce. She expressed gratitude to the government of India for its significant contribution to these sectors and also extended Diwali greetings.

“The joint inauguration of these projects manifests the firm friendship and collaboration between our two countries. I would like to thank you PM Modi for his warm hospitality during my visit to New Delhi in September 2023 to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit. I express my heartfelt gratitude for your commitment to strengthening the bonds of friendship between our two countries,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said.

“I would like to thank the Government of India for jointly producing the biopic on the Father of the Nation of Bangladesh Bangabandhu ‘Sheikh Mujibur Rehman – Mujib: The Making of a Nation’. I would like to extend my deep appreciation and thankfulness to Shri Narendra Modi,” she added.

“Our collaboration in the connectivity and power sector stands out as a shining example of our cooperation,” she said at the inauguration event.

India and Bangladesh ties are crucial for India’s Act East Policy and these projects have also laid the groundwork for more cooperation and opening of passenger and freight routes between India and Bangladesh and also for alternative supply routes for northeastern states

Guwahati:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina are likely to virtually inaugurate two railway projects and a mega power plant on November 1.   

The 1320-MW Maitree Super Thermal Power project at Rampal in Bangladesh’s Khulna division, the 15.064 km Akhaura-Agartala (rail link project and the 86.87-km Khulna-Mongla port rail line project are key parts of India’s Act East policy.

The Akhaura-Agartala new railway line — of which 5.05 km will be in India and 10.014 km in Bangladesh — would link Akhaura in Bangladesh through an international immigration station at Nischintapur in western Tripura.

Funded by India, the Northeast Frontier Railway is the nodal agency of the Rs 1,000-crore project, which was finalised in January 2010 when the Bangladesh Prime Minister met then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during her visit to New Delhi.

The project — a dual-gauge meant for passenger and goods interchange between the two nations — would enable people of the northeastern states, especially Tripura, and southern part of Assam and Mizoram, go to Kolkata by rail, saving 22 hours of travel time. The journey currently takes 38 hours.

The $2 billion Maitree Super Thermal Power project, with two units of 560 MW each, is being built by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited as part of a joint venture between India’s National Thermal Power Company Limited and the Bangladesh Power Development Board.  

India’s cooperation with Bangladesh in the power sector is already running well with the power supply from the Godda Power Plant to Bangladesh.

Dhaka:

Bangladesh’s main opposition leader was detained by authorities on Sunday morning, a day after giant protests against the prime minister ahead of elections due in three months, his party said.

“Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has been picked up by officers of the law enforcing agency,” the Bangladesh Nationalist Party said in a statement.

“He has been detained by police officers,” Shamaruh Mirza, Alamgir’s daughter who lives in Australia, told AFP.

Detective Branch of @bd_police picked up BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir from his Gulshan residence in Dhaka around 9:25am today. pic.twitter.com/2kqlvN5x6h

— Bangladesh Nationalist Party-BNP (@bdbnp78) October 29, 2023

Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesperson Faruk Hossain said he was not aware of his arrest.

Alamgir, 75, the BNP’s secretary-general, has been leading the party since BNP chairwoman and two times former premier Khaleda Zia was arrested and jailed, and her son went into exile in Britain.

Zia has been living under effective house arrest since her release from a 17-year prison sentence in 2020.

The protests on Saturday by the BNP and the largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, were the biggest so far this year, AFP journalists on site said and marked a new phase in their protests with a general election due before the end of January.

More than 100,000 supporters of two major Bangladesh opposition parties rallied to demand Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina step down to allow a free and fair vote under a neutral government.

The BNP’s #GrandRally venue has been packed since early morning, demanding elections under a non-partisan neutral government. নির্দলীয় নিরপেক্ষ সরকারের অধীনে নির্বাচনের দাবীতে বিএনপি’র মহাসমাবেশস্থল ভোর থেকেই লোকে লোকারণ্য।#StepDownHasina#OnePointDemand#TakeBackBangladeshpic.twitter.com/3HYYETmYUf

— Bangladesh Nationalist Party-BNP (@bdbnp78) October 28, 2023

Hasina — daughter of the country’s founding leader — has been in power for 15 years and has overseen rapid economic growth with Bangladesh overtaking neighbouring India in GDP per capita, but inflation has risen and her government is accused of corruption and human rights abuses.

Both BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami called for a nationwide strike on Sunday to protest the violence.

Security on Sunday was tight in the capital with thousands of police and paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh patrolling the streets.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party run from tear gas shell fired by police during a protest in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on October 28, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

The police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at huge crowds of Bangladesh Opposition supporters on Saturday to break up a giant protest against the Prime Minister, with one officer killed and scores of people injured in several hours of violent clashes in central Dhaka.

More than 1,00,000 supporters of two major Bangladesh Opposition parties rallied to demand Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina step down to allow a free and fair vote under a neutral government.

Live footage on the verified Facebook page of the main Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) showed thousands of people running for safety as sound grenades went off one after another and plumes of black smoke rose from the roads.

AFP correspondents said the violence spread in roads and alleys in the centre of the capital as police fired tear gas and rubber shotgun rounds, while the protesters threw stones and bricks.

One officer was killed and more than 100 injured, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Faruk Hossain, telling AFP: “The constable was hacked in the head by opposition activists.”

The protests by the BNP and the largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, were the biggest so far this year, AFP journalists on site said, and marked a new phase in their protests with a general election due within three months.

Sheikh Hasina — daughter of the country’s founding leader — has been in power for 15 years and has overseen rapid economic growth with Bangladesh overtaking neighbouring India in GDP per capita, but inflation has risen and her government is accused of corruption and human rights abuses.

At least 20 people were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, the country’s largest, with wounds from rubber bullets, police inspector Bacchu Mia told AFP.

The clashes began in front of the city’s largest Catholic church when rowdy opposition supporters fought with sticks and allegedly torched a bus and a police post.

The BNP has called a nationwide strike on Sunday to protest the violence.

“Police and armed ruling party cadres attacked our peaceful rally,” party spokesman Zahir Uddin Swapan told AFP.

The resurgent Opposition has been mounting protests to press their demands for months, despite the BNP’s ailing leader Khaleda Zia, a two-time premier and old foe of Hasina’s, being effectively under house arrest after a conviction on corruption charges.

Hundreds of Opposition activists were detained in the days running up to the rally, officials confirmed, but her supporters poured into Dhaka on Saturday, crammed into buses despite checkpoints on roads into the capital, and even riding on top of packed trains.

“Vote thief, vote thief, Sheikh Hasina vote thief,” chanted the crowd at a demonstration in front of the BNP headquarters.

Student activist Sekandar Badsha, 24, from Chittagong, said: “We demand the immediate resignation of the Hasina government, release of our leader Khaleda Zia and establishing the people’s right to vote.”

At least 10,000 police had been deployed, officials said.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Hossain said that at least 100,000 people had joined the BNP rally, while up to 25,000 were at the Jamaat protest near the city’s main commercial district — which had been banned by police.

BNP spokesman Swapan told AFP that there were more than one million people at its rally, which he described as its “final call” for Hasina to resign.

If she does not step down voluntarily — widely seen as inconceivable — the party has threatened to call more aggressive protests such as strikes and blockades.

Western governments have expressed concern over the political climate in Bangladesh, where Hasina’s ruling Awami League dominates the legislature and runs it virtually as a rubber stamp.

Her security forces are accused of detaining tens of thousands of opposition activists, killing hundreds in extrajudicial encounters and disappearing hundreds of leaders and supporters.

Activists and onlookers gather outside the Bangladesh Nationalist Party headquarters in Dhaka on October 27, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Hundreds of Bangladeshi opposition activists have been arrested, police and party officials said Friday, ahead of a major rally where campaigners hope more than a million people will take to the streets of Dhaka.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its leftist allies, along with several Islamist outfits, have been mounting protests demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina quit and let a neutral government oversee elections due by the end of January.

Hasina — daughter of the country’s founding leader — has been in power for 15 years and has overseen rapid economic growth with Bangladesh overtaking neighbouring India in GDP per capita, but her government is accused of corruption and human rights abuses.

The BNP has called a “grand rally” for Saturday, with party spokesman Zahir Uddin Swapan saying it expects “more than a million people” to turn out.

“A sea of people will join the protest,” he told AFP.

He said police had arrested at least 1,500 people including several senior BNP officials in the past four days in an effort to disrupt preparations.

“They have raided door to door and arrested people while they were holding meeting indoors,” he said.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) spokesman Faruk Hossain confirmed there had been detentions but rejected the figure, saying some 400 BNP activists and supporters had been held in the past week.

“We are arresting only those people who face cases or arrest warrants,” he told AFP.

Police have set up checkposts at entry points to the capital, Dhaka district police chief Mohammad Asaduzzaman told AFP, in what the opposition says is a tactic to prevent its activists entering the city.

Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, has also called a demonstration on Saturday, but DMP spokesman Faruk said authorities had banned the party from holding any protests.

“We’ll defy the ban and hold our protests peacefully, holding protests is our constitutional right,” said party spokesman Hamidur Rahman Azad, adding police had arrested more than 140 Jamaat activists over the past three days.

Western governments have expressed concern over the political climate in Bangladesh, where Hasina’s ruling Awami League dominates the legislature and runs it virtually as a rubber stamp.

Her security forces are accused of detaining tens of thousands of opposition activists, killing hundreds in extrajudicial encounters and disappearing hundreds of leaders and supporters.

The elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) security force and seven of its senior officers were sanctioned by Washington in 2021 in response to those alleged rights abuses.

The BNP’s ailing leader Khaleda Zia, a two-time premier and old foe of Hasina’s, is effectively under house arrest after a conviction on graft charges.