Bangladesh to hold election by April next year: Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus
Dhaka, Jun 6 (PTI): Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Friday announced that the national election will be held in the first half of April next year, according to a media report.
The announcement comes amid recent protests by the former premier Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) demanding elections by December this year.
During a televised address to the nation, Yunus said the Election Commission will provide a detailed roadmap in due course, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.
“There is immense public and political interest regarding the timing of the election. As I’ve said before, it will be held between December and June. The government is working to ensure an environment conducive to a credible election within this timeframe,” he said.
Yunus, who took charge after the toppling of the former premier Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government in August last year, said that the government’s key responsibility is to hold a clean, peaceful, festive, and inclusive election.
“Our goal is to prevent future crises. That requires institutional reform. Without ensuring good governance in the institutions directly linked to the electoral process, all the sacrifices made by students and citizens will be in vain,” the 84-year-old Nobel Laureate said.
He reiterated that the current administration was formed with three mandates: reform, justice, and election.
“We believe that by the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr, we will reach a broadly acceptable position on reforms and justice — particularly in addressing crimes against humanity, as part of our collective duty to the martyrs of the July uprising," he said.
On May 28, former premier Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) intensified pressure on the Yunus-led interim government as tens of thousands of youths staged a massive rally demanding elections by December.
"The national election must be held by December. Preparations must begin immediately," BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman said as he joined the rally through a virtual platform from London.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
