Bangladesh | Pakistan

The much-anticipated three-match T20 International series between Pakistan and Bangladesh kicks off today (Sunday), with the first match scheduled to begin at 5 PM local time at the iconic Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.

Pakistan men’s three-match T20 International series against Bangladesh will begin on Sunday with the remaining two games to be staged on May 22 and 24 at Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Saturday. Last month, Pakistan had whitewashed Bangladesh in a home three-match T20I series at the Gaddafi Stadium. Litton Das-led Bangladesh will take the field on the back of an away 2-1 T20I series triumph over Sri Lanka last week. Pakistan are visiting Bangladesh for the first time since December 2021 as they arrived in the country on Wednesday, after taking part in an extensive training camp in Karachi, the PCB said. “Pakistan and Bangladesh will lock horns in a three-match T20I series beginning on Sunday, May 20,” the press release issued on Saturday said. “Salman Ali Agha, who has so far led Pakistan in 12 T20Is, will marshal the side in fourth T20I series,” it added. The pace duo of Ahmed Daniyal and Mohammad Salman Mirza are the two uncapped players in Pakistan’s squad ...

Audio recordings analysed by the BBC suggest Bangladesh’s fugitive ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina ordered a deadly crackdown on protests last year, allegations for which she is on trial. Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024, according to the United Nations, when Hasina’s government ordered a crackdown on protesters in a failed bid to cling to power. Hasina, 77, fled to India at the culmination of the student-led uprising and has defied orders to return to Dhaka, where her trial in absentia for charges amounting to crimes against humanity opened on June 1. The BBC Eye Investigations team analysed audio alleged to be of Hasina — and which forms a key plank of the evidence for the prosecution — which was leaked online. In the recording, dated July 18, 2024, a voice alleged to be Hasina is heard authorising security forces to “use lethal weapons” against protesters and that “wherever they find [them], they will shoot”. The BBC said audio forensics experts had found no evidence that the spe...

India’s six‑match white‑ball cricket tour of Bangladesh next month has been postponed to 2026, both cricket boards said on Saturday. The series, including three one-day and three T20 matches, had been due to start on August 17 in Dhaka. Political relations between India and Bangladesh have turned frosty since a mass uprising last year in Dhaka toppled the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have “mutually agreed to defer” the series, the statement read. It said the decision was made “taking into account the international cricketing commitments and scheduling convenience of both teams”, without giving further details. It added that Bangladesh’s BCB “looks forward to welcoming India in September 2026”, with exact fixtures to be released later. There is deep anger in Dhaka at the fate of Hasina, who escaped a student-led uprising by helicopter in August 2024 and flew to New Delhi. Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and Au...

Bangladesh, the world’s second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the United States before President Donald Trump’s punishing tariffs kick in next week, the country’s top commerce official told AFP. Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his “Liberation Day” announcement. “We have finalised a draft reciprocal trade agreement,” Mahbubur Rahman said on Wednesday, adding the government was “hopeful of reaching a win-win agreement”. Rahman said a meeting between officials from both countries was slated for July 8, with the US representing 20 per cent of Bangladesh’s ready-made garments exports. Textile and garment production accounts for about 8pc of exports in Bangladesh and the industry has been rebuilding after it was hit hard in a student-led revolution that toppled the government last year. Trump hit Bangladesh with 37pc tariffs in his ...

Bangladesh on Wednesday convicted fugitive ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina of contempt of court and issued a six-month prison sentence in absentia, the first verdict since she was ousted last year. Hasina, 77, fled to neighbouring India at the culmination of the student-led uprising in August 2024, and has defied orders to return to Dhaka. “She will serve the sentence the day she arrives in Bangladesh or surrenders to the court,” chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam told reporters after the court decision. The case centred around comments that prosecutors said she had made after she was ousted from power, which they said threatened witnesses in ongoing court hearings. “The prosecution team believes her comment created an aura of fear among those who filed the cases and among the witnesses,” Islam said. Shakil Akanda Bulbul, a fugitive leader of her now-banned Awami League, was sentenced to two months in prison in the same case. Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August last year, according to th...

Bangladesh’s biggest port resumed operations on Monday after customs officials called off a strike that had disrupted the export and import of goods for around 48 hours. Sehela Siddiqa, joint tax commissioner and secretary of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Reform Unity Council — a platform of protesting workers — confirmed the resumption of activities at Chittagong and all other ports. “The ports are now fully functional and operating across the country,” Siddiqa told AFP. “All employees have returned to work.” A section of employees at the NBR, the country’s tax collection authority, has been protesting for over a month against a move by the interim government to reform the agency. The government’s proposal includes abolishing the NBR and establishing two separate bodies to handle tax policy formulation and tax collection. Over the weekend, some NBR staff launched what they called a “complete shutdown”, stopping work in a range of departments, including customs. The workers resumed duties after the gove...

Operations at Bangladesh’s biggest port were suspended on Sunday as a strike by customs officials brought shipping activity to a halt. The shutdown at Chittagong Port is part of an ongoing dispute between tax authority employees and the government, which is trying to overhaul the body. “The port typically handles around 7,000 to 8,000 containers daily … But since this morning, there has been no movement in offloading or onboarding of goods,” said Mohammed Omar Faruq, secretary of the Chittagong Port Authority. “This is having a huge impact on the country’s economic situation,” he told AFP. Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest garment manufacturer, while textile and garment production accounts for about 80 per cent of the country’s exports. Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the halt in port operations would cost the industry $222 million. “The cost of recovery will be staggering — beyond comprehension — and many factories risk going bankrup...

The Pakistan men’s team will travel to Bangladesh next month to play three Twenty20 internationals as part of the build-up to next year’s T20 World Cup. Pakistan’s tour will be a reciprocal one after they hosted Bangladesh for three T20Is over the last two months, all won by the home team and played in Lahore. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said it has arranged various series to build for the T20 World Cup to be co-hosted in India and Sri Lanka next year. “Pakistan will arrive in Dhaka on 16 July before taking on the home side in the matches on July 20, 22 and 24 as part of the build-up for the World Cup,” the PCB said in a statement. All three T20Is will be held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. From Bangladesh, Pakistan will fly to the West Indies to play three T20Is and as many one-day internationals, the schedule of which will be announced later.

A Bangladesh government-appointed commission investigating hundreds of disappearances by the security forces under ousted premier Sheikh Hasina on Monday warned that the same “culture of impunity” continues. The Commission of Inquiry into Enforced Disappearances is probing abuses during the rule of Hasina, whose government was accused of widespread human rights abuses. That includes the extrajudicial killing of hundreds of political opponents and the unlawful abduction and disappearance of hundreds more. The commission was established by interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, 84, who is facing intense political pressure as parties jostle for power ahead of elections expected early next year. Bangladesh has a long history of military coups and the army retains a powerful role. “Enforced disappearances in Bangladesh were not isolated acts of wrongdoing, but the result of a politicised institutional machinery that condoned, normalised, and often rewarded such crimes,” the commission said, in a ...

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, China and Bangladesh have launched a trilateral cooperation mechanism, pledging to pursue “win-win cooperation” in what could mark a subtle yet significant shift in South Asia’s strategic landscape. The announcement came after the inaugural meeting of the Bangladesh-China-Pakistan Vice Foreign Minister/Foreign Secretary mechanism on Friday. A statement issued by the Foreign Office said the meeting was attended by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, Bangladesh’s acting Foreign Secretary Ruhul Alam Siddique and Pakistan’s Additional Foreign Secretary Imran Ahmed Siddiqui. Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch joined the initial session via video link. New trilateral forum looks to enhance engagement, work for more trade, investment In her remarks, Ms Baloch expressed Pakistan’s desire for a deeper engagement between China and South Asian countries. She highlighted the “upward trajectory of bilateral ties” with both China and Bangladesh and “conveyed Pakistan’s readiness to work with the two ...

Bangladesh’s war crimes court ordered fugitive ex-leader Sheikh Hasina on Monday to return to face trial on charges amounting to crimes against humanity. Hasina, 77, fled Dhaka by helicopter to India in August 2024 at the culmination of a student-led mass uprising. She has defied an extradition order to return to Bangladesh. Up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 when Hasina’s government launched a crackdown in a failed bid to cling to power, according to the United Nations. Hasina and former senior figures connected to her ousted government and her now-banned party, the Awami League, are being prosecuted in Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). Prosecutors have filed five charges against Hasina, including abetment, incitement, complicity, facilitation, conspiracy and failure to prevent mass murder — charges that amount to crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law. “The court directed the prosecution team to issue a notice as soon as possible summoning them to appear befor...

DHAKA:  A mob attacked and vandalised Tagore’s ancestral home in Sirajganj district, Bangladesh, following a dispute over parking fees. The incident took place at Rabindra Kachharibari, also known as the Rabindra Memorial Museum, prompting officials to establish a three-member investigating committee. The conflict started on June 8, when a visitor and his family allegedly had […]

DHAKA: Bangladesh will hold elections in early April 2026 for the first time since a mass uprising overthrew the government last year, interim leader Muhammad Yunus said on Friday. The South Asian nation of around 170 million people has been in political turmoil since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted by a student-led revolt in August 2024, ending her iron-fisted rule of 15 years. “I am announcing to the citizens of the country that the election will be held on any day in the first half of April 2026,” said Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner who leads the caretaker government. Political parties jostling for power have been repeatedly demanding that Yunus fix an election timetable, while he has said time is needed as the country requires an overhaul of its democratic institutions after Hasina’s tenure. Interim leader Yunus says his govt’s major responsibility is to ensure ‘transparent, participatory election’ “The government has been doing everything necessary to create an environment...

DHAKA: Bangladesh will hold a national election in the first half of April 2026, its de facto premier, Muhammad Yunus, said on Friday, after a period of interim unelected government since student-led unrest in 2024 toppled then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The administration led by Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been running the […]

Mohammad Haris hit a swashbuckling maiden international century to guide Pakistan to a 3-0 clean sweep of Bangladesh with a seven-wicket win in the third and final Twenty20 international in Lahore on Sunday. Haris, playing in his 17th T20I, carted seven sixes and eight boundaries in his 107 off just 46 balls as Pakistan chased down a challenging 197-run target in 17.2 overs for their first home T20I series win in three-and-a-half years. Pakistan won the first two matches by 37 and 57 runs at the same venue. Parvez Hossain smashed four sixes and seven boundaries in his solid 34-ball 66 to lift Bangladesh to 196-6 in their 20 overs. Pakistan lost Sahibzada Farhan for one in the first over, but Haris, whose hundred came up off 45 balls, added 92 for the second wicket with Saim Ayub and an unbroken 60 for the fourth with Salman Agha, who made 15 not out. Ayub hit four sixes and two boundaries in his 29-ball 45 while Hasan Nawaz scored 13-ball 26 as the home batters enthralled a near-capacity 30,000 crowd at Gadda...

President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan intends to forge strong bilateral relations with Bangladesh in all areas including commerce, trade, sports, culture and people-to-people ties.

Bangladesh on Sunday restored the registration of the Jamaat-i-Islami party, allowing it to take part in elections, more than a decade after it was removed under the now-overthrown government. The country’s supreme court overturned a cancellation of Jamaat-i-Islami’s registration, allowing it to be formally listed as a political party with the election commission. “The election commission is directed to deal with the registration of that party in accordance with law,” commission lawyer Towhidul Islam told AFP. Jamaat-i-Islami party lawyer, Shishir Monir, said the supreme court’s decision would allow a “democratic, inclusive and multi-party system” in the Muslim-majority country of 170 million people. “We hope that Bangladeshis, regardless of their ethnicity or religious identity, will vote for Jamaat, and that the parliament will be vibrant with constructive debates,” Monir told journalists. After Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister in August, the party appealed for a review of the 2013 high court orde...

LAHORE: Sahibzada Farhan looked keen on making up for lost time. Almost six months since he last represented Pakistan, the flamboyant opener sparkled with a career-best 74 as hosts trounced a hapless Bangladesh by 57 runs in the second Twenty20 International at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday to seal the three-match series with a game to spare. With Sahibzada in full flow — having returned to the national team fold after an impressive show in the Pakistan Super League — and Hasan Nawaz making a quickfire 51 not out, Pakistan amassed 201-6 after electing to bat. The bowlers then came to the fore as Bangladesh lost their way after a bright start; spinner Abrar Ahmed being the destroyer-in-chief with 3-19 as Pakistan bundled them out for 144 with only Tanzim Hasan Sakib (50) offering some late resistance. It was Pakistan’s first series victory since they beat Zimbabwe in December last year. Sahibzada’s poor return in that series had seen him fall out of national reckoning, but on his return, he set the tone for Pa...

LAHORE: A pumped-up Pakistan side will look to go all out against Bangladesh in the second T20 International in Lahore on Friday to take an unassailable lead in the three-match series. Pakistan during the past year or so have experienced an alarming decline in their T20 International contests, winning only nine while losing nineteen. Currently languishing at eighth in the ICC T20 International team rankings, the Green-shirts under new captain Salman Ali Agha no doubt will seek to make progress against Bangladesh who are ninth. The home side in the series opener on Wednesday comfortably defeated Bangladesh by 37 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium thanks to impressive batting by Salman (56), Shadab Khan (48, 4-26) and Hasan Nawaz (44). Returning fast bowler Hasan Ali (5-30) produced his best-ever show in the game. Pakistan are expected to remain unchanged for the second T20 while Bangladesh are most likely to make a couple of changes as they will look to keep the series alive. Both teams did not practise on Thursday, ...