Bangladesh in world media this week

In the outgoing week, former Bangladeshi high commissioner to Malaysia M Khairuzzaman’s release from detention was picked up by various international media outlets. The Business Insider Bangladesh broke the news of his arrest. There was also some economic and international news that was featured in world media along with a few light-hearted ones.

Here is a pick of five stories on Bangladesh that made headlines on international media in the outgoing week (February 12 to February 18):

Ex-Bangladesh diplomat released by Malaysian immigration on Wednesday

Former Bangladeshi High Commissioner to Malaysia M Khairuzzaman, who was apprehended by Malaysian authorities last week and faces the possibility of being deported, was released by the Immigration Department on Wednesday, the MSN reported on February 16.

His counsel Edmund Bon Tai Soon confirmed to theedgemarkets.com that he had been released by the Putrajaya Immigration Department close to 4pm on Wednesday.

“Yes, he has been released this afternoon,” the lawyer said.

On Tuesday (Feb 15) it was reported that High Court Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan had ordered an interim stay against the department from deporting the 70-year-old who is on a United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) card and has been in Malaysia since 2007.

His family, however, is in the US.

Khairuzzaman's habeas corpus application which was also filed by Bon's firm Messrs AmerBon has been scheduled to be heard on May 20.

The retired army major was accused by the Bangladeshi government to be involved in the 1975 assassination of the country’s founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman but was later acquitted.

He was also reported by the Bangladeshi media to be linked to “jail killings” there, but he was later acquitted and appointed High Commissioner to Malaysia in 2007.

In the "jail killings", Bangladeshi national leaders Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Mansur Ali and AHM Quamruzzaman were murdered in Dhaka Central Jail on Nov 3, 1975.

After the Awani League-led government came to power in 2009, Khairuzzaman was recalled to Dhaka, but he refused to go and obtained the UNHCR card and remained in Malaysia.

Commenting on the former diplomat's arrest, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin said it was done according to the law after the authorities received a request to do so and found it valid.

Bangladesh's largest annual book fair kicks off in Dhaka

Bangladesh's largest annual book fair kicked off in the capital Dhaka on Tuesday though belatedly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported on February 17.

The book fair, with the theme of "We want a COVID-free Bangladesh," brought together many readers and writers to celebrate the event for literature.

A total of 800 stalls were allocated to about 500 organizations this year, Jalal Ahmed, member secretary of the book fair management committee and director of Bangla Academy, told journalists earlier.

According to him, the book fair is held in compliance with COVID-19 health guidelines and none will be allowed into the fair without wearing a face mask and sanitizing hands.

The book fair used to begin on the first day of February but this year it was postponed to Feb. 15 due to the COVID-19 situation in the Asian country.

Calls for extending the duration of the fair have grown as publishers are afraid of facing losses if the month-long book fair is reduced to 14 days.

"As this time we've started the fair belatedly, Feb. 15, I think we can continue it for a month," Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said when virtually inaugurated the event.

Bangladesh looking for direct shipping link with UAE

Bangladesh wishes to establish a direct shipping line with the UAE in a bid to reduce travel time and boost bilateral trade, UAE state news agency WAM reported February 13.

“We always look for better connectivity in South Asia and with other parts of the world because connectivity means productivity,” AK Abdul Momen, foreign minister of Bangladesh told WAM during his four-day official visit to the UAE.

Currently, shipping between Bangladesh and the UAE is routed through ports in Singapore and Sri Lanka, resulting in a shipping time of between 40-42 days. A direct link could, however, see this time cut down by two thirds, to just 14 days.

Access to direct shipping could prove a boon for Bangladesh-UAE trade, the minister explained, noting that his country’s exporting of excess food products could be of benefit to the UAE.

Additionally, Bangladesh would like to access the UAE’s technical know-how regarding port operations. The UAE is home to some of the biggest port management companies in the world.

“The UAE is very good in the management of ports. We have plenty of ports and long coastline. The UAE can share their expertise and experience with us. We are working on that,” Momen said, according to WAM.

Talks for a memorandum of understanding on port management is ongoing, the minister said.

Bangladesh is home to three seaports in Chittagong, Payra, and Mongla, among others.

Afghanistan's squad in Bangladesh hit by a raft of Covid cases

Eight Afghanistan cricketers and three members of the support staff have tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the upcoming series against Bangladesh, Cricbuzz reported on February 15.

Touring members who have cleared that test have begun practice at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday (February 15).

A 22-member Afghanistan team arrived in Dhaka on February 12 and moved to Sylhet the day after to partake in a preparation camp ahead of the three ODI, two T20I series.

Three cricketers later joined the touring contingent after completing their stints in Bangladesh Premier League.

Leading Afghan stars Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, who are currently participating in the Pakistan Super League, will join the squad ahead of the ODI series.

Cricbuzz understands that the team practiced on February 14 before obtaining the results of their tests. Once the results were made known, the touring party decided to go into isolation.

''Look now they are not under our protocol considering the series will start from February 19 but now whatever support they will want now we will provide that,'' said a BCB official on Tuesday. ''If the symptoms are mild then they will be isolation and if that is not the case we will have to transfer them to hospital but at the moment they are looking after their own well being,'' he added.

Those that tested positive are expected to have undergo tests again in five to seven days and if cleared, can start practice along with other team members.

The Afghanistan team is scheduled to fly to Chattogram on February 19 to play the ODI series beginning on February 23. Both the teams will travel to Dhaka for the two T20Is on March 3 and 5.

China to set up missile repair base in Bangladesh

A decade after China supplied Bangladesh with surface-to-air missile systems, a maintenance and overhaul facility will come up there which can double up as a production assembly line of the same missile and its advanced variants, India’s The Tribune reported on February 17.

Chinese company “Vanguard” has been selected as partner of this maintenance hub to be set up in Bangladesh for the FM-90 air defence missile, sources say.

At present, Bangladesh’s Air Force, Navy and the Army are respectively equipped with it. The People’s Liberation Army has the same missile in its arsenal.

The truck mounted FM-90 system is an improved version of the “Hong Qi”, a missile first produced by the China National Precision Machinery Import and Export (CNPMIEC) in 1998. It was supplied to Bangladesh in 2011. Bangladesh is surrounded on three sides by India, while the fourth side is the Bay of Bengal. The missile is an anti-aircraft system capable of all-weather operations against flying objects like planes, missiles or drones.

It can operate against multiple targets. It has a 25-km range radar and is capable of launching simultaneous offensive against multiple targets, which includes ability to hit ultra-low-altitude cruise missiles, air-to-surface missiles and anti-radiation missiles at a distance of more than 16 km.

The missile is among the clutch of Chinese military-related investments and supplies to Bangladesh that includes warships, naval guns anti-ship missiles and surface-to-air missile systems.

China’s second largest arms customer is Bangladesh. The latest report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a Sweden-based think tank, on arms sellers during 2016-2020 says Bangladesh procured some 17 per cent of all Chinese military exports.