The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has summoned the bank accounts of 29 people, including 26 journalists, in the country. At the same time, instructions have been given to freeze the bank accounts of their private institutions. The agency has sent instructions to the institutions in this regard.

On Sunday (November 24), several senior officials of the BFIU confirmed the summons through two separate letters.

According to the first letter, those whose accounts have been summoned are: Dainik Bangla Acting Editor Chowdhury Zafrullah Sharafat, former President of the National Press Club Shafiqur Rahman, TV Today Editor-in-Chief Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, former Washington Press Minister Sajjad Hossain Sabuj, DBC News Assignment Editor Nazneen Munni, Independent TV Chief News Editor Ashish Ghosh Saikat, Gazi TV Editor (Research) Anjan Roy, Somoy TV Chattogram Bureau Chief Kamal Dey, Dainik Amar Somoy Chief Editor Abdul Gaffar Khan, Jugantor's former Narayanganj correspondent Raju Ahmed and Exim Bank Head of PRO Sanjeev Chatterjee.

All transactions of the individuals and their personal and business accounts will be suspended for the next 30 days. If necessary, this period of suspension of transactions will be extended.

The BFIU's instructions also state that the accounts of the summoned accounts, including account opening forms, KYC and transaction details, must be sent to the BFIU within two working days from the date of the letter.

The other individuals summoned according to the letter are Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) President Quddus Afrad, former Managing Director of Bangladesh Journalists Welfare Trust Subhash Chandra Badal, Dhaka Tribune and New York Times Bangladesh correspondent Zulfikar Ali Manik, former Deputy Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Ashraful Alam Khokon, Senior Executive Editor of Dainik Amader Arthaniti Masuda Bhatti, Editor of The Daily Observer Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, former Director of DBC News Md. Shahidul Ahsan Chairman, Dhaka Bangla Media and Communications Limited Director Rahnuma Ahsan, ATN News Head Nurul Amin (Pravas), Dhaka Bangla Media and Communications Limited Director Mahbuba Helen, Dhaka Bangla Media and Communications Limited Director Shah Mohammad Shafiqul Ahsan, Dhaka Bangla Media and Communications Limited Director Md. Salauddin Chowdhury, Ekattor TV Counselor Mobashwira Farzana Mithila, Dainik Janakantha Executive Editor Swadesh Roy, former Somoy TV Managing Director Ahmed Jobayer and Sabrina Mahjabin, daughter of Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury.

No security force in the country has dismissed any of its officers and members based on any recommendation of the commission formed to investigate enforced disappearances in the country.

On Sunday (November 24), chief of the Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances, Justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury, confirmed the matter and said, 'The information that 22 members of the country's security forces have been dismissed on the basis of our recommendation is false. This is fake news. Several TV channels are telecasting the wrong news about it.'

We hope that the TV channels will correct and broadcast the information.

Dhaka: The Chief Adviser to the interim government, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, will announce the date of the upcoming 13th parliamentary election, his press wing said.

This was stated at a press conference of the Chief Adviser's Press Wing held at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital on Sunday (November 24).

The Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam, Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder, Apurba Jahangir and Assistant Press Secretary Sushismita Tithi were there.

An adviser commented in London that the election could be held in mid-2026, in which regard Apurba Jahangir said, 'The election date has not been given by the Chief Adviser or his office so far. The actual date of the election will be announced by the Chief Adviser. It will be given on his behalf. The rest of them may have expressed their opinions, but they are not concrete.’

At a recent conference titled ‘Bangladesh: Democracy and Human Rights Crisis’ held at the House of Lords in the UK, Brigadier General (Retd) Dr. M. Sakhawat Hossain, Shipping Adviser to the Interim Government of Bangladesh, said that the current interim government is planning to hold fair elections by mid-2026 through reform activities. International cooperation is very important for these elections.

An organization called Voice for Bangladesh organized the conference. It was chaired by Alexander Charles Carlyle, a member of the UK House of Lords. British Minister Paul Scully and international human rights activists also participated in the discussion moderated by the organization’s founder Ataullah Farooq.

Dr. Sakhawat mentioned the suppression of the opposition, human rights violations and public discontent against the Awami League government during Sheikh Hasina’s long rule. According to him, Hasina’s departure has saved the country from further violent situations.

 He said the situation could have been worse if Sheikh Hasina had not left the country on August 5. "The angry crowd could have torn her to pieces, which would not have been good for the country.

Dhaka: The US wants the speedy implementation of 11 points related to labor rights in Bangladesh, including easing the conditions for forming trade unions.

Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashiruddin told reporters after a meeting with a 20-member delegation led by Kelly M. Fay Rodriguez, the visiting US State Department Special Representative for International Labor Affairs, at the Secretariat in Dhaka on Sunday (November 24).

Commerce Secretary Mohammad Selim Uddin was present at the time.

The Commerce Advisor said, "The discussion was mainly about how quickly we can implement these 11 points of labor rights. If we can do these, we will definitely get GSP benefits."

According to sources at the meeting, the US delegation emphasized the right to form trade unions in the discussions. These rights still exist, but there are various conditions against it. The US wants the conditions to be relaxed. On the other hand, the Ministry of Commerce has assured the delegation of the implementation of these points.

During the Awami League government, in April, a team of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) for South and Central Asia submitted an action plan to the Ministry of Commerce to improve the labor rights situation in Bangladesh. The action plan broadly emphasized 11 issues. The first of these is to take effective action against those who oppress and terrorize trade union leaders, workers, and labor rights activists. Next is to hold factory owners and management accountable for acting against labor leaders and workers. In addition, there is the need to amend Bangladesh’s labor laws and existing labor codes in line with the international standards enjoyed by trade unions. Other issues include taking necessary measures to ensure that workers in Bangladesh’s export processing zones (EPZs) can fully unionize; amending Section 34 of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) Act and implementing it in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and ensuring that workers there can organize and bargain collectively; Completing the application process for forming a trade union within 55 days; Publishing updated information on all pending applications on its existing online registration portal through the Department of Labor; Appointing labor inspectors and allocating funds for this through the annual budget; Approving more labor inspector posts and ending the practice of delaying or obstructing registration, etc. The Commerce Secretary said, “The Ministry of Labor and Employment is mainly working on these issues. These are being done for the living conditions of workers, improvement of standards and trade union activities. We are all working on the same line. We have urged on our part how to further increase trade in the US market. They have said that they will play a supportive role in this regard. They have asked us to focus on other issues including workers’ rights and minimum wages.”