Dhaka will respond to the post that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made on social media on December 16 regarding Victory Day, Foreign Affairs Adviser Towhid Hossain said.

He said this in response to a question from journalists at the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday (December 17) afternoon.

The Foreign Affairs Adviser described the Law Adviser's comment on Narendra Modi's post as personal.

He said, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar congratulated me on Victory Day. And he (Narendra Modi) said one thing in his own way; we will say it in our own way.

The Foreign Affairs Adviser said, Bangladesh is striving for a peaceful solution to the Rohingya problem. I am going to Thailand tomorrow, Wednesday (December 18) to discuss the Myanmar issue. He also said that several sideline meetings will be held with the heads of government of different countries at the D-8 summit.

Regarding St. Martin, he said that due to the ongoing war in Myanmar, the route to and from St. Martin is being temporarily changed. The matter will be resolved later.

Regarding the Chief Adviser's participation in the D-8 conference, he said that the Chief Adviser will participate in the D-8 conference. D-8 is important for Bangladesh because many important countries are its members. Bangladesh will meet with the heads of government of some countries on the sidelines of the conference.

When asked about the heads of government of some countries, Towhid Hossain said that it has not been finalized yet. These are decided at the last minute. However, some bilateral meetings will definitely take place.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a separate case against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's personal employee Md. Jahangir Alam and his wife Kamrun Nahar.

ACC Director General Akhter Hossain confirmed the case to journalists at the ACC head office on Tuesday (December 17).

The ACC said that the accused acquired assets worth Tk. 18 crore 29 lakh 10 thousand 882 from movable and immovable properties of Jahangir Alam. By acquiring assets worth Tk. 18 crore 29 lakh and using the money illegally earned in the name of him and various institutions owned by him, he committed a punishable crime by depositing a total of Tk. 626 crore 65 lakh 18 thousand 107 in 23 accounts of 8 banks and withdrawing or transferring the deposited money through various means.

During the investigation, it was also found that Md. Jahangir Alam has opened accounts in various banks in his own name and in the name of various business organizations by acquiring the above illegal assets. A total of Tk. 626 crore 65 lakh 18 thousand 107 has been deposited in 23 accounts of his 8 banks and Tk. 624 crore 60 lakh 15 thousand 671 has been withdrawn which has been found to be completely unusual and suspicious in the investigation of the ACC.

After the illegally acquired money was deposited in his account in various ways through different people, he transferred it in various ways. Among them, Md. Jahangir Alam deposited a total of Tk. 178 crore and withdrew/transferred Tk. 178 crore in a current account of Mutual Trust Bank under his ownership.

Md. Jahangir Alam's wife Kamrun Nahar has been made an accused in another case. According to the statement of the case filed against her, he has committed an offence punishable under Section 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004 and Section 109 of the Penal Code on charges of acquiring and possessing assets worth Tk. 68 crore 80 lakh 48 thousand 642 undeclared.

On July 14, she held a press conference at Ganabhaban regarding former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to China. There, in response to a question from journalists, she said, "I had a peon in my house, and he is also the owner of Tk. 400 crore. He can't move without a helicopter."

If everything goes well, the national elections can be held by June 30, 2026, said Abul Kalam Azad Majumder, Deputy Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser to the interim government.

He said this while speaking on contemporary issues at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital on Tuesday (December 17) evening.

In response to a question from journalists, Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder said that the Election Commission will announce the date and schedule of the elections. However, it can be assumed from the Chief Adviser's statement that the elections will be held on or around June 30, 2026.

To another question, he said that the commission will decide on the extent of reforms before the elections based on national consensus after discussing with everyone. In consensus, the commission will give importance to the opinions of every stakeholder in society, not small or big parties.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has called for at least one month to complete the relevant public draft review and inclusive participation process before promulgating the ‘Cyber Security Ordinance, 2024’.

The organization said that if the ordinance is promulgated without adequate analysis and inclusive review by the relevant stakeholders, it will risk disrupting its main purpose.

TIB officially made a recommendation to the interim government in this regard on Sunday.

The organization’s Executive Director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman said in the letter that the decision to repeal the Cyber Security Act, which was used as a tool to suppress dissent and silence the media, has brought relief to all citizens, which is one of the public welfare-oriented steps of the interim government. The draft of the ‘Cyber Security Ordinance, 2024’ has been prepared by the Law and Rules Branch of the Information and Communication Technology Division by repealing laws that undermine freedom of speech and expression. TIB hopes that this ordinance will be enacted to ensure cyber security and to formulate necessary provisions for the prevention and suppression of cyber crimes and the investigation and prosecution of cyber crimes.

Moreover, the possibility of this ordinance, like the previous Digital Security Act and the Cyber Security Act, obstructing the speech and expression of citizens, deserves proper review.

The TIB Executive Director said that this draft was made available on the website for only three working days for review, which has ended and has already been removed. Even, according to media sources, the draft was given initial approval by the Advisory Council on December 12.

He said that if this very important ordinance like the ‘Cyber Security Ordinance, 2024’ is issued without adequate analysis and inclusive review by the relevant stakeholders, there will be a risk of disrupting its main purpose. In this situation, I call for an extension of at least one month for the review of all relevant stakeholders and experts and the promulgation of the ordinance through an inclusive process based on its analysis.