Zahid Hussain

Bangladesh entered the IMF programme at a moment of deepening stress. By late 2022, foreign exchange reserves had fallen below $20 billion, down from over $40 billion just a year earlier. Import bills had surgedwhile export growth and remittances weakened.

BBS’s provisional GDP growth estimates for FY25 unveiled a second consecutive year of growth recession. Given the trials Bangladesh has endured since the outset of the year, the numbers carry the story of the economy’s adaptation to adversities. A 3.97 percent real GDP growth is at par with the IMF’s 3.9 percent projected for Asia in 2025. It is not too bad considering the adverse natural and political weather that stressed a state struggling to function with hollowed institutions.

The impact of Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs (TRT) remains uncertain, but it has undeniably divided the world into three distinct blocs: the US, China, and the rest of the world (ROW) -- excluding Canada and Mexico, which appear to be caught in no man’s land. Among these, the US and China, the two largest global economic powers, are locked in a gruelling tariff war, while the rest of the world has extended offers to negotiate.

Notwithstanding the alleged manipulations, the elections have changed the country’s political dynamics.

Khan has been accused of using a diplomatic document for his political objectives and misplacing the secret communication.

Yet another former prime minister bites the dust.

The gun attack on Imran Khan has pushed Pakistan deeper into anarchy.

Pakistan seems to be heading towards political confrontation following the government’s decision to ban the PTI march in Islamabad.