Security should not be a pretext for moral policing or erosion of liberties

The recent incidents of assault and harassment by police officers are not merely a string of isolated incidents, but a signal about institutional health.
26 February 2026, 00:33 AM

Economic priorities the new government should focus on

The crises of persistent inflationary pressure, sluggish private investment, and unemployment needs to be dealt with simultaneously, with careful policy planning.
26 February 2026, 00:31 AM

What the transport minister’s words really revealed

What if the minister did not seek to legalise or sanitise extortion, but unintentionally described an informal system of governance that already operates alongside the formal state?
25 February 2026, 11:36 AM

Jahanara’s case and the accountability gap in athlete protection

Sport is often portrayed as a realm of discipline, merit, and national pride. Yet it is also shaped by sharp power imbalances—between administrators and athletes, coaches and players, and selectors and aspirants.
25 February 2026, 00:12 AM

Make ICT policy a priority, not a side show

In a fast-moving policy landscape, delay is often punished. By the time a state realises a law is unworkable, or that a regulatory approach has fallen behind, the world may have already moved on.
25 February 2026, 00:09 AM

Think twice before forcing a third language on school students

Beyond the economy, art education on a national level is vital for raising better citizens and improving our Human Development Index.
25 February 2026, 00:06 AM

Climate actions need less talk, more work

A lesson emerging from COP participation is that for advocacy to deliver results, it must be married to strategy.
25 February 2026, 00:00 AM

Deferring Bangladesh’s LDC graduation and the road ahead

In November last year, Bangladesh confirmed that it continued to meet all three LDC graduation criteria and remained on track for graduation in November 2026 despite economic shocks.
24 February 2026, 00:00 AM

Bangladesh’s renewables drive must include women

Women constitute only about 32 percent of the total global workforce in the renewable energy sector, with even lower representation in technical and decision-making positions.
24 February 2026, 00:00 AM

Rethinking the Bangladesh-US trade deal following the legal blow

The United States has virtually granted itself de facto control over Bangladesh’s economic relationships with the wider world. The agreement does, however, offer one significant benefit: Bangladeshi garments made with US cotton and man-made fibre would get zero tariffs in the US market.
24 February 2026, 00:00 AM

When extortion is sanitised, rights become negotiable

When a private citizen pays, it is often an act of compulsion within a broken system. When a public official justifies the payment, it becomes an institutional endorsement.
24 February 2026, 00:00 AM

Bangladesh’s foreign policy enters its post-election test

The recently held parliamentary election in Bangladesh was watched more closely than usual.
23 February 2026, 00:47 AM

Will the real poor get the benefits of the family card?

The social safety net or social protection programme enables the government to advance the well-being and security of citizens by protecting them from vulnerability and deprivation so they can pursue a better life.
23 February 2026, 00:43 AM

Tourism and roads won’t solve CHT’s deeper wounds

In July 2024, a student-led movement demanding quota reform evolved into the mass uprising against authoritarianism, bringing an end to over fifteen years of increasingly centralised and coercive rule.
23 February 2026, 00:36 AM

Army’s role during the polls and interim period merits a nod

Now that the dust has settled and we have begun another hopeful journey under a new government, we can look back at the interim government’s 18-month tenure and say with confidence that the defence forces,
23 February 2026, 00:30 AM

‘Modern-day slavery’ threatening our women migrants

The recent return of a 32‑year‑old Bangladeshi domestic worker from Saudi Arabia—six months pregnant after alleged rape, torture, and imprisonment—is not an isolated tragedy.
22 February 2026, 01:46 AM

The International Crimes Tribunal’s questionable detention policy

In August 2025, I wrote in Prothom Alo about the arrest, 10 months earlier in October 2024, of Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury—former power, energy, and mineral resources adviser to ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina—by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) on allegations of crimes against humanity.
22 February 2026, 01:43 AM

Markets abroad balance profit and festival spirit, why can’t we?

There is something remarkable about how markets operate abroad during major festivals, especially in the final weeks preceding a holiday. Instead of hiking prices, retailers slash them significantly.
22 February 2026, 01:39 AM

Why do voters elect controversial politicians?

In a typical model of democracy, the electoral process is designed to perform two functions simultaneously: it acts as a filter to select leaders with the potential to serve public interest, and as a disciplinary tool to “purge” those with the potential to abuse power and betray public trust.
22 February 2026, 01:33 AM

Not Forgetting the Victims: Club Epstein and crimes against humanity

With a sex trafficking, flesh-peddling empire of favours, logistics and the good times to be had by the powerful, the gigantic scale of Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network continues to disturb.
21 February 2026, 02:21 AM