DT e-Paper, Friday, October 21, 2016

SECOND EDITION 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 | Kartik 6, 1423, Muharram 19, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 173 | www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages plus 24-page Weekend supplement | Price: Tk10 

Will AL council be Joy’s coming out party? 

• Mohammad Abu Bakar 

Siddique 

MORE STORIES ON P2 & 3 

INSIDE 

Razzak: New committee to 

be a blend of old and new 

Dhaka Tribune’s Mohammad Abu Bakar 

Siddique talks with Awami League’s Dr 

Abdur Razzak on a wide range of issues 

centring the 20th council of Bangladesh’s 

oldest political party PAGE 2 

Road Transport and Bridges Minister 

and senior Awami League 

policymaker Obaidul Quader has 

said that the ruling party’s national 

council is set to come up with a 

new leadership – a blend of the experienced 

veterans and energetic 

youths. 

In a recent interview, incumbent 

General Secretary Syed Ashraful 

Islam called it a high time for the 

third generation of Bangabandhu’s 

family to come into politics. 

Prime Minister and AL President 

Sheikh Hasina earlier this month 

said that she would be happy to retire 

if she got the opportunity and 

if the councillors managed to find 

a new leader of the oldest as well as 

largest party of the country. 

But much before that, the increasing 

involvement of Sajeeb 

Wazed Joy, the only son of the 

premier, into the activities of the 

government as well as the party 

besides serving as an ICT adviser 

to the prime minister, a field of his 

personal expertise too, has been 

winding the speculation of his introduction 

to the party line-up. 

Many leaders and activists – 

from the top tier to the grassroots, 

anticipate that Joy would be elevated 

to the post of general secretary 

of the party. 

Just two days ahead of the AL’s 

20th council, Joy’s possible induction 

dominated the air – in social 

media as well as party forum and 

even among the media workers. 

Joy is set to participate in the 

council as a councillor from Rangpur 

district. 

Convener of the Constitution 

Sub-committee for the council Abdur 

Razzak also sees the possibility. 

“Joy has been helping in the activities 

of the party and the government. 

“And his contribution is increasing,” 

said the former food minister, 

without elaborating how his name 

would be proposed for the central 

committee. 

Several activists including some 

coming from different districts as 

Fury at debate as Trump refuses 

pledge to respect a Clinton win 

• AFP, Las Vegas 

Turning his final presidential debate 

appearance into an unprecedented 

assault on US political 

convention, Donald Trump refused 

Wednesday to say that he would 

respect a Hillary Clinton victory in 

November. 

As the last head-to-head encounter 

of the toxic 2016 campaign 

A large boat-shaped platform, symbolising the Awami League party emblem, has been built at Suhrawardy Udyan for the ruling party’s 20th National Council scheduled 

for October 22-23. The photo was taken yesterday 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

descended into mud-slinging, the 

Republican mogul doubled down 

on claims that his Democratic rival’s 

supporters plan to rig the vote. 

And when asked whether he 

would commit to recognizing the 

result of the November 8 vote no 

matter what, the reality television 

star said: “I’ll tell you at the time. 

I’ll keep you in suspense, OK?” 

Clinton declared herself “appalled” 

by what she said was an attack 

on 240 years of US democracy. 

And, quoting her former rival 

Bernie Sanders, she called Trump 

the “most dangerous person to run 

for president in the modern history 

of America.” 

Trump had come into the third 

televised debate of the 2016 campaign 

in Las Vegas looking to 

PAGE 2 COLUMN 3 

DSCC mayor: Dhaka to be 

smart city by 2017 

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) 

Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon, 

while speaking at a discussion, declared 

that Dhaka would be transformed into a 

smart city by the year 2017. PAGE 5 

councillors and delegates acknowledged 

that they had learnt about 

the possibility, but refused to be 

quoted in media as they were unclear 

about the final outcome. 

They rely on the party chief and 

the high command over the matter, 

and instead wish to wait for the 

council day suppressing the enthusiasm. 

Speculations are also there in 

the cyberspace. Many party supporters 

are seen posting photos of 

Joy on Facebook, giving an impression 

of his induction into the top 

tier of the party during the council. 

Some other activists have suggested 

that it may take more time. 

His name also came on the discussion 

tables during the previous 

councils in 2009 and 2012. But 

nothing came of it. • 

Jamaat chief Maqbul’s 

1971 role under scanner 

• Ashif Islam Shaon 

The investigation agency of the 

International Crimes Tribunal 

has launched a probe into the war 

crimes allegations raised against 

Maqbul Ahmed, the newly elected 

ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami. 

“An investigation officer was appointed 

on Wednesday to carry out 

a preliminary probe,” Coordinator 

of the agency Abdul Hannan told 

the Dhaka Tribune Thursday. 

The agency has not got any evidence 

against Maqbul, “but we 

have got some specific information 

from the media about his complicity 

in war-time crimes,” he added. 

“We will launch formal probe once 

evidence of his involvement in 

crimes against humanity is found.” 

PAGE 3 COLUMN 1 

Debutant Miraz stars 

in eventful day 

Mehedi Hasan Miraz became the youngest 

Bangladeshi to pick up five wickets 

on debut as the opening day of the first 

Test match well and truly belonged to 

the home side. PAGE 32

2 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 

DT 

News 

Razzak: New committee to be a 

Ahead of the 20th council of the ruling Awami League Dhaka Tribune’s Mohammad Abu 

Bakar Siddique talked to the Convener of the Constitution Sub-Committee and Agriculture and 

Cooperatives Affairs Secretary of the party, Dr Abdur Razzak, on a wide range of issues centring 

the council of Bangladesh’s oldest political party 

What are the fundamental changes 

that are likely to be brought about 

in the declaration of the party 

council? 

Awami League is the oldest and the 

largest party of the country. Every 

council of the party is a milestone 

in the history of the nation and so 

is the 20th council. You know, we 

have some challenges to take on in 

the competitive world and in the 

era of open market economy. There 

are some emerging challenges too. 

Add to that new agendas in the 

geopolitical context. There are already 

some issues while some others 

are new, emerging ones. This 

country of ours has a huge population 

having a hell lot of economic 

challenges. Given the context we 

take up new programmes and set 

our goals anew in every council. 

Another aspect is that we try to 

find out the effective ways or the 

road-map in order to implement 

the aims and goals or vision we set 

and we undertake our programmes 

in the council accordingly. We also 

determine a structure best suited 

to the party to pursue the goals. 

At present the size and strength 

of the party is increasing and 

working area is widening. We are 

mulling over a plan to make some 

recommendations for deciding 

on the size of the party. Given the 

country’s context, we declared an 

elaborate vision to be achieved by 

2021 apart from formulating the 

sixth Five-Year Plan. 

By this time, we have implemented 

the MDG goals: Bangladesh 

is now appreciated all over 

the world for its performance in 

alleviating poverty and achievement 

in attaining other MDGs, 

like reducing maternal and child 

mortality rates, girls’ enrolment 

into schools. Bangladesh is doing 

extremely well in achieving the 17 

targets. In order to keep it up and 

move ahead in line with this development, 

we have adopted our programmes. 

We proposed the changes 

eying the upcoming election in 

2019. And the changes and the new 

declarations will be reflected in the 

election manifesto. 

We had a meeting of the executive 

committee of our party 

Internet service may be 

disrupted for 5 days 

• Tribune Desk 

Internet service in Bangladesh might 

be disrupted for five days as the 

submarine cable at Singapore end will 

undergo a repair work. 

The disruption might begin around 

Sunday midnight and continue till 

2pm on October 27, a statement by 

Bangladesh Telecommunication Company 

Limited (BTCL) said yesterday. 

Earlier, the BTCL said that the 

repair work would start at 12:30am on 

Friday and end on October 26. 

Despite the disruption, BTCL 

would continue its services through 

alternative means, Assistant Director 

Tohura Sultana said in a statement. 

Chief Strategy Officer of Fibre@ 

home Limited Suman Ahmed Davis 

told the Dhaka Tribune: “During the 

repair work, Singapore based traffic in 

Bangladesh will not get qualitative service 

but International Terrestrial Cable 

(ITC) based service or other subscribers 

will not face any disruption.” 

Meanwhile, BTCL Director (public 

relations and publication) Meer 

Mohammad Morshed told BSS: “The 

SEA-ME-WE-4 Consortium would 

carry out maintenance work of the 

undersea cable at its Singapore end 

from 12am of October 23 to 2pm of 

October 27 that may disrupt internet 

service temporarily in the country.” 

Bangladesh is now connected with 

lone submarine cable SEA-ME-WE-4. 

But, it has already joined another consortium 

SEA-ME-WE-5 that is expected 

to be connected with the country 

in December. Besides, the country is 

connected with ITC through different 

Indian companies. • 

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 

Fury at debate as Trump refuses pledge 

restore hope to his campaign just 

20 days before Election Day. 

Dogged by allegations of sexual 

misconduct, trailing in the polls 

and losing ground in key swing 

states, the 70-year-old was looking 

to capitalize on his last major 

chance to woo wavering voters. 

“The media is so dishonest and so 

corrupt and the pile-on is so amazing,” 

Trump said, referring to reports 

citing women accusing him of sexual 

assault, which he said were “fiction” 

and drummed up by Team Clinton. 

He alleged that millions of fake 

voters had been registered and that 

the 68-year-old Clinton should not 

even have been allowed to run because 

she mishandled classified 

State Department emails. 

Even some Republican lawmakers 

were outraged. Senator Jeff 

Flake said Trump was “beyond 

the pale” and onetime presidential 

candidate Senator Lindsey Graham 

said if Trump loses, it will be “because 

he failed as a candidate.” 

Democrats called on Republican 

leaders to repudiate “Trump’s utter 

contempt for our democracy,” as 

Nevada Senator Harry Reid put it. 

“One of our hallmarks has always 

been we accept the outcome 

of our elections,” Clinton told reporters 

as she flew home to White 

Plains, New York. 

“So what he said tonight is part 

of his whole effort to blame somebody 

else for his campaign, and 

where he stands in this election.” 

The extraordinary exchange 

was only one of a series of ferocious 

clashes, as the two stonyfaced 

candidates faced off from behind 

podiums on everything from 

immigration to Syria. 

At one point, Trump broke into 

one of Clinton’s responses to call 

her “such a nasty woman.” The 

candidates took and left the stage 

without shaking hands. 

Ripped from womb 

The former secretary of state scored 

an early hit against the Republican 

property mogul, alleging that Russian 

President Vladimir Putin was 

backing his run for office. 

Clinton cited reports from US intelligence 

agencies that Russian cyber 

attacks had targeted her party 

and campaign and demanded that 

Trump condemn the interference. 

“They have hacked American 

websites, American accounts of 

private people, of institutions,” she 

declared. 

“Then they have given that information 

to WikiLeaks for the purpose 

of putting it on the internet.” 

The Manhattan billionaire appeared 

not to mind giving credence 

to the charge that he sides with 

Moscow rather than Washington’s 

own intelligence agencies, declaring: 

“Our country has no idea.” 

Trump argued that he might negotiate 

better relations with Moscow 

than Clinton would, declaring: 

“Putin, from everything I see, has 

no respect for this person.” 

Clinton’s response was sharp: 

“Well, that’s because he would 

rather have a puppet as president 

of the United States.” 

Trump blustered back: “No puppet. 

You’re the puppet.” 

In what has been a bitter campaign, 

the two White House hopefuls 

got off to a subdued but oddly 

substantive start to the debate, 

compared to previous brawls. 

They were asked about their 

vision for the Supreme Court, 

prompting Clinton to argue the 

election was about “what kind of 

country are we going to be.” 

She insisted gay rights and women’s 

rights must not be rolled back. • 

RAJIB DHAR

lend of old and new 

News 3 



on Wednesday that approved the 

proposal to expand the size of the 

committee. However, the draft of 

the new constitution will be presented 

before the council. If the 

councillors give their nod, it will be 

adopted. 

A proposal is there to increase the 

size of the central committee from 

73 to 81. There will be a 19-member 

presidium in place of the present 

15-member one. The party will 

get four joint secretaries instead of 

three in the present committee. And 

two more organising secretaries and 

two more members were proposed 

for the new committee. Besides, 

the constitution subcommittee also 

proposed not including any convicted 

killers of Bangabandhu and war 

criminals in the committee. 

What kind of changes is the party 

going to make in the leadership? 

Can you specify some concrete 

examples? 

I cannot say anything about this exactly. 

New faces might come. The 

existing committee might be reshuffled 

with a new general secretary; 

new faces might also be included in 

the other posts too like that of the 

organising secretary or joint secretary. 

New faces in the new committee 

is pretty much natural. But 

we are mulling a committee with 

the combination of old and young 

generations to strengthen the party. 

We want to make the party more dynamic 

and more organised. 

What does this council mean to the 

party, its activists and the future of 

the country? 

We said we would bring all the 

party activists and leaders together. 

The goal is to unite the party 

members at the grassroots level to 

achieve the party vision. 

Is there any resolution that is going 

to be added to the existing ones? 

We want the new leadership to 

continue the developments that 

we have achieved. Our target is to 

become a rich country, a country 

without poverty. And according to 

the SDGs, we have the aim to ensure 

there would be no poverty by 2030. 

By 2021, we want to make it a 

middle income country. We want 

to reduce poverty, increase investment, 

the revenue and GDP, 

we want to expand the role of the 

manufacturing sector. And our political 

goal is to make the country a 

proper democratic state. 

We want to ensure a democratic, 

secular ambiance. We will work to 

that end. We will continue to fight 

against fundamentalism and militancy. 

We are committed to fighting 

Jamaat chief Maqbul’s 1971 role under scanner 

After serving his party for six years 

as the acting ameer, Maqbul took 

oath on Monday after being elected 

as the new chief of the anti-liberation 

party. Most of the top leaders 

of the party have been convicted or 

executed after trial. 

Meanwhile, the freedom fighters 

in Feni raised allegations of 

Maqbul’s involvement in atrocities 

committed by Peace Committee 

and razakar force – formed by Jamaat 

– in Dagonbhuiyan Upazila of 

the district during the 1971 Liberation 

War. 

According to Feni district freedom 

fighters’ Commander Mir Abdul 

Hannan, Maqbul was a razakar 

leader of Dagonbhuiyan during the 

war. 

Upon his directives, members 

of al-Badr and razakar forces had 

abducted freedom fighter Maulana 

Waz Uddin, a former leader of 

Bangladesh Students Union and 

vice-president of Feni College 

Central Students’ Union, and later 

killed him in Chittagong, he said. 

Dagonbhuiyan unit Commander 

of freedom fighters Shariat Ullah 

Bangali accused Maqbul of masterminding 

the death of 10 Hindus at 

Laalpur village of Joylaskar Union 

CCTV cameras have been installed ahead of Awami League council to beef up 

security 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

in the upazila. The victims were 

burnt to death. 

“In another incident, razakar 

Mosharraf Hossain Mosha killed 

freedom fighter Ahsan Ullah of 

Khushipur village of the upazila on 

the order by Maqbul. Mosha, hailing 

from Safua village, is still alive,” 

Shariat told the Dhaka Tribune, 

demanding investigation into the 

allegations against the new Jamaat 

chief. 

Mir Hannan alleged that around 

200 razakars of Feni including 

Maqbul had been enjoying impunity 

as no charges were brought 

against them at the International 

Crimes Tribunal. 

Jamaat has refuted the allegations 

as baseless and imaginary. 

During the war, the Jamaat 

top brass had branded the freedom 

fighters as miscreants, atheists 

and agents of India, and took 

part in genocide, rape, looting 

and arson attacks in collaboration 

with the Pakistani occupation 

forces. 

After taking oath, Maqbul in a 

written statement the same day 

recalled the contribution and sacrifice 

of the “valiant and courageous 

freedom fighters and the people of 

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 

all classes” in 1971. He also mentioned 

the names of Sheikh Mujibur 

Rahman, Ziaur Rahman, Maulana 

Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and 

General Ataul Gani Osmani. 

In the same statement, Maqbul, 

however, claimed that the “authoritarian” 

government had “unlawfully” 

executed five Jamaat leaders 

“because of their pro-active and 

dynamic roles.” 

The government has executed 

the death penalties of Motiur Rahman 

Nizami, Ali Ahsan Mohammad 

Mujahid; Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, 

Abdul Quader Molla and 

Mir Quasem Ali. 

Jamaat guru Ghulam Azam, who 

was given 90 years’ jail due to old 

age though his crimes amounted 

to capital punishment, died when 

the appeals case was pending with 

the Appellate Division. Another Jamaat 

leader AKM Yusuf died in jail 

during the trial period. 

Maqbul also claimed that Jamaat 

leaders Abdus Subhan, Delawar 

Hossain Sayedee and ATM Azharul 

Islam had been kept in jail to face 

slow death as they were sentenced 

on the basis of “false and baseless” 

allegations of crimes against humanity. 

• 

against terrorism in the regional and 

international spheres. We will maintain 

zero tolerance towards terrorism. 

You have been named as one of the 

potential party general secretary 

candidates. Who do you think will 

be the party secretary in the next 

council? What would you do if you 

were made the general secretary 

of the party? 

I do not know about it. I have never 

thought of it but I am committed to 

working for the country’s democracy 

with an inclusive approach 

excepting Jamaat, the party that 

worked against the country’s Liberation 

War and independence. 

The BNP said they expected 

democracy to be restored through 

the council. Do you have any 

comment on this statement? 

It is a democratic country. Elections 

are held constitutionally but 

election is just one aspect of democracy. 

There might be political 

programmes like hartal, blockade, 

movement, rally or procession etc. 

These are not unexpected in democratic 

politics. If we make any mistake 

as the government, they will 

protest. But this is not acceptable or 

understandable when they unleash 

violence and subversive activities in 

the name of hartal or blockade. Now 

there is democracy in the country. 

There are many newspapers, electronic 

media, online portals; people 

are writing or publishing whatever 

they like. Press is another aspect, 

the fourth pillar of democracy. 

There is elections in every sphere 

– from local to national level. But 

they (BNP) made a mistake in not 

taking part in the January 5 elections. 

We hope that they would take 

part in the next election to be held 

in 2019. We will seek their support 

to hold free and fair election. 

Is Sajeeb Wazed Joy coming to 

the leadership from the young 

generation? 

Joy is already contributing, more or 

less, to the party despite having no 

post. He is doing it for the government 

too. He helps development 

activities. With his professional 

expertise, he is contributing to the 

IT sector. He is performing a lot of 

responsibilities for the party and 

government as well. However, it is 

not known to me if he is coming to 

the leadership. 

In what process will the leadership 

be decided? What are going to 

be crucial factors in deciding 

leadership? 

The leadership will be elected as it 

is inscribed in our party constitution. 

Normally, those who have experience 

of running the party with 

organisational capability would be 

brought in. • 

Suhrawardy to be 

remembered in 

AL council 


Awami League (AL) will remember 

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy 

along with father of the Nation 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman 

in their upcoming council. 

An invitation letter sent to a foreign 

dignitary, seen by the Dhaka 

Tribune, also suggested that the 

council came as an opportunity 

for the party to share the “indelible 

contributions” of the two great 

leaders of the nation. 

During the council, the contribution 

of the daughter of Bangabandhu, 

Sheikh Hasina, the existing party 

president and the prime minister 

of the country, in the political evolution 

of the country will also be remembered, 

read the invitation. 

Rashidul Mahmud Rasel, a member 

of the reception subcommittee 

formed for the upcoming council 

told Dhaka Tribune: “With the father 

of the nation, we would also remember 

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, 

who was president of the party in 

1953, as an ideological leader of AL.” 

“We will acknowledge his influence 

in making the history of the 

nation with great respect” he said. 

He also said: “Bangabandhu was 

in close contact with Suhrawardy 

from the days of involvement in 

politics as a student in Kolkata before 

the partition. After partition, 

he was a guide to Bangabandhu.” •

4 



News 

TIB: Don’t take 

World Bank’s 

$2 billion 

• UNB 

Transparency International 

Bangladesh (TIB) has voiced 

concerns over the World 

Bank’s intention of expanding 

its lending portfolio by providing 

a loan of $2 billion to Bangladesh 

as climate finance over 

the next three years. 

In a statement yesterday, 

TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman 

called upon 

the World Bank to recognise 

that to address challenges of 

climate change, Bangladesh 

is entitled to compensation in 

the form of grants, rather than 

loans. 

“It is unacceptable that the 

Bank appears to see an opportunity 

for expanding its business 

of lending in Bangladesh 

in the name of standing by 

‘the poor and the hardest hit’ 

as a result of global climate 

change,” Iftekharuzzaman 

said. 

Welcoming WB President 

Jim Kim’s emphasis on governance 

and zero tolerance 

against corruption during his 

visit to Dhaka, the TIB chief 

said if the Bank is genuinely 

interested to support Bangladesh 

on account of climate 

change, it should refrain from 

increasing further indebtedness 

of Bangladesh. 

“Instead, the Bank should 

seek ways to contribute to the 

processes that may ensure 

that Bangladesh receives the 

promised compensation from 

the developed countries responsible 

for climate change,” 

he said. 

As one of the countries 

most affected by global climate 

change, the statement said, 

Bangladesh is already acutely 

vulnerable. The climate-affected 

people of this country 

cannot afford to further 

accentuate their vulnerability 

in the form of interest payable 

to the mega lending group 

even if such loans are offered 

at the best possible concessional 

terms. 

“If the World Bank is interested 

to expand its lending 

business in Bangladesh we 

ask it to explore other areas 

of public interest where, 

unlike climate finance, interest-free 

grants are unavailable. 

The Bank will do well to 

apply whatever capacity and 

expertise it may have to facilitate 

easier and enhanced 

scope of Bangladesh’s access 

to grants from such sources as 

the Green Climate Fund,” the 

statement added. 

TIB called upon the government 

not to accept any loans 

for climate finance, especially 

when grants should be made 

available as compensation. 

“We also appeal to the government 

to deploy all political, 

technical and diplomatic skill 

and expertise at its disposal to 

persuade the developed countries 

to deliver on their commitment 

to provide compensation”, 

the statement said. • 

The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources and Ports yesterday stages a demonstration in front of the National Press 

Club protesting police attack on its procession demanding cancellation of Rampal Powe Plant 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

3,621 pilgrims yet to return from 

Saudi Arabia after last flight 


The last flight of Biman Bangladesh 

Airlines for carrying homebound pilgrims 

arrived Dhaka on October 17 and 

the last Saudi Airlines flight reached 

yesterday, leaving a number of 3,621 

pilgrims stranded in Saudi Arabia who 

are yet to return to the country. 

This year 1,01,758 pilgrims went to 

Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, but according 

to data provided yesterday by 

the Ministry of Religion, so far a number 

of 98,137 pilgrims came back to the 

country after performing Hajj. That 

means 3,621 pilgrims are still stranded 

in Saudi Arabia who might remain 

there illegally. 

When asked about these pilgrims 

reasons behind, Secretary of Ministry 

of Religion Abdul Jalil said: “Some pilgrims 

are coming back to the country 

by scheduled flight of other careers 

between Bangladesh – Saudi Arabia.” 

“We can inform about the number 

of those pilgrims on October 25,” he 

also said. 

The secretary said that it is not 

possible to remain there illegally as 

we can easily detect who stayed back 

there illegally, as everyone of the pilgrims 

went there using Machine Readable 

Passport (MRP). 

He also informed that Saudi Immigration 

is yet to inform about the number 

of pilgrims who remained in their 

country. 

“They will inform us on October 

25,” he added. • 

Imam jailed for stalking 

schoolgirl 

• Md Taieyb Ali Sarker, 

Nilphamari 

A mobile court in Jaldhaka 

of Nilphamari has sentenced 

an imam of a local mosque to 

three months’ imprisonment 

for harassing a schoolgirl repeatedly. 

Maulana Nurunnabi, 32, the 

imam of Baktiar Para Utachhari 

mosque of the upazila, 

was sent to jail yesterday 

morning, Jaldhaka OC Mofiz 

Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune. 

The accused had long been 

proposing to marry the class X 

student of Jaldhaka Pilot High 

School on her way to and from 

the school. 

On Wednesday afternoon, 

Nurunnabi obstructed the girl 

again when she was returning 

home after attending an examination 

at the school. 

The girl informed the headmaster 

about the matter immediately, 

following which 

the teachers caught Nurunnabi 

and handed him over to the 

police. 

Upazila Nirbahi Officer 

Mohammad Rashedul 

Huq Pradhan conducted a 

hearing the same night and 

gave Nurunnabi three months’ 

jail after he confessed his 

crimes. •

News 5 


DSCC mayor: Dhaka to be smart city by 2017 

• Abu Hayat Mahmud 

Dhaka South City Corporation 

(DSCC) Mayor Mohammad Sayeed 

Khokon, while speaking at a 

discussion, declared that Dhaka 

would be transformed into a smart 

city by the year 2017. 

He made the declaration yesterday 

during a panel discussion titled 

“Digital Bangladesh – Perspective 

Smart Dhaka” on the second day 

of Digital World 2016 Conference 

at International Convention City in 

Dhaka's Bashundhara area. 

The DSCC mayor, while speaking 

as the chief guest of the panel, 

said: “Smart city does not mean 

we will turn Dhaka into London or 

Singapore. It means there will be 

improvements to the city corporations’ 

services such as waste management 

and infrastructure.” 

He promised that technologies 

would be integrated into all aspects 

of life in Dhaka city including 

transport and security. He also said 

that WiFi zones in the city would 

cover more areas with topnotch 

connectivity services. 

ICT entrepreneurs urge govt to 

ease tendering conditions 

• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi 

Local ICT entrepreneurs and 

professionals yesterday urged the 

government to ease tendering 

conditions so that they also can 

drop tenders and win contracts 

for digitisation of government 

services. 

ICT professionals and entrepreneurs 

made the appeal at a seminar 

on “Industry Readiness for Digitization 

of Government Service” 

where the government policy makers 

also participated. 

In response, government policy 

makers, however, urged the entrepreneurs 

to come up with best 

solutions and to show the capacity 

to take the risk of handling big projects. 

Bangladesh Association of Software 

and Information Services 

(BASIS) senior vice president Russell 

T Ahmed moderated the seminar, 

organised as part of the threeday 

“Digital World 2016” Expo 

being held in Dhaka. 

At the seminar, entrepreneurs 

complained that the current 

process of bidding is not in favor 

of local entrepreneurs. If we want 

to boost the local industry, we 

Participants of a panel discussion titled ‘Digital Bangladesh - Perspective Smart Dhaka’ at the International Convention Centre 

in Bashundhara yesterday on the second day of the Digital World 2016 Conference 

MEHEDI HASAN 

“With integration of technology 

in transport related services, daily 

commuting will become easier for 

people,” he added. 

“Earlier we had announced 2016 

to be the year of cleaning the city 

and that is being implemented. The 

have to create space allowing 

them to work jointly with foreign 

companies. 

Proposing that the conditions 

in the tendering process should be 

in such way that local companies 

can participate and bid, Spectrum 

Engineering Consortium Limited 

Managing Director Forkan 

Bin Quasem said, “When a 

multinational company gets a 

software-implementing tender, 

it should be mandatory to have 

local agents with it, so that the 

local professionals can acquire 

knowledge and experience of big 

projects.” 

“If all the software-related tasks 

are done by the foreign companies, 

the local companies will have to 

do only the hardware-related tasks 

which would bar the growth of the 

sector,” he added. 

Stressing that digital literacy is 

very important to digitise the country, 

Microsoft Asia pacific Sales 

Director Arijit Roy, said, “We are 

working with partnership so that 

professionals of the country can be 

skilled and increase capacity.” 

Citing example of local ICT 

company Tiger IT which is now 

working in Nepal, REVE System 

year 2017 will be the year for Smart 

Dhaka,” he said. 

At the discussion, World Bank 

Consultant Isaac Kim presented 

the keynote paper for the session 

which was moderated by Mustafizur 

Rahman, innovation director of 

CEO M Rezaul Hasan said, “We 

have to prove that we can take 

risk and want to compete with 

everyone. If we cannot compete in 

the local market, then how we will 

be able to compete in the global 

market.” 

“The local entrepreneurs should 

come up with bigger plans and 

solution regarding digitisation 

of government services with 

challenges and BASIS should take 

the lead,” said State Minister for 

Ministry of Power, Energy and 

Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid 

Bipu. 

Advising local professionals to 

forget about the high efficiency 

of multi-national companies, the 

state minister said, “You should 

take the risk and challenge. Show 

your capacity and compete with 

others. This is the time to deal with 

your confidence. The market is 

getting bigger and we have several 

ministries as well as companies to 

digitise,” said Nasrul. 

Talking on the opportunity 

of digitisation in the day to 

come, the minister said his 

ministry is going to float tender of 

$200 million to digitise the power 

division. • 

Access to Information (a2i) initiative 

under the PMO. 

Kim defined smart city as an 

innovative city where information 

and communications technology 

(ICT) and other technological implementations 

improve the quality 


of life and make urban operation 

and services efficient while ensuring 

that it meets that needs of the 

present and future generations 

with respect to economic, social 

and environmental aspects. 

Ashok Kumar Seetharaman, director 

of the eGovernment Leadership 

Centre at National University 

of Singapore, said Dhaka's growing 

population and transport movement 

was a big challenge for the 

authorities 

He recommended that the 

authorities take steps to reduce 

private transport and introduce 

services such as Uber, a popular 

taxi-booking mobile application. 

According to it's website, Uber 

is planning to start it's service in 

Bangladesh. 

Other panelists at the event 

were Shyam Sunder Sikder, ICT 

secretary; Srikant Kadambi, director 

public sector, Microsoft APAC; 

Zhou Henghui, senior smart city 

planner at ZTE Corporation; and 

Derek Sun, vice president of government, 

public utility sector at 

Huawei Technologies. • 

‘Govt has to lead in creating 

mobile financial services’ 

• Ishtiaq Husain 

To get the most benefit from mobile 

financial services, the government 

will have to lead the way in establishing 

infrastructure for the sector 

and make the industry friendly, 

policy experts said yesterday. 

The view came during a seminar 

titled “Inclusive Finance through 

Technologies” at the International 

Convention Centre in Dhaka’ 

Bashundhara on the sidelines of 

Digital World 2016 Conference. 

Yesterday was the second day of 

the three-day conference. 

At the seminar, keynote speaker 

Krishnan Dharmarajan, executive director 

of Center for Digital Financial 

Inclusion, talked about barriers of 

technology based financial services. 

He said: “Bangladesh has a huge 

population but a large percentage 

of it is economically weak.” 

“Low literacy and awareness 

about financial products are a barrier 

for technology based financial 

inclusion,” Dharmarajan added. 

He also criticised the existing 

mobile financial services saying 

that the existing model was designed 

to cater only to the urban 

customer segment. 

Sanjay Patel, South East Asia 

specialist sales director, APAC, said: 

“MFS is needed for everyday life as 

an access to sustainable and secure 

financial services which contributes 

directly in increasing income and reducing 

vulnerability for the poor.” • 

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY 

Dhaka 33 21 Chittagong 34 24 Rajshahi 33 19 Rangpur 32 19 Khulna 33 20 Barisal 33 22 Sylhet 34 20 

Cox’s Bazar 33 25 

PARTLY CLOUDY 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21 

DHAKA 

TODAY 

TOMORROW 

SUN SETS 5:28PM 

SUN RISES 5:59AM 

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW 

35.4ºC 

19.5ºC 

Jessore 

Tetulia 

Source: Accuweather/UNB 

PRAYER 

TIMES 

Fajr: 5:25am | Jumma: 1:15pm 

Asr: 4:15pm | Magrib: 5:41pm 

Esha: 7:45pm 

Source: Islamic Foundation

6 



News 

Kamal: None of the forest robbers, 

pirates, militants be spared 

• Tariqul Islam, Barguna 

A forest robber is seen surrendering a firearm to home minister at Barguna circuit house yesterday 

Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman 

Khan Kamal yesterday said 

none of forest robbers, pirates and 

militants would not be spared. 

He also urged all the people who 

are involded in anti-state activities 

to surrender and lead a normal 

life.” 

The minister made the comment 

while addressing a surrender 

ceremony of 14 forest robbers on 

Barguna Circuit House premises in 

the morning. 

At the programmes, ringleader 

of forest robbers Sagar and his 13 

cohorts have surrendered to Rapid 

Action Battalion along with a large 

amount of firearms and ammunition. 

The surrendered pirates are 

ringleader Alamgir Sheikh alias 

Sagar, Kamrul Fakir, Abdul Malek, 

Kader Sheikh, Hafizur Rahman, 

Kabir Sardar, Delwar Sheikh, Hasan 

Sardar, Nanna Fakir, Tauhidul Islam, 

Razu Sheikh, Litan Hawlader 

and Tariqul Gazi. 

They formally surrendered in 

presence of Home Minister Asaduzzaman 

Khan Kamal and RAB 

Director General Benazir Ahmed at 

Barguna Circuit House premises on 

Thursday morning. 

Initially the pirates surrendered 

to RAB on October 19 during a raid 

in Sundarbans. They laid down 

their arms including- 20 foreign 

and locals guns and over 500 

rounds of bullets. 

On September 8, fourteen robbers 

of two Sundarbans-based 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

pirate gangs surrendered to law 

enforcers with arms and ammunition 

in presence of Home Minister 

Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal at the 

headquarters of Rapid Action Battalion 

(RAB) in Barisal city. • 

Motaleb Hossain Lipu 

RU student 

found dead 

• Abdullah Al Dulal, Rajshahi 

A student’s blood-stained body was 

found on the campus of Rajshahi 

University yesterday morning. 

University staff found the body 

of Motaleb Hossain Lipu, 22, in a 

drain behind the Abdul Latif Hall 

around 8am and informed police 

about the matter. 

Officer-in-Charge of Motihar 

police station Humayun Kabir 

said the body was recovered from 

a drain behind the hall’s dining 

room. 

Lipu was a resident of room 253 

at Abdul Latif Hall. He was a second 

year student of the Mass Communication 

and Journalism department. 

His hometown is Mukimpur 

village, Jhenaidah. 

The body has been sent to Rajshahi 

Medical College morgue for 

an autopsy, said OC Humayun. • 

Enormous irregularities 

surface over Tk10 rice 

• SM Samsur Rahman, 

Bagerhat 

The government has trying to 

eradicate sufferings of the ultra 

poor people through providing 

rice at Tk10 per kilogram for 

five months a year during the 

lean season. 

But a section of ruling party 

men and unscrupulous local representatives 

of Bagerhat district 

are spoiling government’s efforts. 

Locals alleged that local ruling 

party men and representatives 

are committing irregularities 

with Tk10 rice distribution. 

Local leaders of Awami 

League and deprived of the district 

said, responsible people 

have listed solvent people and 

distributed cards among them 

instead of poor and helpless, 

enrolled name of keens and 

relatives in the lists, inscribed 

names by taking bribe, appointed 

ruling party men as distributors, 

name of several members 

of a family listed, given cards 

to government employees, taken 

Tk300 but distributed 15-20 

kg rice instead of 30kg, offered 

cards to vulnerable group feeding 

(VGF) card holders, provide 

less rice in weight and not submit 

list to local authorities. 

In Kachua upazila, local 

leaders of ruling party and local 

representatives distributed 

cards after taking Tk10 for per 

card, put government officials 

and rich people’s names in the 

lists. During rice distributing 

processes dealers of the upazila 

are giving less rice weight. 

Momotaj Begum, headmaster 

of a local primary school, 

said: “Local representatives 

enlisted me and my husband’s 

name without our concerns.” 

Nakib Faisal Ohid, chairman 

of Badhal union in the upazila, 

said: “Local people have added 

his relative’s names in the list 

mistakenly.” 

In Morrelganj upazila, local 

people contended that influential 

leaders with the help of 

local chairmen and members 

took Tk200 to Tk500 from poor 

people to enlist their names 

in the lists. However, helpless 

people of Putikhali union did 

not get rice as chairman of the 

union failed to submit lists of 

poor people local people. 

Shachan Mia Shamim, chairman 

of Putikhali union, ignored 

the allegation and said: 

“Due to insufficient of rice authorities 

have failed to distribute 

them rice.” •

AL’S NATIONAL COUNCIL 

Narayanganj AL expecting 

central committee posts 

• Tanveer Hossain, 

Narayanganj 

Narayanganj has a historic association 

with Awami League. 

The district with five upazilas 

had played significant roles in Language 

Movement and Liberation 

War both. Despite this rich political 

background, Narayanganj Awami 

League could not bag any place 

in the cabinet as well as in Awami 

League central committee. That is 

why the leaders and activists of the 

district Awami League are looking 

forward to the upcoming national 

council of the party. 

They are expecting lawmakers 

Shamim Osman and Nazrul Islam 

300 shops, 

houses gutted 

• Ziaul Haque, Rangamati 

News 7 


Babu to be elected as the central 

committee members, because in 

the district Awami League committee, 

which was declared on October 

9 after long 14 years, Shamim and 

Babu did not get any position. 

The 20th national council of the 

ruling party is going to be held in 

the capital’s Suhrawardy Uddan 

on 22-23 October, while the party’s 

central committee will be formed 

through voting. 

A total of 169 councillors, who 

will vote in election of the central 

committee, and the same number 

of activists from Narayanganj 

would join the three-yearly council, 

said Abdul Hye, president of 

the district AL and also administrator 

of Zila Parishad. 

But many more were interested 

to go to Dhaka, at least, to witness 

the council, said M Saifullah Badal, 

president of Fatullah Awami 

League. 

Despite prevalent excitement 

ahead of the council, no decoration 

or lighting is seen in the town, even 

in the party office, and important 

places of the district. 

Khokon Shaha, general secretary 

to Narayanganj city Awami 

League, said as they would go to 

the council in a grand caravan of 

buses and would present themselves 

differently, they did not concentrate 

on the decoration of the 

places. • 

KGDCL goes tough on 

misuse of gas 

• Anwar Hussain, Chittagong 

Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company 

Ltd (KGDCL) has launched 

a special drive to check misuse of 

gas. 

The gas distribution company 

has formed a total of 18 vigilance 

teams for conducting the drives 

against misuse of gas. 

From October 2014 till September 

2016, the vigilance teams of the 

KGDCL severed as many as 2,344 

connections, including 2,152 domestic 

and 120 commercial ones 

for illegally using gas. 

The gas distribution company 

also suspended supplying gas 

to a total of 12,690 consumers for 

arrears. Later, 10,785 consumers 

were given reconnections as they 

cleared off the outstanding bills 

amounting to Tk 44.40 lakh. 

Police to ban hawkers from public transport 


As per Bangladesh Gas Act 2010, 

an illegal gas user can be awarded 

with three months to one year imprisonment 

and fined ranging from 

Tk10,000 to Tk5 lakh. 

The vigilance teams also removed 

3,569 feet long illegal gas 

pipeline after conducting drives in 

many parts of the city in the last 

two years. 

A total of 31 mobile courts were 

also conducted by the executive 

magistrates of Chittagong district 

administration in the last 24 

months where 181 gas connections 

were severed and 694 cluster gas 

cylinders were seized. 

The mobile courts sentenced eight 

offenders with different terms of imprisonment 

and realised Tk11.10 lakh 

as fine. A total of 13 cases were filed 

against offenders during the drives of 

the mobile courts. • 

An elderly woman was killed and 

300 shops and houses were burnt 

in a fire at Durchhari Bazar, Bagaichhari 

upazila, Rangamati early 

yesterday. 

The deceased was identified as 

Shikha Saha. 

The fire originated from a shop 

namely Sunil Dey Bedding Store 

around 12:30am. 

As there are no available fire services 

in Baghaichhari, the nearest 

firefighters were called from Khagrachhari, 

but it could not reach 

the area due to the inaccessible 

hilly roads. 

Upazila Nirbahi Officer Tajul Islam 

said: “This disaster could not 

be stopped in time due to unavailability 

of fire service in the upazila.” 

Later, BGB, army and police personnel 

along with the locals went 

to the spot and brought the fire under 

control. • A fire breaks out at Durchhari Bazar, Bagaichhari upazila, Rangamati early yesterday that left one person killed and 300 houses and shops gutted DHAKA TRIBUNE 

• Arifur Rahman Rabbi 

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police 

(DMP) plans to ban hawkers from 

public transport following the arrest 

of 19 doping gang members, 

yesterday. 

Dope gang members are known 

to sedate people without their 

knowledge with rubbing sedative 

ointments on their noses and robbing 

them of their possessions. 

They usually pose as hawkers on 

public transport. 

DB Joint Commissioner Abdul 

Baten said: “DMP is planning to ban 

hawkers from conducting business 

inside buses so that we can prevent 

the activities of dope gangs.” 

“We will take a decision regarding 

the matter after holding meetings 

with the proper authorities 

and transport owners’ association,” 

he added. Police have found 

that the dope gangs have increased 

their activities recently, he said. 

“The dope gang members return 

to their criminal activity after being 

released from jail or securing bail, 

said Baten. 

We will take a 

decision regarding 

the matter after 

holding meetings 

with the proper 

authorities and 

transport owners’ 

association 

Last week, DB police have raided 

different areas of the capital and 

have arrested 19 members of dope 

gangs on Wednesday, added the 

official. 

They were identified as Jamal, 

Sayed, Rana, Enamul Haque alias 

Enam, Abul Hossain, Arif Hossain, 

Mona, Almaj Shekh, Imran Ali, 

Milon Patoary, Milon alias Patkata 

Milon, Rana, Alamgir, Shajib, 

Rubel, Manik Rahman alias Saju, 

Shakil Siddik, Sujon and Joynal. 

They were arrested from 

Sayedabad and Gabtoli bus terminals, 

Bongshal, Bhatara, Kamalapur 

BRTC bus stand and some 

other areas of Dhaka. 

Joint Commissioner Baten said 

that a lot of these criminals are not 

from Dhaka, they come here from 

adjoining districts and usually join 

such snatching gangs first. 

These crimes usually go unreported 

as victims prefer not to get 

into a legal hassle, he said. 

“We are trying to prevent such 

crimes and have taken additional 

security measures in the strategic 

points of the city and shopping 

malls to catch these criminals,” 

added Baten. •


8 

World 


SOUTH ASIA 

UN urges Sri Lanka to 

reduce army’s grasp 

A UN rights expert Thursday reiterated 

calls for Sri Lanka to step up 

reconciliation efforts and reduce 

the military presence in former war 

zones seven years after the end of 

fighting. UN minority rights expert 

Rita Izsak-Ndiaye urged the government 

to press ahead with healing 

the wounds of the conflict, after 

coming to power last year promising 

reforms and reconciliation. AFP 

INDIA 

Indian court acquits 14 over 

2002 Gujarat massacre 

An Indian court on Thursday upheld 

appeals by 14 Hindus convicted over 

the massacre of 33 Muslims burnt 

alive during some of the worst religious 

unrest the country has seen 

since independence. The victims 

had crowded into a small house 

seeking shelter during a wave of 

anti-Muslim violence in the western 

state of Gujarat in 2002, triggered by 

a train fire in which Hindu pilgrims 

were burnt alive. AFP 

CHINA 

Hong Kong lawmakers 

blocked from taking oath 

Hong Kong’s legislature again 

descended into chaos Wednesday as 

pro-Beijing politicians blocked the 

swearing in of two new lawmakers 

who want a split from China, in an 

increasingly divided parliament. It 

comes as fears grow in the semi-autonomous 

city that Beijing is tightening 

its grip, fuelling an independence 

movement in Hong Kong. AFP 

ASIA PACIFIC 

Philippines’ Duterte 

announces separation 

from US 

Philippines’ President Rodrigo 

Duterte declared his separation 

from longstanding ally the US 

in Beijing on Thursday, as he 

rebalances his country’s diplomacy 

towards China. I announce my 

separation from the United States, 

he said to applause at a meeting in 

the Chinese capital. AFP 

MIDDLE EAST 

US government sanctions 

Hezbollah fundraisers 

The US Treasury Department took 

action on Thursday to disrupt the 

operations and fundraising of the Iranian-backed 

Hezbollah organization, 

imposing sanctions on four people 

believed to be Hezbollah financiers 

and one firm, Global Cleaners SARL. 

The sanctions prevent US citizens doing 

business with the individuals and 

organization. Saudi Arabia joined the 

United States in imposing sanctions on 

some of the people. REUTERS 

World diplomats seek post-battle 

plan for Mosul 

• Tribune International Desk 

Iraq’s prime minister vowed Thursday 

to protect civilians fleeing the 

battle to oust Islamic State extremists 

from Mosul, as the offensive 

picked up speed and diplomats 

worked to ensure the gains are 

lasting - and that jihadists don’t escape, 

reports The Associated Press. 

French President Francois Hollande, 

hosting a conference on stabilising 

Mosul, urged the international 

community not to abandon 

the city once the multi-pronged 

military operation is over. Diplomats 

from the US, Iraq and some 

20 other countries gathered in 

Paris to devise a plan to protect civilians, 

distribute aid and address 

questions about governing areas 

newly liberated from IS. 

The offensive for Mosul - Iraq’s 

second-largest city and the biggest 

IS-held city - is expected to 

take weeks, if not months. There 

are fears it could unleash sectarian 

tensions, and threaten civilians in a 

region ravaged by years of violence. 

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider 

Al-Abadi said Thursday that Mosul 

may fall sooner than expected. 

“The fighting forces are currently 

pushing forward toward the town 

more quickly than we thought, 

and more quickly certainly than 

we established in our plan of campaign,” 

he told the Paris conference 

via video transmission. 

French Foreign Minister Jean- 

Marc Ayrault warned that up to 

a million people might try to flee 

Mosul, and said authorities must 

check each one to make sure extremists 

aren’t among them. 

Ayrault also said the international 

community must think 

about the next step - notably, 

what do about the IS stronghold of 

Raqqa in Syria. 

As the Mosul fighting intensifies, 

al-Abadi said the Iraqi government 

is “providing support for internally 

displaced people,” and opening 

humanitarian corridors amid the 

ongoing military operations. 

“We will not allow any violations 

of human rights,” he said. 

He stressed that the battle is led 

by Iraq and is not a foreign invasion, 

though it has military support 

from a broad US-led coalition. 

He also praised the diverse nature 

of today’s Iraqi forces, including 

Kurdish peshmerga, fighting IS. 

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert 

Koenders, speaking in Paris, said 

his government will contribute 

$1.1m to fund demining activities 

in Mosul once Islamic State fighters 

have been driven out. 

“By demining these areas, people 

who have fled can safely return 

to rebuild their lives,” Koenders 

said in a statement. 

French authorities believe attacks 

on French soil in recent years 

have been plotted from IS strongholds 

in Syria and Iraq. French 

warplanes and artillery are involved 

in the battle for Mosul, as 

part of the US-led military coalition 

backing the Iraqi campaign. Hollande 

said France has 4,000 people 

deployed in the region, including 

those on the Charles de Gaulle aircraft 

carrier and support forces on 

the ground near Qayyarah. • 

East Aleppo ceasefire has begun, promises safe exit 

• Reuters, Amman 

The Syrian military said on Thursday 

a unilateral ceasefire backed by Russia 

had come into force to allow people 

to leave besieged eastern Aleppo, 

a move rejected by rebels who say 

they are preparing a counter-offensive 

to break the blockade. 

State media earlier said the 

army had opened exit corridors in 

two designated areas in the Bustan 

al Qasr quarter and near the Castello 

road in northern Aleppo city. 

Waiting buses were shown on state 

television. 

Intensified Russian and Syrian 

bombing of besieged rebel-held 

parts of Aleppo in the past weeks 

has hit hospitals, bakeries and water 

pumping stations, and killed 

hundreds of civilians. 

The United Nations has criticised 

unilateral ceasefires after 

long sieges, saying they can be 

helpful only if combined with humanitarian 

access for those who 

do not want to leave. 

The 250,000 civilians trapped 

inside the besieged rebel held 

parts of the city have so far stayed 

away from the corridors. The army 

blames rebels opposed to President 

Bashar al-Assad for preventing 

them leaving and says they use 

civilians as human shields. 

Rebels say the goal of Moscow 

and Assad is to empty rebel-held 

areas of civilians so they can take 

over the whole city. 

State-owned Ikhbariyah television 

said rebels had fired a mortar 

barrage near to where ambulances 

had been heading to take 

patients from the besieged parts 

of the city for treatment in government-held 

areas. 

Medical treatment 

The Syrian military said on 

IRAQI FORCES CLOSING IN ON MOSUL 

Wednesday it would observe the 

temporary ceasefire over three 

days from morning to sunset to allow 

trapped civilians to escape and 

said it had pulled back to enable 

rebel fighters to leave the city via 

two designated corridors. 

Residents reported no raids 

on residential areas on Thursday 

morning though rebel sources said 

planes believed to be Russian jets 

flying at high altitude continued to 

pound targets in towns and villages 

in Aleppo’s western countryside 

and in rebel-held Idlib province in 

northwest Syria. 

People ventured onto the 

streets in some neighbourhoods to 

buy essentials before an expected 

resumption of nightly raids after 

sunset. 

Near the Turkish border, at 

least one civilian and scores were 

wounded when a car bomb blew 

up in an industrial area in the town 

of Azaz, a stronghold for Turkish-backed 

rebels who are waging 

a campaign to drive out Islamic 

State militants from their remaining 

foothold in the northern Aleppo 

countryside. 

Since Russia intervened in the 

war a year ago, the government’s 

side has gained the upper hand on 

numerous fronts, including Aleppo, 

where the opposition-held sector 

has been completely encircled 

for weeks. 

The Syrian army has pressed 

ahead with a major campaign, supported 

by Iranian-backed militias 

and Russian air power, to take full 

control of Syria’s largest city, divided 

between rebel and government 

zones since 2012. 

The rebels, however, say they 

are preparing a large-scale offensive 

to break the siege of Aleppo 

and that the Russian air force has 

failed. •

FACTBOX 

World 

UK heads for Brexit showdown 

with EU: What’s at stake 

Prime Minister Theresa May will come 

under pressure from other European 

Union leaders on Thursday to say what 

kind of deal she wants for Britain when 

it leaves the bloc. 

May, attending her first EU summit 

since becoming prime minister in July, 

has so far given only glimpses of her 

vision for Britain’s future relationship 

with the EU. 

Below is a summary of the most important 

issues in the negotiations which 

are due to start by March next year. 

Single market access 

British firms are likely to face barriers 

to the EU’s single, tariff-free market 

of 500m consumers because May 

has said she will heed the call from 

many voters for more controls over 

migration. Such controls would breach 

the EU’s core principle of freedom of 

movement for workers in the bloc. 

Supporters of a “hard” Brexit say 

Germany and other EU nations are 

bluffing about putting tariffs on British 

goods and services because their own 

exporters have too much to lose. 

But employers are worried, especially 

in sectors which would could 

face the highest tariffs if there is no 

deal between London and Brussels. 

Migration 

About half the immigrants coming to 

Britain are from the EU. May wants 

to cut total net migration to below 

100,000 a year from more than 

300,000 now, something that would 

require tough controls. 

Most economists say migration has 

helped Britain’s economy although 

wages for lower-paid workers have 

taken a small hit. 

May has ruled out the introduction 

of a points-based system modelled on 

the one used by Australia to select migrants, 

preferring a system that allows 

in the workers most needed by British 

employers. 

But EU leaders are unlikely to turn 

a blind eye to any restrictions on free 

movement of workers from the bloc. 

They fear that any concession to Britain 

would lead other states to demand similar 

deals, ultimately unraveling the Union. 

Budget 

The pro-Brexit campaign before June’s 

referendum argued that once outside 

the EU, Britain would no longer have 

to make contributions to the bloc’s 

budget, which the UK Statistics Authority 

estimated at about £7bn a year. 

But Britain might still have to pay into 

the EU budget in order to maintain access 

for its financial services industry or 

other key sectors. Norway and Switzerland 

both pay into the EU budget to have 

preferential access to the EU market. 

Customs union v trade deals 

Britain could seek to remain part of 

the EU’s customs union once it is no 

longer a formal member of the bloc. 

The customs union includes non-EU 

Nepal lifts ban on allowing 

migrant workers to Afghanistan 

• Thomson Reuters 

Foundation, Kathmandu 

Nepal will allow its nationals to go 

to war-torn Afghanistan for work, 

a labour ministry official said on 

Thursday, ending an almost fourmonth 

ban imposed after 13 Nepali 

security guards were killed by a 

Taliban suicide bomber in the Afghan 

capital. 

Labour Ministry Spokesman 

Govinda Mani Bhurtel said employers 

would have to make adequate 

security arrangements for 

their stay, travel and work before 

Nepali nationals were given a work 

permit by the government to leave 

Nepal. 

Nepalis are still banned from 

working in other conflict hotspots 

such as Iraq, Libya and Syria, Bhurtel 

said. 

The impoverished Himalayan 

nation, which relies heavily 

on remittances from its migrant 

workers, imposed the ban after 13 

Nepalis and two Indians who were 

security guards at the Canadian 

Embassy in Kabul were killed while 

on a bus on June 23. 

Nepal, one of the world’s 10 

poorest countries, is still reeling 

from two devastating earthquakes 

in 2015 that killed nearly 9,000 

people. 

Political instability since a decade-long 

civil conflict ended in 

2006 has discouraged investment, 

stunted growth and curtailed job 

creation -- forcing hundreds of 

thousands of Nepalis to migrate 

overseas in search of work. 

More than four million of the 

country’s 28 million population 

are working mainly in the Middle 

East, South Korea and Malaysia 

as guards, drivers, construction 

workers or domestic staff - sending 

home remittances which make up 

nearly 30% of the country’s annual 

gross domestic product. • 

Anti-Brexit campaigners set up a mock customs hut during a protest against 

Britain’s vote to leave the EU on October 8 

REUTERS 

Turkey, Andorra and San Marino who 

trade freely with the bloc and share its 

common external tariffs. But if Britain 

opted to stay in the customs union, it 

could complicate attempts to strike 

free trade deals with other countries 

around the world, a central argument 

of the Brexit campaign. 

British finance minister Philip 

Hammond said on Wednesday he was 

sensitive to the potential problems for 

British exporters, especially those involved 

in cross-border supply chains, 

should the country end up outside the 

customs union. 

Mechanics of negotiation 

May has said she will launch the formal, 

two-year process of negotiating 

Britain’s exit from the EU before the 

end of March 2017 and London wants 

to use the interim period to sound out 

European counterparts and decide its 

priorities for the talks. 

So far, EU leaders have rebuffed 

attempts by Britain to talk informally 

about the outlines of a final deal, 

something that would help London 

settle on its Brexit strategy. 

After May triggers the exit process, 

the other 27 EU leaders will meet within 

a month or two to draft instructions 

for the European Commission for the 

negotiations. Those talks will be led 

on the EU side by Michel Barnier of 

France, who had tense relationship 

with London when he was the Commission’s 

financial regulation chief 

from 2010 to 2014. 

But a new relationship, including 

trade ties, will probably take many 

more years, requiring some kind of 

transition agreement so that Britain is 

not left in limbo. • 

Sources: REUTERS, LONDON 

Argentine girl’s brutal rape, 

murder sparks new demos 

• AFP, Buenos Aires 

The brutal killing of a 16-yearold 

girl who was allegedly raped 

and impaled on a spike by drug 

dealers has sparked outrage in 

Argentina, where protesters plan 

a “women’s strike” Wednesday. 

Lucia Perez, a high school 

student in the resort city of Mar 

del Plata, died on October 8 after 

being brought to the hospital by 

two men who said she had overdosed 

on drugs. But after doctors 

noticed signs of violent sexual 

penetration, investigators pieced 

together a different story. 

Prosecutors say the two men 

drugged, raped and impaled her 

through the anus, causing pain so 

excruciating that she went into 

cardiac arrest and died. 

The killing is just the latest incident 

of horrific gender violence 

in Argentina, which has seen 

more than a year of mass marches 

to protest brutality against 

women. 

Last year in June, protests 

broke out nationwide over a trio 

of gruesome killings: a kindergarten 

teacher whose estranged 

husband slit her throat in front of 

her class; a 14-year-old girl whose 

boyfriend allegedly beat her to 

death because she got pregnant; 

and a woman whose ex-boyfriend 

stabbed her to death in broad daylight 

at a Buenos Aires café. 

In the latest protest, 50 activist 

groups have called on women 

across the country to go on 

“strike”, taking to the streets 

dressed in black. 

One organiser, Sabrina Cartabia, 

said the goal was to protest 

not only Perez’s killing, but a culture 

that values women less than 

men. That is visible in statistics 

such as the unemployment rate, 

she said: 9.3% nationally, but 12% 

for women. • 

9 


USA 

Clinton accuses Trump of 

being Putin’s puppet 


Clinton accused presidential rival 

Trump on Wednesday of being 

a puppet for Russian President 

Vladimir Putin, whose country 

has been accused by US intelligence 

officials of meddling in the 

US election. During presidential 

debate, Trump said he did not 

know Putin but would likely get 

along better with the Russian 

leader than Clinton. REUTERS 

THE AMERICAS 

Venezuela delays state 

elections to 2017 

Elections for Venezuela’s state governorships 

will be held in 2017 rather 

than December as expected, the election 

board said on Tuesday, giving 

the unpopular socialist government 

more breathing space before going to 

the polls. Critics say authorities have 

delayed the elections - and are also 

seeking to derail an opposition push 

for a referendum to recall President 

Nicolas Maduro - because they are 

frightened of letting Venezuelans 

have their say. REUTERS 

UK 

UK’s May vows to work 

closely with EU 

Arriving at her first European 

Union summit, Prime Minister 

Theresa May promised that Britain 

would remain a strong partner to 

the EU after Brexit and called for 

unity in pressuring Russia for its 

sickening atrocities in Syria. Her 

speech at a conference of her Conservatives 

in Birmingham in early 

October suggested she is leaning 

towards a so-called hard Brexit in 

which Britain would place limits 

on immigration. REUTERS 

EUROPE 

EU leaders lash Russia 

over Syria but split on 

sanctions 

European Union leaders lashed 

out at Russia Thursday, criticising 

its backing for the Syrian regime 

and accusing it of atrocities in the 

besieged city of Aleppo. The EU 

has imposed sanctions on Syrian 

officials, but unanimity is lacking 

within the 28-nation bloc about extending 

the measures to Russia. AP 

AFRICA 

South African police fire 

stun grenades to disperse 

students 

Police fired stun grenades to 

disperse hundreds of students 

gathered outside President Jacob 

Zuma’s offices on Thursday, after 

weeks of violent protests across the 

country. Demonstrations over the 

cost of university education, prohibitive 

for many black students, have 

highlighted frustration at enduring 

inequalities in South Africa. REUTERS

10 



World 

FACTCHECK 

Trump, Clinton and their debate claims 

18 DAYS REMAIN 

• Tribune International Desk 

Donald Trump painted an inaccurately 

dark portrait of manufacturing 

in America while Hillary Clinton 

stretched credulity in boasting that 

her spending plans won’t add to the 

country’s debt. As well, both struggled 

in the presidential final debate 

to explain comments from their 

past, reports The Associated Press. 

A look at some of the claims in 

the debate and how they compare 

with fact: 

Trump: “We’re not making things 

anymore, relatively speaking.” 

Fact: Despite his “relatively speaking” 

hedge, the assertion is wrong. US factory 

production has more than doubled 

since 1979, when manufacturing 

employment was at its peak. 

The problem is that it takes fewer 

people to produce more. The United 

States has lost more than 7 million 

factory jobs, a drop of nearly 40%, 

since the 1979 manufacturing employment 

peak. 

Factory production, minus the 

cost of raw materials and certain 

other expenses, reached $1.91tn last 

year, according to the Commerce Department, 

which uses 2009 dollars 

to adjust for inflation. That’s a notch 

below the record set on the eve of the 

Great Recession in 2007. Factories 

have used robotics and computers 

to increase output even with fewer 

workers. The US still produces plenty 

of autos, planes, steel and other metals, 

and large industrial machinery. 

Clinton: “I don’t add a penny to the 

national debt.” 

Fact: Not true, according to the nonpartisan 

Committee for a Responsible 

Federal Budget. It estimates her 

increased spending in areas such as 

infrastructure, more financial aid 

for college and early childhood education, 

would increase the national 

debt by $200bn over 10 years. That 

is far less than their estimate for 

Trump, who they predict would add 

$5.3tn over 10 years. But it’s plenty 

more than a penny. 

Trump: Referring to a 2010 US-Russia 

treaty limiting both countries to 1,550 

strategic nuclear warheads: “They 

create warheads. We can’t.” 

Fact: Incorrect. The New START 

treaty, which Trump called “Start 

Up,” does not prevent either the US 

or Russia from building nuclear warheads. 

It restricts each country to a 

total of 1,550 warheads deployed on 

bombers, submarines and in underground 

silos and requires that this 

limit be reached by February 2018. 

Clinton: On whether she called for 

open borders in a 2013 speech to a 

Brazilian bank: “I was talking about 

energy.” 

Fact: She was actually talking about 

more than energy, but apparently 

less than an open border that immigrants 

can spill across at will, 

according to the partial transcript 

released by WikiLeaks. 

Clinton: “He held a number of big 

rallies where he said that he could 

not possibly have done those things 

to those women because they were 

not attractive enough.” 

Trump: “I did not say that. I did not 

say that.” 

Fact: He did say that. At an October 

13 rally, Trump criticized the physical 

attractiveness of People magazine 

reporter Natasha Stoynoff, who has 

said Trump forced himself on her at 

Mar-a-Lago while she was interviewing 

him for a story. Trump said: “Take 

THIRD CLINTON-TRUMP DEBATE: KEY QUOTES 

"He has no respect for her. He 

has no respect for our president" 

"I'll tell you at the time. I'll 

keep you in suspense, OK?" 

"We have some bad 

hombres here and we're 

going to get them out" 

"If you go with what Hillary is 

saying, in the ninth month, 

you can take the baby and rip 

the baby out of the womb of the 

mother just prior to the birth 

of the baby" 

Source: AFP/Debate transcript/Photo: Ethan Miller/AFPPhoto/Getty Images 

On recognizing 

Nov 8 results 

On Russian 

President 

Vladimir 

Putin 

On deportations 

a look. You take a look. Look at her, 

look at her words, you tell me what 

you think. I don’t think so.” 

Clinton: “I want to make college 

debt free.” 

Fact: Clinton might aspire to that 

lofty goal, but she has only proposed 

making college tuition free for 

in-state students who go to a public 

college or university. Even with expanded 

grant aid, room and board 

can lead students to borrow. 

Clinton would have the government 

pay for in-state tuition at public 

colleges and universities for students 

from families earning less than 

$125,000 a year. Students would still 

need to foot the bill for housing and 

food, which makes up more than 

half of the average $18,943 sticker 

price at a four-year public university, 

according to the College Board. 

But Trump is correct that government 

would shoulder higher costs 

with Clinton’s plan. 

Her plan would cost the federal 

government an estimated $500bn 

over 10 years, with additional costs 

possibly for state governments. 

Trump: “Her plan is going to raise 

taxes and even double your taxes.” 

Fact: Clinton’s plan wouldn’t raise taxes 

at all for 95 percent of Americans, 

according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy 

Centre. The very wealthiest would 

take the greatest hit, though a doubling 

is highly questionable. 

Two-thirds of her proposed increases 

would hit the top 0.1% of richest 

Americans, the centre estimates. 

The main components of her tax 

plan: a minimum 30% tax on those 

earning at least $1m a year, and a 4% 

tax surcharge for those earning more 

than $5m a year. She would also cap 

the value of tax deductions and exclusions 

for wealthier taxpayers. 

"Well, that's because 

he’d rather have a puppet 

as president of the 

United States" 

"Now that is not the way our 

democracy works. We've been around 

for 240 years. We've had free and fair 

election. We've accepted the outcomes 

when we may not have liked them" 

On abortion 

" I don't want to see the deportation 

force that Donald has talked about 

in action in our country.... I think it 

is an idea that would rip our 

country apart" 

"I do not think the United States 

government should be stepping in 

and making those most personal 

of decisions" 

VIEWERS SAY CLINTON WON FINAL DEBATE 

A CNN/ORC poll of U.S. voters who watched the final presidential debate 

between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump conclude that Clinton won. 

A YouGov poll of almost 40,000 respondents also puts Clinton ahead 

52% 

CNN/ORC 

poll 

Clinton Trump Clinton Trump 

CNN/ORC poll: 547 registered voters surveyed after debate. Margin of error: 4.0% 

YouGov poll: Survey of 39,934 potential voters between October 5-19, including 

1,844 new interviews in past 24 hours. Margin of error: 3.9% 

Sources: CNN/ORC, YouGov 

Pictures: Associated Press 

© GRAPHIC NEWS 

Clinton: on her opposition to the 

Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal: 

“It didn’t meet my test.” 

Fact: It met her test when she was 

secretary of state and she promoted 

it worldwide. 

Hacked emails from Clinton’s campaign, 

released Wednesday by WikiLeaks, 

showed that Jake Sullivan, her 

top foreign policy adviser, called her 

a “big champion” of the deal and worried 

about how to handle the issue in 

the face of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ opposition. 

She later flip-flopped into 

opposition during the Democratic 

primaries against Sanders. 

Trump: “Hillary Clinton wanted the 

(border) wall. Hillary Clinton fought 

for the wall in 2006 or thereabouts. 

Now, she never gets anything done, 

so naturally it wasn’t built.” 

Fact: He’s partly right. As a senator 

from New York, Clinton did support 

the 2006 Secure Fence Act, which 

authorised the construction of hundreds 

of miles of fencing along the 

US-Mexico border. 

But it was built, contrary to 

Trump’s assertion. Nearly 700 miles 

of fencing was put in place during 

President George W Bush’s second 

term and the beginning of President 

Barack Obama’s first term. 

The fencing is placed largely in urban 

areas along the nearly 2,000-mile 

frontier. It is not the type of solid wall 

that Trump has pledged to construct 

at Mexico’s expense. The fence has 

miles-long gaps and gates built in to 

allow landowners access to their property 

on the south side of the fencing. 

Immigrants have been known to go 

over and around the fence. 

Trump: “So I just left some high representatives 

of India. They’re growing at 

8%. China is growing at 7%. And that 

for them is a catastrophically low number. 

We are growing, our last report 

came out and it’s right around the 1% 

level and I think it’s going down.” 

Fact: China and India are growing 

faster in large part because they’re 

playing catch-up to the United States, 

Democrat Republican 

47.4% 

43.3% 

39% 

YouGov 

poll 

the world’s largest economy. Those 

two Asian countries are starting from 

a much lower baseline with a much 

larger population than the United 

States, meaning that by definition 

they should be growing faster. Economists 

would warn of a dangerous 

bubble if the United States grew that 

quickly and financial markets would 

fear a devastating recession to follow. 

But China and India aren’t any 

better off than the US, said former 

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben 

Bernanke in an analysis released 

Wednesday. On a per-capita basis, 

China has just 10% of the United 

States’ income. India has about 6%. 

Trump: Under Hillary Clinton, 

“$6bn went missing” at the State 

Department. 

Fact: Not exactly. That figure is a 

distortion about a legitimate record-keeping 

concern. In 2014, the 

State Department’s inspector general 

released an alert warning that the 

documentation for $6bn in State Department 

contracts was incomplete. 

But there’s no reason to think that 

all occurred under Clinton. The inspector 

general, Steve Linnick, specifically 

disavowed the conclusion 

that the money went missing. 

Trump: Clinton “has no idea whether 

it’s Russia, China or anybody else” 

behind recent hacks of Democratic 

organisations and individuals. “Our 

country has no idea.” 

Fact: Trump’s refusal to point the 

finger at Moscow is at odds with the 

prevailing position of the US intelligence 

community. “We believe, based 

on the scope and sensitivity of these 

efforts, that only Russia’s senior-most 

officials could have authorised these 

activities,” the Office of the Director of 

National Intelligence said recently in a 

joint statement with the Department 

of Homeland Security. 

Russia has denied accusations 

that it was behind the effort. • 

Find more stories on US presidential 

election at www.dhakatribune.com

Advertisement 

11 


DT


12 

Business 


TOP STORIES 

DCCI worried over 

India’s anti-dumping 

duty on BD jute 

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and 

Industry (DCCI) has expressed 

its concern over the ‘unexpected 

treatment’ by Directorate General 

of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties 

or DGAD under India’s commerce 

ministry. PAGE 13 

ECB holds rates, seen 

charting course to 

more easing in Dec 

The European Central Bank kept 

interest rates and policy guidance 

unchanged yesterday but may lay 

the groundwork for more easing 

to come in December as it tries to 

sustain a long-awaited rebound in 

consumer prices. PAGE 14 

Inflation is next 

nerve-jangler for 

investors 

After undershooting inflation 

targets for years, Bank of England 

Governor Mark Carney and some 

of his global peers are now talking 

about tolerating overshoots. The 

volte-face will necessitate nimble 

investor footwork. While bonds 

would be obvious losers, the 

winners will depend on whether 

inflation is of the good or bad 

variety. PAGE 15 

Capital market snapshot: 

Thursday 

DSE 

Broad Index 4,692.4 -0.2% ▼ 

Index 1,111.8 -0.2% ▼ 

30 Index 1,748.2 -0.1% ▼ 

Turnover in Mn Tk 5,007.6 -10.6% ▼ 

Turnover in Mn Vol 176.4 -22.1% ▼ 

CSE 

All Share Index 14,404.0 -0.3% ▼ 

30 Index 12,949.2 -0.3% ▼ 

Selected Index 8,763.4 -0.3% ▼ 

Turnover in Mn Tk 390.9 25.4% ▲ 

Turnover in Mn Vol 14.2 -0.0% ▼ 

Insurance scheme suggested 

for sustainable growth 

• Jebun Nesa Alo 

Access to social insurance, pensions 

and savings is very limited 

in Bangladesh which poses a challenge 

to sustainable and inclusive 

growth of the country. 

Bangladesh Social Protection 

and Labor Review report focused 

on the issue for the country’s existing 

safety net programmes. 

The report was launched as 

Bangladesh Development Series 

by The World Bank at a seminar 

held yesterday in capital. 

Minister for Planning AHM 

Mustafa Kamal attended the seminar 

on the launch of review report 

as the chief guest. 

The report found out that Bangladesh 

has a large number of safety 

net programmes particularly 

focusing on equity, but lacks programmes 

for resilience and opportunities 

through social insurance. 

Well-designed social insurance 

can provide mechanisms to collectively 

hedge against various 

risks, the report suggested. 

Discussants at the seminar said 

insurance scheme is necessary to 

help individuals prepare for rainy 

days and also inclement weather. 

At the same time pension 

scheme in the private sector should 

be introduced and even such 

scheme could be small in amount 

which the government and business 

owners can take up jointly. 

In his address, Mustafa Kamal 

said the government has put 

more effort on ensuring insurance 

scheme for labour. 

Insurance Development and 

Regulatory Authority (IDRA) has 

been asked to come up with social 

insurance scheme. 

The review report also focused 

on several challenging issues and 

risks which require policy intervention. 

Firstly, poverty and vulnerability 

remain high due to income 

shocks and limited access to risk 

management for the poor. 

Secondly, job challenges among 

young people are high. 

The youth in between the ages of 

15 and 24 make up about 30% of the 

working people entering the labour 

force and creating job pressure. 

Less participation of women 

in workforce is also considered a 

challenge towards improving labour 

market. 

The report says despite strong 

improvement in female literacy 

level, a high share of working 

women is engaged in non-paid 

family work. • 

BSEC to publish gazette of venture capital norms soon 

• Kayes Sohel 

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange 

Commission (BSEC) will 

publish its official gazette of venture 

capital norms soon, which was 

unveiled more than a year ealier. 

“We are going to publish venture 

capital rules soon for allowing 

startups and small businesses 

to raise fund through venture 

capital,” said BSEC Chairman M 

Khairul Hossain yesterday. 

Khairul was speaking at a seminar 

on “Venture Capital for Startups” 

arranged on the sidelines of a 

three-day flagship annual event of 

the country’s ICT sector with the 

theme “Non-stop Bangladesh” in 

the city. 

“For listing small companies 

having low-paid capital, we are 

formulating the rules. This will 

help boost the stock market,” said 

the BSEC chief. 

On June last year, the capital 

market watchdog unveiled the 

guidelines called the “Bangladesh 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(Alternative Investment) 

Rules, 2015” to govern the venture 

World Bank releases a report on Social Protection and Labor Review in Dhaka yesterday 

capital firms. 

The rules came into force immediately 

after publication in the 

official gazette. 

Over the past several years, 

venture capital firms that are relatively 

new in the country have 

been operating their businesses in 

absence of such rules. 

Under some excerpts from the 

slew of new norms, venture capital 

fund could be invested primarily 

in non-listed equity and equity-linked 

securities of startups 

with less than two years of operational 

history or green field companies 

or emerging early-stage undertakings 

mainly involved in new 

products, services, technologies or 

intellectual property rights based 

activities or new business models. 

For operational eligibility, a local 

venture capital firm needs to 

have a paid-up capital of at least 

Tk5 crore. 

For a fully-owned subsidiary 

foreign venture capital firm, it 

needs to have a paid-up capital of 

at least Tk15 crore for application 

of registration, and for a partially-owned 

subsidiary foreign firm, 

COURTESY 

the paid-up capital will be at least 

Tk10 crore. 

The applicant firm must have a 

minimum net worth of 75% of its 

total paid-up capital. 

About criteria on formation of 

an alternative investment fund, 

such fund size will be minimum 

Tk10 crore and subscription by 

the sponsor is not less than 10% of 

the fund provided that the sponsor 

will subscribe at least 20% of 

its total subscription to the fund 

before registration of the fund. 

India has more than 200 such 

types of companies after promulgation 

of rules and regulations 

in 1996. A large number of venture 

capital companies have been 

formed in Pakistan after proclaiming 

rules in 2001. 

In India, venture capital financing 

started in 1988 with the formation 

of Technology Development 

and Information Company of India 

Ltd. 

Grameen Fund is the pioneer 

of venture capital in the country. 

It launched its operation in mid- 

1990s although the organisation is 

no more funding the private companies 

as venture capital. •

Business 13 

DCCI worried over India’s anti-dumping 

duty on Bangladesh jute 


Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and 

Industry (DCCI) has expressed 

its concern over the ‘unexpected 

treatment’ by Directorate General 

of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties 

or DGAD under India’s commerce 

ministry. 

India’s anti-dumping authority 

has proposed 25-30 per cent duty on 

the jute imported from Bangladesh 

and Nepal based on the investigation 

outcome though there is no clear 

finding of injury caused by Bangladesh’s 

exported price and volume on 

Indian local finished producers, said 

DCCI in a statement yesterday. 

DCCI in its statement said: “It will 

have negative cascading impacts on 

parties involved in our local jute 

Blockchain 

platform to be 

open-source 

• Reuters 

A blockchain platform developed 

by a group that includes more than 

70 of the world’s biggest financial 

institutions is making its code publicly 

available, in what could become 

the industry standard for the 

nascent technology. 

The Corda platform has been developed 

by a consortium brought 

together by New-York-based financial 

technology company R3. It 

represents the biggest shared effort 

among banks, insurers, fund managers 

and other players to work on 

using blockchain technology in the 

financial markets. 

Blockchain, which originated in 

the digital currency bitcoin, works 

as a web-based transaction-processing 

and settlement system. It 

creates a “golden record” of any 

given set of data that is automatically 

replicated for all parties in a 

secure network, eliminating any 

need for third-party verification. 

Banks reckon the technology 

could save them money by making 

their operations faster, more 

efficient and more transparent. 

They are racing to build products 

using the technology that will 

generate new revenue, with dozens 

of patent applications filed for 

blockchain-based products by Wall 

Street’s top lenders. 

“We want other banks and other 

parties to innovate with products 

that sit on top of the platform, but 

we don’t want everyone to create 

their own platform ... because 

we’ll end up with lots of islands 

that can’t talk to each other,” R3’s 

chief engineer, James Carlyle, told 

Reuters. • 

supply chain process, export market 

and dampen glorious heritage of 

golden fiber of Bangladesh.” 

According to the statement, 

following the anti-dumping investigation 

into imports of jute goods 

from Bangladesh in 2015, the probe 

body of Directorate General of 

Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties 

(DGAD) is going to propose imposition 

of anti-dumping duty on jute 

items imported from Bangladesh 

against accusation of Indian Jute 

Mills Association of lowered price 

and injury to domestic industry. 

It said when Bangladesh is working 

hard to improve and maintain 

a justified cross-border bilateral 

trade relation with India, this sort 

of decision is likely to be a blow to 

their endeavour. 

“In this regard, our commerce 

ministry, Tariff Commission and 

other government agencies concerned 

are requested to immediately 

take up the issue to review the entire 

technical process of anti-dumping 

investigation made,” said the DCCI. 

They also sought negotiation 

with the commerce ministry of 

India to reconsider this trade unfriendly 

decision to safeguard local 

jute industry in the greater interest 

of bilateral trade between Bangladesh 

and India. 

Following the anti-dumping 

investigation into imports of jute 

goods from Bangladesh in 2015, the 

probe body Directorate General of 

Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties 

(DGAD) is going to propose imposition 

of anti-dumping duty on jute 

Stocks nudge lower for second 

straight day 


Stocks closed marginally lower for 

the second straight session yesterday, 

as investors continued to take 

modest profits. 

The market dipped as it opened 

in the morning, but recovered 

some points before ending negative 

in the final session. 

The benchmark index of Dhaka 

Stock Exchange DSEX fell 10 points 

or 0.2% to settle at 4,702. In the last 

two sessions, it declined about 20 

points. 

The DS30 index, comprising 

blue chips, lost 2 points to 1,748. 

The DSE Shariah Index was down 

over 2 points to 1,111. 

The Chittagong Stock Exchange 

Selective Category Index CSCX 

shed 28 points to 8,791. 

Trading activities subdued as 

the DSE total turnover was Tk500 

crore, down 10.6% over previous 

session. 

Fortune Shoes, in its first trading 

day, jumped more than 500% its offer 

price and was the most traded 

stock, accounting for about 10% of 

the total turnover. 

However, on sectoral basis, textile 

topped the turnover chart which 

was followed by power and banking 

sectors. The sectors made up nearly 

10% of the day’s total trade value. 

Amid the major sector, textile 

performed pretty well rising 

items imported from Bangladesh 

against accusation of Indian Jute 

Mills Association of lowered price 

and injury to domestic industry. 

Bangladesh usually exports jute 

and jute goods, yarn, twine, sacks 

and bags worth around $900 million 

to many global destinations 

of which is 20 per cent of Bangladesh’s 

export to Indian market. 

“Our 20 per cent jute export to 

India accounts for 8 per cent of entire 

Indian local market share,” said 

the DCCI. 

If this proposed anti-dumping 

duty comes under effect, it could 

result adverse impacts on Bangladesh’s 

local growers, producers, 

exporters and spur further trade 

imbalance of Bangladesh with India, 

said the statement. • 

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu speaks at a seminar arranged by the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institue to mark 

World Standards Day 2016 at BSTI office in Dhaka yesterday 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

1% with five stocks came into the 

top ten gainers’ list. Heavyweight 

banking sector remained flat after 

vibrant session in previous session. 

Telecommunications sector 

rose 0.6%, extending their rally for 

the second day. 

On the other hand, non-banking 

financial institutions, power, 

engineering and tannery sectors 

declined. 

Out of total 325 companies traded 

on the DSE, 110 moved up, 156 down 

while 59 remained unchanged. 

After Fortune Shoes, Doreen 

Power was the most traded share, 

followed by National Bank Limited, 

Singer Bangladesh and Paramount 

Textile. • 



JTC meet in Nov 

to fix river transit, 

LC margin with 

Myanmar 

• Asif Showkat Kallol 

Bangladesh wants to boost bilateral 

trade relation with Myanmar 

through introducing transnational 

banking service between two 

neighbouring countries. 

The issues along with electricity 

and gas imports from Myanmar 

will be discussed at the next Bangladesh-Myanmar 

Joint Trade Commission 

meeting which is due on 

November 9 and 10 in Dhaka. 

The meeting will also fix the 

issues of river transit and letter of 

credit margin for bilateral trade between 

the two countries. 

At the meeting, the representatives 

of both countries will also talk 

about the launch of Bangladesh-Myanmar 

border trade, revitalising 

coastal vessels plying trade deal and 

investment opportunities in agriculture 

and fisheries sectors and signing 

of preferential trade agreement. 

A number of decisions like river 

transit and letter of credit margin 

are expected to be made at the 

meeting. Both parties agreed to 

work on removal of trade barriers 

between two countries at the last 

meeting of the Commission. 

Under the preferential trade 

agreement, Bangladeshi products 

like pharmaceuticals, MS rods, 

cement and television sets will 

get special advantage in bilateral 

trade. Bangladeshi shrimps, fishes, 

dried fishes, nuts and salt will get 

duty-free access to Myanmar. 

“It is easy to increase bilateral 

trade and investment between 

Bangladesh and Myanmar due to 

their geographical position,” said 

Senior Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah 

Al Mamun. 

“We will discuss to solve the 

problems like trade barriers between 

two countries at the next Joint Trade 

Commission’s meeting.” • 

Rahima Food’s 

share trading to 

be probed 

• Tribune Business Desk 

The Bangladesh Securities and 

Exchange Commission (BSEC) has 

formed a body to probe into the recent 

unusual share trading of Rahima 

Food Corporation Ltd. 

“An enquiry committee has been 

formed to investigate into the company’s 

recent unusual trading in 

shares in the stock exchanges and 

other irregularities related to the 

company,” said the regulator in a filing 

with the Dhaka Stock Exchange. 

Shares of Rahima Food were traded 

at Tk51 on October 4 last, which 

increased by over 70% to Tk87.30 as 

of yesterday on the DSE. •

14 



Business 

ECB holds rates, seen 

charting course to more 

easing in December 

• Reuters 

The European Central Bank 

kept interest rates and policy 

guidance unchanged 

yesterday but may lay 

the groundwork for more 

easing to come in December 

as it tries to sustain a 

long-awaited rebound in 

consumer prices. 

Holding interest rates 

deep in negative territory 

and maintaining bond purchases 

at 80 billion euros 

per month, ECB President 

Mario Draghi is likely to 

emphasize later at a news 

conference the continued 

need for monetary stimulus, 

reinforcing expectations 

for an extension of the 

ECB’s asset buys beyond its 

scheduled end next March. 

The ECB has provided 

unprecedented stimulus for 

years with sub-zero rates, 

free loans to banks and over 

a trillion euros in bond purchases, 

all in the hope of 

reviving growth and lifting 

inflation back to its target 

of just below 2% after more 

than three years of misses. 

In a widely expected 

decision yesterday, Draghi 

kept the deposit rate at minus 

0.4% and maintained 

the ECB’s guidance for rates 

to stay at their current or 

lower levels for an extended 

period. Attention now turns 

to the news conference at 

1230 GMT (0830 EDT), with 

markets looking for fresh 

hints about its expected 

move in December. 

The trick for Draghi will 

be to keep the door firmly 

open to more stimulus 

without any hint of commitment 

that could rattle markets 

and lead to a repeat of 

turbulence set off last year, 

when the ECB raised expectations 

too high and did not 

fully deliver on them. 

Action is far from urgent, 

however. The euro zone 

economy is chugging along, 

inflation is at a two-year 

high, national budget proposals 

suggest a bit more 

fiscal support, and the early 

impact on euro zone economies 

of Britain’s decision to 

leave the European Union 

has been muted. All these 

suggest that the 19-country 

bloc is on the path predicted 

by the ECB in September. 

But Draghi and fellow 

board members have gone 

to pains in recent weeks to 

emphasize that this outlook 

is predicated on “very substantial” 

monetary support, 

a hint taken as confirmation 

that an extension is coming. 

Indeed, ECB chief economist 

Peter Praet has warned 

that a premature withdrawal 

of stimulus would stall 

and reverse the upswing, a 

further sign any tapering is 

well into the future. 

“Present loose (financial) 

conditions also reflect 

expectations of additional 

ECB action, this suggests 

that the ECB will have to do 

more just to preserve the 

current degree of accommodation,” 

UniCredit economist 

Marco Valli said prior 

to the rate decision. 

“Therefore, anything 

less than quantitative easing 

extension at 80bn euros 

per month risks tightening 

financial conditions via 

higher yields, a stronger 

currency and, possibly, lower 

risk appetite.” 

The ECB’s 1.74tn euro 

quantitative easing (QE) 

scheme is now set to expire 

in March but the bank has 

always said that it would 

run until it saw a sustained 

recovery in inflation. 

Analysts polled by Reuters 

unanimously expect unchanged 

rates with the vast 

majority predicting a three 

to six month extension to 

asset buys in December. • 

Indonesia unexpectedly cuts key 

interest rate 

• AFP, Jakarta 

Indonesia’s central bank yesterday 

unexpectedly cut its 

key interest rate for the sixth 

time this year in a bid to boost 

slowing growth in Southeast 

Asia’s top economy. 

Bank Indonesia reduced 

the rate by 25 basis points to 

4.75%, despite many economists 

having forecast there 

would no change. 

It was the second consecutive 

month that policymakers 

have trimmed rates 

as they scramble to boost 

the G20 economy, which 

has been losing steam in 

recent years due to slowing 

demand for its commodity 

exports. 

The bank said it had 

decided on the move as it 

believes third-quarter economic 

growth will not be 

as strong as expected. The 

growth data is due to be released 

next month. 

A statement said the 

bank “believes that monetary 

easing will strengthen 

the effort to drive domestic 

demand... and further push 

momentum for economic 

growth”. • 

CORPORATE NEWS 

Standard Bank Limited has recently opened its 106th branch at Shohid Abul Kashem Road, Badurtola in 

Chuadanga, said a press release. The bank’s chairperson, Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed inaugurated the branch 

as chief guest 

State minister for posts and telecommunication, Tarana Halim has recently inaugurated a customer care 

centre of Teletalk Bangladesh Limited in banana, said a press release 

Walton has recently opened an exclusive distributor showroom named PK Enterprise at Tekerhar in 

Madaripur, said a press release. The company’s brand ambassador, Ilias Kanchan inaugurated the showroom 

visit our website @ 

www.dhakatribune.com 

CEO and MD of Sonali Bank Limited, Obayed Ullah Al Masud has recently attended a view exchanging 

meeting with the bank’s officials, said a press release

Business 15 



Inflation is next nerve-jangler for investors 

• Reuters 

After undershooting inflation targets 

for years, Bank of England 

Governor Mark Carney and some 

of his global peers are now talking 

about tolerating overshoots. The 

volte-face will necessitate nimble 

investor footwork. While bonds 

would be obvious losers, the winners 

will depend on whether inflation 

is of the good or bad variety. 

The former occurs when rising 

wages mean consumers are 

willing to pay more for the same 

goods. The less desirable sort materialises 

when an external shock 

forces suppliers to charge more, regardless 

of demand, as during the 

1970s oil price shock. Unilever’s 

dispute with UK retailer Tesco last 

week over the price of its consumer 

products, including yeast-based 

spread Marmite, gave an early taste 

of the latter kind. 

For fixed-income investors, 

there’s not much difference between 

the two. Inflation, of 

whatever variety, erodes the real 

value of returns. Aside from inflation-linked 

bonds, most kinds of 

debt fall in value when inflation 

accelerates. 

But matters are less clear cut 

when it comes to other asset classes. 

For example, consumer discretionary 

stocks are better placed 

to benefit when inflation is rising, 

because households are splashing 

out and the economy is growing 

faster. Less so when outside forces 

boost inflation. This could be the 

case in Britain, where a sharp fall 

in sterling is making imports more 

expensive. 

Investment strategies that traditionally 

benefit during times of 

higher inflation may also founder 

if rate-setters react more slowly to 

rising inflation than in the past. For 

instance, the relative performance 

of real assets, such as property, has 

traditionally moved in sync with 

US policy rates since the 1950s, 

Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts 

say. But this relationship may 

be weaker if there’s a longer lag 

than usual between rising inflation 

and monetary tightening. 

Both US and UK headline inflation 

picked up, data showed on Oct 

18. Carney says he is willing to allow 

inflation to run “a bit” higher 

than his 2% target in order to help 

employment and growth. And investors 

think Federal Reserve Chair 

Janet Yellen might be inclined to 

do the same after she said on Oct 

14 that running a “high pressure 

economy” may be one way to reverse 

crisis-era scarring that was 

at risk of becoming permanent. If 

so, money managers may find it as 

tricky to navigate inflation risks as 

they did the threat of deflation. •

16 



Feature 

Will Brexit affect Bangladesh? 

A lecture by SANEM 

• Farina Noireet 

On Tuesday, this week, 

the South Asian Network 

on Economic Modelling 

(SANEM) organised the 

latest in their Lecture Series, titled 

“What does BREXIT mean for 

Bangladesh and other Developing 

Countries?” at their premises in 

Gulshan 2. 

The main speakers at the 

lecture were Dr Selim Raihan, 

Professor of the Department of 

Economics at the Univesity of 

Dhaka and the Executive Director 

of SANEM, and Dr Mohammad 

A Razzaque, Advisor and Head 

of the International Trade & 

Regional Cooperation Section at 

Commonwealth Secretariat. 

Dr Raihan's area of focus has 

been researches on international 

trade, labour market dynamics, 

poverty, economic growth and 

political economy analysis 

of growth and development, 

while Dr Razzaque's expertise 

includes empirical analysis of 

trade performance, exchange 

rate behaviour, export 

competitiveness, regional trade 

arrangements and economic 

growth and poverty. 

In the wake of BREXIT, which 

is the UK's intention to withdraw 

from the politico-economic union, 

that is the European Union (EU), 

there will be significant economic 

and political changes not only on 

the EU economy but also in the 

world. 

With the UK voting to no longer 

be a part of the EU, developing 

nations such as Bangladesh, which 

were till date, enjoying quota free 

access in trading with European 

nations may now face adverse 

effects. 

In the lecture, Dr Raihan 

mentioned that Bangladesh might 

encounter a fall in exports of 

around US$330 million and a fall in 

its real GDP by 0.1% due to the loss 

in preferences in the UK market. 

There will also be negative 

effects on exports from the 

Pacific, CARICOM (Caribbean 

Community), other LDCs and Sub- 

Saharan African countries, not in 

different magnitudes. 

He described BREXIT as, “an 

unprecedented situation in the 

face of the effective partnership 

that is the EU, which, until 

now has been an ideal union of 

regional nations, one which other 

countries around the world strive 

to achieve.” 

He further explained the 

possible post-BREXIT background 

situation by stating, “Until now, 

UK's trade deals with other nations 

around the globe have been under 

the regulations of the EU umbrella, 

but following BREXIT, the UK will 

have to make their own separate 

trade regulations with countries 

they trade with. 

This imposing of additional 

trade regulations by the UK may 

pose to have negative economic 

effects on some nations. Interested 

foreign investors may have to 

pay additional taxes to access 

the UK market, hence making 

things financially challenging for 

developing nations.” 

Dr Razzaque elaborated on 

the historical contexts and the 

channels through which BREXIT 

might have negative effects on 

UK's partner countries and the 

potential implications of such 

channels. He explained: “With the 

value of the British Pound having 

gone down a significant amount in 

the wake of BREXIT, this will have 

an adverse effect on a magnitude 

of areas – from the income earned 

With the UK voting to no longer be a part of the EU, developing nations 

such as Bangladesh, which were till date, enjoying quota free access in 

trading with European nations may now face adverse effects 

by locals and expats living in the 

UK. UK is also a major provider of 

foreign aid and the depreciation of 

the British Pound will invariably 

have a negative impact on the 

countries the aid goes to as they 

will be receiving less than they 

used to before.” 

Dr Raihan brought the 

interactive lecture session to a 

close by ending it off on a positive 

note: “Since BREXIT, as a whole, 

is a setback, Bangladesh and other 

developing countries may see 

this either as an opportunity or 

a challenge, depending on how 

economic relationships pan out in 

the future. 

However, one silver lining for 

Bangladesh may be in making 

effective use of all the trading 

opportunities that will open up in 

the wake of trade cut-offs between 

UK and the EU.” 

The lecture was organised as 

a part of SANEM Lecture Series, 

which is aimed to share and 

disseminate academic researches 

on current economic issue. 

Started in 2007, SANEM is a 

non-profit research organisation 

and a network of economists and 

policy makers in South Asia with 

a special emphasis on economic 

modelling. 

SANEM aims to promote 

the production, exchange and 

dissemination of basic research 

knowledge in the areas of 

international trade, macro 

economy, poverty, labour market, 

environment, political economy 

and economic modelling. 

It seeks to produce objective, 

high quality, country and South 

Asian region specific policy 

and thematic research. SANEM 

contributes in governments’ 

policy-making by providing 

research support both at 

individual and organisational 

capacities. 

SANEM maintains research 

collaboration with global, regional 

and local think- tanks, research 

and development organisations, 

universities and individual 

researchers. 

SANEM promotes young 

researchers from Economics, 

Business and Social Sciences to 

undertake independent research 

works on contemporary issues 

and also arranges regular training 

programs on economic modelling 

and contemporary economic 

issues for both Bangladeshi and 

other South Asian participants. •

Feature 

17 



Curtains fall on Fall Meet up 2016 

• Features Desk 

Fall is always dazzling. A lot of 

us admire this time of the year 

when everything bursts with a 

final sort of beauty, as if nature 

had been saving up all year for the 

grand finale. And this year, to add 

colour to this winsome season 

in Dhaka, Fall Meet-Up 2016 was 

organized by MIB Spirit – Made 

in Bangladesh, Ajo – fast casual 

and relax dining, SM Products and 

Headoffice Communication from 

October 13 to October 15 at the 

MIB- Spirit Studio, Dhaka. 

This season, the celebrations 

were loud and big with 15 local 

exhibitor brands showcasing 

their awe-striking collections and 

over 6000 visitors embracing this 

spirit. Be it the exclusive paintings 

by Amar Bangladesh, the dazzling 

bags of Rene Bangladesh, the 

one-of-a-kind bookmarks by 

Ruth, the sweetest honey by 

Sundarbans Bee Busy and the 

‘wow’ caricatures by Cartoon 

People or the exceptional designs 

by Made with Love, the soughtafter 

notebooks by SM Products, 

the striking Closet of Tatiana, the 

remarkable sketchbooks by Boka 

Baksho, the jute-printed saris by 

Sweet Potato, the striking designs 

of Paint Me Yellow by Sabah Khan 

and the mesmerizing dreamcatchers 

by Stellar, every flavour 

of the Fall Meet-Up ignited the 

occasion. 

MIB Spirit - Made in 

Bangladesh which is a lifestyle 

brand that has specialised in 

crafting bag and currently focuses 

on a range of products which 

include accessories that ignites 

the true feeling of national pride 

& patriotism; MIB Spirit - Made 

in Bangladesh has portrayed 

the products at the Fall Meet-up 

which has exhibited the authentic 

root of made in Bangladesh. 

Dedicated to the local wisdom 

and environment of Bangladesh, 

all products introduced by the 

brand are green, locally sourced, 

stylish and yet of top-notch 

quality. Ajo was available at the 

event for dine-ins and takeaways, 

and has served a few popular 

items from the prior menu and 

some new ones. 

If you had come to Fall 

Meet-up 2016, you would have 

been left spell-bound by the 

incomparable charm of each of 

the goods that carried no foreign 

thread. Starting from the shawls 

from Rangamati by Closet of 

Tatiana and the cotton saris by 

Sweet Potato to the wooden rings 

by Boka Baksho and exclusive 

embroidery by Paint Me Yellow 

by Sabah Khan, every product 

sang a song of the Bangladeshi 

culture. Every good carried 

the smell of the mysterious 

resources enriching the heart of 

Bangladesh. If you paid a visit, 

you must now be feeling proud 

of the minds blooming in this 

country, bringing to you such 

incredible creations. How cool 

is the brand which ensures that 

the finest Bangladeshi products, 

upon receiving orders from 

Australia, are internationally 

shipped to spread the Bengali 

culture throughout the world and 

tries to use Bangladeshi delivery 

companies for this purpose! This 

spirit was embraced by Sweet 

Potato. 

It is true that we can find 

inspiration from a lot of places, 

but certainly, the Fall Meetup 

was one of the best places 

in that list. There are many 

such occasions when we feel 

disappointed about not being 

able to produce something 

exceptional to make ourselves 

stand out in the crowd. We often 

blame our upbringing or lack 

of opportunities in our lives for 

stopping us from realising our 

goals. In this Fall Meet-up, you 

could meet Amar Bangladesh, 

consisting of three local painters, 

who can neither speak nor hear 

what you say but can easily 

communicate with the brush 

that speaks what runs in their 

minds. It is their passion to 

draw what they want to express 

that outshone their disabilities 

and welcomed such interested 

visitors in their stalls. There 

was also the brand Ruth, whose 

owner had recently begun her 

work designing bookmarks 

and stickers, born of a passion 

to play with the pen or pencil. 

One of the biggest attractions 

was the Cartoon People team, 

whose portrait caricatures stole 

the crowd. The enthusiasm and 

patience with which they drew 

interested patrons mesmerised 

everyone. Such young people, 

with their warmest smiles and 

endearing hopes, were bound 

have won your hearts in the Fall 

Meet-up 

One of the best parts of the 

Fall Meet-up 2016 was the warm 

atmosphere of the MIB Spirit 

studio. Though a not very huge 

place, the tenderness of the crowd 

could cajole your soul to call it 

one of the most refreshing places 

ever without a shadow of doubt. 

The gorgeous lighting, the green 

surroundings, the soothing air 

carrying thousands of stories, the 

amiable nature of the exhibitors, 

the excitement of the visitors and 

the wonderful display of the true 

beauty of Bangladesh could melt 

you undoubtedly. It was an ideal 

hub for you to hang out with your 

friends, click pictures of yourself 

and the surroundings, check 

the different stalls, grab your 

goodies and make memories. The 

picturesque background attracted 

many photographers as well. 

The special products of Fall 

Meet-up 2016 were featured 

at the Facebook Live sessions 

directly from the exhibition by RJ 

Kazria Kayes and fashion blogger 

Dr. Niloy Farhana of Vogue & 

Vagabond; Beyond. Furthermore, 

Biskut Factory, Beat Baksho, 

TheJhakanakaProject, B’s Closett, 

The Fashionoholic and lifestyle 

bloggers, Bardots and Newton 

also attended live streaming 

sessions with the event’s exhibits 

at the Fall Meet-up 2016. 

To top it all off, this time Radio 

Shadhin 92.4 FM came live at 

the Fall Meet-Up for a music 

performance during the closing 

ceremony of the event. The 

concert took place from 8pm to 

9:30pm on October 15, 2016 after 

the conclusion of the exhibition. 

If you were part of the crowd, you 

would have swayed in the beauty 

of Bengali classics performed by 

Rushnaf and Beat Baksho. The 

concert gave even more life to 

the event. Though exhausted, 

many exhibitors and visitors 

did not forget to tap their feet in 

the tune of these music sessions 

and to cheer the performers for 

bringing such a beautiful end to 

this marvelous event. To those 

who missed the Meet-up this 

time, there isn’t any reason to 

be disheartened because in the 

next season, things are going 

to be even bigger, even louder 

and even warmer. To add an end 

note, this event was, Made with 

Love, Made with Affection, Made 

with Utter Dexterity, and Made 

in Bangladesh (adapted from the 

quote of MIB Spirit). •

18 

FRI DAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 


Feature 

Gear up for the first national cinema quiz contest 

Enliven Youth Platform organises CineQ 2016 

• Feature Desk 

Inspiration, determination, and 

belief were the catalysts and 

sources of power to kick off 

the first national cinema based 

quiz contest named CineQ 2016, 

with the collective efforts of 

the members of the Enliven 

Youth Platform. CineQ 2016 was 

just a programme idea before 

September 9, and the enthusiastic 

and passionate youngsters soon 

began to make their plans to give 

visibility to their concept, creating 

cineQ within just five days. 

Within three days of launching 

the event page on Facebook 

with a preamble speech after 

confirming the venue and date, 

people engagement increased 

exponentially to hit half a million. 

According to the specialists, visual 

learning is twice as effective as 

verbal learning, if not more. As 

it is required to watch the given 

movies thoroughly for the quiz 

contest to trump cineQ 2016, a 

participant will certainly learn a 

lot of issues and will get the gists 

of the movies. 

Since cinema is one of the 

primary sources of knowing 

cultural trends and norms, the 

programme is aimed at ensuring 

students gain in-depth knowledge 

about national and international 

culture. This exposure can 

contribute to eradicating 

superstition and conservative 

ideals, encourage students to 

think out of the box, and provide 

a cultural education through 

entertainment. 

Enliven Cinema Club 

(ECC) is a concern of Enliven 

Bangladesh, which has received 

permission from the Ministry 

of Information and has already 

started to organise the ‘Young 

Filmmakers for Development 

Sector’, an initiative funded by 

SNV Bangladesh in 2015. ECC is 

presenting cineQ 2016 for the first 

time with Enliven Youth Platform 

(EYP), as one of their signature 

programmes. Enliven Cinema 

Club, from its commencement, 

has been involved with CARE 

Bangladesh, UNDP, Swiss contact, 

SNV and EMK Center for different 

initiatives, and are proudly moving 

forward with its large volunteer 

groups. 

The quiz competition has been 

designed for school, college and 

university students where they 

will be separated into Group A, B 

& C respectively. The teams needs 

to be formed with two or three 

members from any institution but 

from the same group. The movie 

list comprises of world classic 

movies, award winning movies, 

liberation war based movies and 

movies with strong messages. 

The main objective of the cineQ 

2016 programme is to focus on the 

positive sides of the movies, so 

that young minds can learn and 

understand the depth of the film 

movement to nurture the very 

best of knowledge, inspiration and 

information. 

Hundreds of teams have 

already registered at cineQ till 

now. Registered teams are giving 

their reviews on cineQ 2016 on 

a daily basis with mentionable 

excitement. “It’s our chance to 

shine as movie freaks. All those 

movies when we should’ve studied 

finally pay off!” - these kinds of 

messages are already popping up 

on social media. Though the last 

date of registration was October 

18, due to plenty of requests, the 

date has been extended to October 

24, 2016. 

According to the specialists, visual 

learning is twice as effective as verbal 

learning, if not more. As it is required to 

watch the given movies thoroughly for 

the quiz contest to trump cineQ 2016 

A huge number of enthusiastic 

youth from all over the country 

will be congregating for the 

day-long programme with an 

exciting two round cinema quiz 

battle, short film screening, 

traditional bioscope show, spot 

quizzing, a photo session zone 

and prize giving ceremony. A lot 

of exciting gifts and prizes will 

be awarded; for instance, prizemoney 

and crest for the champion 

and finalists, t-shirts, books and 

mugs for the spot quiz winners 

and online quiz winners, and 

certificates for all participants. 

The special contribution of a 32- 

inch LED TV by Sohana Electrics, 

quiz partner of the event, will be 

awarded for the most outstanding 

performance of the day. 

Appreciation is still pouring in 

from different people, along with 

positive encouragement, valuable 

proposals and promising support, 

including the contribution 

of AHOBAN Youth Charity 

Foundation as strategic partner. 

Their campus ambassadors 

have made it possible to take 

the programme to another level 

in only three days, with their 

extensive in-campus promotion 

and viral social media campaign. 

A number of renowned clubs 

like the BUET Film Society, and 

MIST Literature and Cultural 

Club are working as outreach 

partners. Meraki, a prominent 

food restaurant, is contributing 

as gift partner and presenting 

food coupons worth 5000 taka to 

the winning team of each group. 

Dhaka Tribune, the media partner 

of the event, are also giving their 

support. 

Online and offline registration is 

open for all interested participants 

with 2-3 members’ teams. 

Ticketchai.com is working as 

the reservation partner to make 

the registration process more 

convenient. For further queries, 

visit the facebook page http://bit. 

ly/CineQ2016 or register at bit.ly/ 

ApplyCineQ2016 •

Biz Info 

19 



| park | 

Concord Entertainment presents Foy’s Lake complex 

The brand new Foy’s Lake Resort is a 

unique getaway where you can stay in 

luxurious accommodation while enjoying 

the natural beauty of Foy’s Lake and the 

entertainment of its two theme parks - Foy’s 

Lake Amusement World and Sea World. 

The whole complex is located in Pahartoli, 

Chittagong, on approximately 320 acres of 

land. 

Whether taking your kids on holiday, 

enjoying a corporate retreat or a 

romantic break, a stay at the resort is an 

unforgettable experience. Facilities include 

air-conditioned rooms, colour cable TV, 

restaurant, credit card facilities, en suite 

bathrooms, room service, car parking and 

convenience store. Recreational facilities, 

other than the theme parks, include BBQ 

nights, cultural programmes, boat rides, and 

concerts and shows by leading artists. 

The Amusement World allows you to 

have fun as well as enjoy the serenity and 

peacefulness of Foy’s Lake, and the Sea 

World is full of splash pools, water coaster 

rides, and all the usual features you would 

expect from a world class water theme 

park. The rides include Wave Pools, Slide 

World, Family Pool, Tube Slides, Multi-Slide, 

Waterfall, Doom Slide, Play Zone and Dance 

Zone. There are separate changing rooms 

and toilets for ladies and gents, lockers for 

valuables, local and international food, as 

well as Foy’s Lake Resort and shops. • 

| grant | | milestone | 

WTU offers President Scholarship 2016 to BUFT 

Six Seasons celebrates its third 

anniversary 

Recently, 11 students from the 

various departments of BGMEA 

University of Fashion and 

Technology (BUFT) received the 

President Scholarship 2016 in 

Masters programmes at Wuhan 

Textile University (WTU), China, 

under an education collaboration 

agreement between BUFT and 

WTU. 

The students selected 

for the scholarship are Md 

Moshiur Rahman, Md Rasel 

Mia, Md Raihan Sikder, Saifur 

Rahman, Rajon Ahmed and 

Mustary Akter Jhumu from 

the Department of Apparel 

Manufacture and Technology 

(AMT), Md Abu Yousuf and 

Ramjan Ali from the Department 

of Knitwear Manufacture and 

Technology (KMT) and Tamanna 

Hayder, Tausif Al Mehran and 

Tanzila Tabassum from the 

Department of Fashion Design 

and Technology (FDT). The 

scholarships cover all living and 

educational expenses. • 

Six Seasons Hotel, the luxury 

boutique hotel in Gulshan 2, 

celebrated its third anniversary on 

October 18, 2016. Many respected 

corporations, banking and media 

partners, and foreign dignitaries 

were present at the anniversary 

programme. The management of 

Six Seasons Hotel thanked all the 

attendees for their continuous 

support to ensure Six Seasons 

remains the number one ranked 

hotel in Dhaka, and promised 

to provide an even better guest 

experience in the coming years. 

Kazi Aaquib Shams, Six Season’s 

director, said, “We are not the 

biggest hotel, but we are the 

quietest, most-ideally located 

hotel with the tastiest food, most 

luxurious rooms, innovative 

concepts and by far the best service 

in the industry. Our innovation, 

ethics, product and service quality 

is what keeps us at the very top”. 

The program continued with a 

grand buffet dinner and highly 

enjoyable live music. •


20 

Editorial 


TODAY 

Trump may not 

accept election 

results 

Hillary had the last laugh. She was 

poised, and radiated confidence that 

comes from thorough preparation 

PAGE 21 

Technology can 

bring us together 

Landlocked countries need to use 

the nearest cable landing station of 

neighbouring countries. This provides a 

big scope for regional collaboration 

PAGE 22 

The future is digital 

BIGSTOCK 

The question about 

who wants Rampal 

The police attack on the procession 

walking to hand over a memorandum to 

the Indian High Commission was more 

remindful of panic than concern over 

law and order 

PAGE 23 

Be heard 

Write to Dhaka Tribune 

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, 

Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 

Send us your Op-Ed articles: 

opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com 

www.dhakatribune.com 

Join our Facebook community: 

https://www.facebook.com/ 

DhakaTribune. 

The views expressed in Opinion 

articles are those of the authors 

alone. They do not purport to 

be the official view of Dhaka 

Tribune or its publisher. 

Better internet connections, better cyber security, better digital 

education -- that is what Bangladesh needs to move forward into the 

21st century. 

And Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina understands the importance of 

digital. 

To that end, the government’s initiative to set up a world standard forensics 

lab, a cyber security agency, and a digital security council deserves praise. 

One of the most basic outcomes of improved internet infrastructure will be 

accelerated economic growth. With the widening spread of the internet across 

the country, we have witnessed the rise of mobile banking improve financial 

inclusion by providing mobile banking services to even the remotest areas of 

Bangladesh. 

By building on this infrastructure, and opening up our digital borders, the 

nation stands to reap the benefits of online payment systems such as PayPal, 

which has already expressed interest in Bangladesh as a potential market, 

and will allow citizens to earn money from overseas companies from their 

own homes, not to mention easing the process of remittance flowing into the 

country. 

But better cyber-security is imperative. As made evident by the Bangladesh 

Bank heist earlier this year, lax cyber security can cost the nation dearly. The 

PM deserves kudos for taking serious steps to bring digital security up to world 

standard. 

It is projected that by 2025, 60% of Bangladesh’s population will have 

access to broadband connectivity, and with better government policies on the 

internet, better digital education across schools, and the setting up of high-tech 

parks, the vision of a truly digital Bangladesh is appearing realistic. 

We live in an age where it takes milliseconds for information to travel from 

one corner of the world to another, thanks to the internet. For Bangladesh to 

truly integrate with the developed world and become a player in the global 

economy, digital is the only way. 

For Bangladesh to 

truly integrate with the 

developed world and 

become a player in the 

global economy, digital is 

the only way

Opinion 21 



Trump may not accept election results 

Clinton is now 3-0 in the debates 

LETTER 

FROM 

AMERICA 

• Fakhruddin Ahmed 

Only winners and losers 

are the denizens of the 

world of Donald Trump. 

Rightly or wrongly, 

Trump proclaims himself as the 

ultimate winner, and has utter 

disdain for the “losers” of the 

world. 

Here is the irony: If Trump were 

honest, he would characterise 

the majority of his supporters 

-- blue collar whites struggling 

economically -- as “losers.” 

One never sees Trump visiting 

the modest households of his 

financially-strapped white 

supporters. They have to travel 

hundreds of miles to Trump rallies 

to listen to their hero, who has not 

articulated any plan to alleviate 

their suffering. 

A rigged election? 

With 20 days to go before the 

November 8 election, and the polls 

predicting Trump’s defeat (Nate 

Silver puts the chance of a Clinton 

victory at 87%), Trump is now 

warning his supporters that the 

elections will be “rigged.” 

An election loss will demolish 

the persona of a “winner” Trump 

has cultivated so carefully over a 

lifetime. A loss at the hands of a 

woman, Hillary Clinton, will be 

unacceptably humiliating for a 

misogynist like Trump. 

If he can convince his 

supporters that the election has 

been “rigged,” he is off the hook. 

Even if Hillary Clinton wins, 

Trump can claim that he had not 

actually lost -- the election was 

stolen from him. He can still wear 

the mantle of a “winner.” 

The third and last presidential 

debate on October 19 in Las Vegas 

was overshadowed by Trump’s 

assertion that he may not accept 

the results of the presidential 

election scheduled for November 8 

if he loses. This is unprecedented 

in the 240-year history of the 

United States. 

Historically, every loser of a 

presidential election had conferred 

legitimacy on the winner by 

conceding the election, and 

wishing the president-elect all the 

best. This has been the case even 

when the election results were in 

doubt. 

There was a clear winner 

For example, in 2000, Al 

Gore won half a million more 

popular votes nationwide than 

George W Bush. However, when 

the Supreme Court stopped the 

recount of votes cast in Florida, 

which could have resulted in a 

Gore victory, Al Gore conceded 

the election to Bush in an act of 

patriotism. 

Trump’s refusal to vouch that 

he will concede the election if he 

loses, strikes at the foundation of 

America’s democracy. If he follows 

through with his threat, it will 

weaken American democracy. As 

the world is world painfully aware, 

it was the weakness in Western 

European democracy in the 1930s 

that gave rise to fascism. 

Without offering any shred 

of evidence, Trump contends 

that there is widespread voter 

fraud in cities like Philadelphia, 

Chicago, and St Louis. Translation: 

Inner city blacks in Philadelphia, 

Chicago, and St Louis are stealing 

the election from the white folks. 

A study has found that there 

were only 31 cases of voter-fraud 

out of a billion votes cast between 

2000 and 2014. The problem is 

exactly the opposite. Instead 

of becoming a more inclusive 

party, for the last 30 years, the 

Republicans have attempted 

to make it harder for African- 

Americans and Latinos to vote, by 

enacting legislations that require 

voter IDs. 

Trump is not really talking 

about voter fraud; he is saying that 

the election will be “rigged.” What 

he means is that the states and the 

federal government will conspire 

to disenfranchise the American 

voters, and illegally decide that 

Hillary Clinton is the winner. 

Interestingly, two-thirds of 

the states, including the key 

battleground states of Ohio and 

Florida are under Republican 

control. The secretary of state 

for Ohio, a Trump supporter, has 

chastised Trump for impugning 

the integrity of the election 

process, as has Senator Marco 

Rubio of Florida. After Trump’s 

debate comment, several more 

senators and high-ranking 

Republicans have condemned 

Trump’s comment. 

Better prepared, but just as bad 

Sniffing as heavily as in the 

previous two debates, Trump 

was, nevertheless, much better 

prepared for the third. He seemed 

to hold his own in the first 20 

minutes as he stuck to his talking 

points on immigration and trade. 

When the moderator asked 

specific questions on foreign 

policy and national debt, Trump’s 

Hillary had the last laugh. She was poised, and 

radiated confidence that comes from thorough 

preparation 

answers became more and more 

nebulous. He would try and 

answer a question for about 10 

seconds, then become incoherent 

and rehash grounds he had 

covered before. 

As Clinton criticised Trump 

and the Republicans for not only 

condoning, but also encouraging, 

Russians to hack into her and the 

Democratic Party’s emails as they 

attempt to influence America’s 

election and elect Putin-friendly 

Trump as president, Trump 

refused to condemn Putin or the 

Russians. 

Trump denied the allegations 

of sexual assault levelled against 

him by 11 women, adding that 

they were all looking for their 15 

minutes of fame, and that Hillary 

Clinton had put them up to it. 

Once again, Trump denied 

that he had supported the 2003 

invasion of Iraq, although proof 

exists that he did, and repeatedly 

called Hillary a liar. Trump used 

REUTERS 

the slang “bad hombres” (bad 

fellows) to describe illegal Mexican 

immigrants. 

At one point, Trump said that 

Clinton should not be allowed to 

run for president because of the 

crimes she had committed. Amid 

gasps from the audience, Trump 

interrupted Clinton and called her 

“such a nasty woman.” Clinton and 

Trump did not shake hands before 

or after the debate. 

Hillary had the last laugh. 

She was poised, and radiated 

confidence that comes from 

thorough preparation. She smiled 

a lot, and had a thorough answer 

for every question. A CNN/ORC 

poll of debate watchers declared 

Clinton the winner by 52% to 39% 

for Trump. Hillary is now 3-0 in 

the 3 debates, and well on her 

way to a resounding victory on 

November 8. • 

Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed is a Rhodes 

Scholar.

22 



Opinion 

Technology can bring us together 

Nothing cuts across geographical boundaries quite so well 

A better-connected world 

Landlocked countries need to use the nearest cable landing station 

of neighbouring countries. This provides a big scope for regional 

collaboration 

• Azfar Adib 

While the future of 

Saarc has become a 

topic of discussion, 

Dhaka has recently 

hosted two events: South Asian 

Telecommunication Regulatory 

Council Meeting, and the South 

Asia Economic Summit. 

The first one, the 17th 

Meeting of the South Asian 


Council (SATRC), is an official 

convention of the telecom 

regulators in the Saarc region. This 

time, a delegation from Iran joined 

it as well. Since its formation in 

1997, SATRC has been actively 

addressing telecommunicationrelated 

regulatory issues and 

challenges of common concern to 

its members in collaboration with 

broader regional bodies like APT 

(Asia-Pacific Telecommunity). 

The second event, 9th South 

Asia Economic Summit (SAES IX), 

was organised by five regional 

think tanks: CPD (Bangladesh), 

RIS (India), SAWTEE (Nepal), SPDI 

(Pakistan), and IPS (Sri Lanka). 

With the theme of “Reimagining 

South Asia in 2030,” this program 

aimed to provide a boost to the 

ongoing efforts for strengthening 

regional cooperation among South 

Asian countries. 

Although the subject and 

modality of these two events are 

different, a common message 

seems to be carried by both: In 

the current global context, there 

is no alternative of continuing and 

utilising regional co-operation 

from relevant perspectives. Saarc 

currently has six APEX and 18 

recognised bodies. While the 

supreme summit may remain 

stuck due to state-level issues, 

these bodies, along with other 

forums, can play a key role to 

continue the regional collaboration 

in respective arena. 

Particularly, there are certain 

aspects where joint approach 

is inevitable. ICT is one of 

them. For example, if we go 

to Banglabandha Zero Point at 

Tetulia in Panchagarh, which is the 

northernmost point of Bangladesh, 

we shall see a board mentioning 

“End of Bangladesh Border.” 

However, if we just take out 

our cell phones and search for 

available networks, we may find 

network coverage of several 

telecom operators from both India 

and Bangladesh. 

Such is the strength and beauty 

of communication technology 

-- it can easily cross geographical 

boundaries. 

In this arena, there are 

numerous wings of collaboration. 

Let us consider internet 

connectivity. 

On a broad level, there are two 

possible mechanisms for a country 

to get connected to the ocean of 

the internet -- through satellite, 

or through cable. Due to cost, 

coverage, and capacity issues, 

use of satellite-based internet 

connectivity (such as VSAT) is 

quite limited. 

It is generally used for 

segmented purposes, in very 

remote or isolated locations 

where terrestrial connectivity is 

not possible, or as an emergency 

backup for the main connectivity. 

So, the majority of internet 

traffic between countries or 

continents pass over cables; to 

be more specific, through a vast 

network of undersea cables known 

as a submarine cable network. 

Cable landing stations in 

certain coastal cities act as 

the connectivity hub for this 

submarine cable network. 

Currently in the South Asian 

BIGSTOCK 

region, cable landing locations are 

located in Cox’s Bazar, Colombo, 

Karachi, Mumbai, Chennai along 

with Cochin, Tuticorin, and Digha 

in India. 

These landing stations pass the 

internet traffic of the respective 

country along with other 

countries. The concept is quite 

similar to sea ports which can 

serve as the export-import centres 

for multiple countries. Particularly, 

landlocked countries (such as 

Nepal, Bhutan, and Afghanistan) 

need to use the nearest cable 

landing station of neighbouring 

countries. This provides a big 

scope for regional collaboration. 

Recently, Bangladesh has 

decided to export bandwidth to 

neighbouring countries. 

Bandwidth export to the Indian 

state of Tripura was launched on 

March 23, 2016 through a video 

conference by Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina and her Indian 

counterpart Narendra Modi. 

Initially, a monthly revenue of 

$100,000 is being generated for 

exporting 10Gbps of bandwidth 

to Tripura, which may gradually 

expand up to 40Gbps. Other 

Indian states in the northeast also 

have bandwidth requirements. 

The same thing applies for 

Bhutan (where bandwidth export 

is planned to start soon) and after 

Bhutan, Bangladesh may seek to 

export bandwidth to Nepal as well. 

As a second submarine cable 

landing station is being deployed 

in Kuakata, and exploration has 

been going on for back-up internet 

connectivity through Myanmar, 

huge potential lies for Bangladesh 

in this arena. 

Currently, the second path 

of our internet connectivity is 

through India (towards the landing 

stations in Mumbai and Chennai) 

via International Terrestrial Cable 

(ITC). 

Let us look at another possible 

aspect of alliance. When anyone 

from Bangladesh travels to 

neighbouring countries such as 

India, Pakistan, Nepal, or viceversa, 

there is less probability that 

they will use a roaming SIM for 

communication due to extremely 

high roaming tariffs. 

Traditionally, roaming tariffs 

have been significantly high in 

most parts of the world due to 

certain factors, including complex 

connectivity path of roaming 

traffic, and revenue sharing 

modality between multiple parties 

(home operator, visited operator, 

and middle carrier). 

Still, the level of roaming tariff 

(percentage increase of hundred or 

thousand times with comparison 

to usual local tariff) is not justified 

in most cases. 

This issue can be best addressed 

through regional alignment. 

Roaming regulations of EU can be 

the best example in this regard. 

It strictly enforces the maximum 

roaming charges allowable across 

the EU countries, and targets 

to completely abolish end-user 

roaming charges by June 2017. 

Obviously, Saarc cannot be 

comparable with EU which is 

one of the strongest regional 

forums, having a very strong and 

consolidated framework. Still, 

some collaborative approach can 

be sought among the South Asian 

countries to regulate the roaming 

tariffs while ensuring the interest 

of both users and operators. 

While lack of formal alignment 

or procedural obligation may 

remain as bottleneck for 

regional co-operation in various 

sectors, ICT is one arena where 

collaboration may proceed 

through the drive of mass people, 

irrespective of such dependencies. 

Just as an example, the demand 

for broadcasting Bangladeshi TV 

channels in India has been a longlasting 

issue. However, even if a 

particular Bangladeshi channel 

is not being broadcast in India, 

anyone there can now watch it 

through live online streaming. 

So the best possible outcome 

can be ensured if the countries 

utilise such progressive flow 

through a collaborative approach 

for the betterment of this region. • 

Azfar Adib is a telecom professional and 

internet service analyst.

Opinion 23 



The question about who wants Rampal 

How will the government handle the opposition to Rampal? 

• Afsan Chowdhury 

“Does India have the will power to 

say no to Hasina? I doubt it. The 

strategic community (majority 

of them) is eternally grateful to 

Hasina for taking action against the 

North East insurgents. Unless the 

Bangladesh government pulls out, 

India will not pull out. This is what 

I understood from my interaction 

here. As a government that would 

face election, Hasina should say no. 

Anyway, it has become chicken and 

egg theory” -- Smruti Pattanaik, 

Indian defence analyst 

Smruti Pattanaik, an Indian 

defense analyst with 

first-hand experience of 

Bangladesh was responding 

to several queries about Indian 

involvement on Rampal, and 

even a few questions which were 

suggesting that Rampal was an act 

of hostile aggression by India. 

This was on Facebook, and 

though that digital space is 

remarkably full of off-the-cuff 

remarks, this point raised has 

drawn attention. It is because 

we are used to blaming India at 

every step, not realising that we 

are also participating in many of 

the contentious projects. Rampal 

appears to have become an issue 

for all parties concerned. And if 

any country is to be blamed, it 

should be both. 

Indians are not feeling very 

happy about all the blaming it is 

getting because, for them, the 

cost-benefit is not just economic, 

but strategic and security related 

as well. India can have many other 

similar projects elsewhere, and 

even if Rampal is very convenient 

for them, it is not the only option. 

It’s not even a mega project that 

will radically adjust India’s energy 

needs, so it’s one of the many it 

can choose. 

But India’s main interest is 

increasingly that of security, 

and Bangladesh has been a key 

player in achieving that. As 

Pattanaik suggests, Bangladesh 

has delivered a significant security 

package by eliminating sanctuary 

to India’s rebellious North East 

insurgents, and the benefit is 

enormous in every way to her. 

So, India would hardly want 

to step into an unpopular space 

in Bangladesh. And promoting 

a few billion dollars worth of an 

energy project makes little sense 

if in return the Indian brand in 

Bangladesh is weakened and 

consequently the security blanket 

is disturbed. 

India also has a large number 

of its citizens involved in many 

sectors, and if India becomes 

vulnerable here due to the 

existence of a power plant, the 

socio-economic cost of departing 

Indians from Bangladesh due 

to heightened insecurity will be 

much greater compared to Rampal 

gains. India certainly wants to do 

business here, but India will never 

want a population that is hostile 

to it making security equations 

vulnerable. 

Rampal: More gratitude than gain? 

But can India refuse, as Smruti 

Pattanaik asks, given what Sheikh 

Hasina has helped India to gain, 

a rebel-diminished North East? 

Rampal is not a big deal for India, 

it’s a deal, but to Bangladesh, it’s a 

big fish. But while even six months 

back, Rampal was just a small lefty 

movement, it has become the most 

significant political project now. 

It’s not only a possible threat to the 

Sundarbans, it’s becoming one to 

India-Bangla relations even more. 

Can mainstream politics overcome 

the public perception that has now 

gained a firm footing here that the 

project will not be an undiluted 

advantage for Bangladesh? 

The Rampal project was never a 

publicly visible project which was 

being built somewhere far away. 

But the dedicated resistance of 

the activists, rightly or wrongly, 

has turned it into a much bigger 

problem for the government. The 

authorities at first completely 

ignored the opposition to the 

project, then tried to counter it 

through technical discussions and 

the loyal media support it. 

Next, it trashed the Rampal 

opponents as pro-Jamaat, and 

finally did the old lathi charge/ 

tear gas routine on its procession. 

None, one is afraid, has worked 

very well for the government till 

date. It not only underestimated 

the stamina of the Rampal 

activists, but also saw them as just 

another opponent like the BNP. 

Rampal is not Farakka 

But BNP is a ragged party of 

geriatrics with declining public 

support and full of traditional 

posturing and bluster while the 

Oil and Gas Committee has much 

more public goodwill, though not 

If nothing else, protesters can make the government uneasy 

The police attack on the procession walking to hand over a 

memorandum to the Indian High Commission was more remindful of 

panic than concern over law and order 

necessarily active support. 

But in the public political space, 

the activists look like a bunch of 

politicians we almost never see 

in Bangladesh, let alone expect. 

They are into a cause and not a 

party, not into power and moneymaking 

but development issues. 

Frankly, they also have no political 

structure, and even if the entire 

Left were to come together, they 

wouldn’t be able to make much 

of a difference. But faith in the 

activists is increasing at a pace 

never thought possible before, 

because they are considered clean 

and patriotic by many. 

The police attack on the 

procession walking to hand over a 

memorandum to the Indian High 

Commission was more remindful 

of panic than concern over law 

and order. After all, the activists 

have no clout to call a hartal even, 

but it’s making the powers that 

be rather uneasy just by their 

presence. 

Rampal is also not Farakka, 

because the barrage was 

constructed in India arbitrarily 

without any consideration 

for Bangladesh’s water rights. 

Rampal, on the other hand, is an 

environmentally controversial 

project which is happening inside 

Bangladesh as a joint activity. If 

Farakka victimised Bangladesh 

and created permanent anti- 

Indian feelings, how worthy can 

it be for India? Public perception 

increasingly sees it negatively 

rather than discuss the pro and 

contra arguments. 

Rampal has gone beyond logic into 

the emotional space 

In Bangladesh, political 

accountability practices are 

much less but in India it is much 

higher, where the consequences of 

supporting Rampal could become 

an issue if it leads to other issues 

like loss of security. While few in 

India know about Rampal, more 

people know about it than ever 

before here in Bangladesh. 

It’s not a media issue in 

India, but it’s the biggest one 

in Bangladesh. Many support 

Rampal, and for good reasons. 

Many also are against it, though 

they may know less about 

the project. The point is, the 

argumentative space is largely over 

now and it’s a matter of collective 

emotions and it’s growing. That is 

MEHEDI HASAN 

why it’s something bigger than a 

controversial coal plant; it’s about 

public perception of what is right 

and wrong. And that is about 

politics, not development. 

Hasina’s politicians, too rusty 

at national politics due to lack 

of practice, has not even had a 

chance to defend the cause, and 

the bureaucrats and technocrats, 

who are in charge of politics, never 

a very trusted community in town, 

has not effectively sold the case 

to the public. The government 

has been pushed by a ragtag 

band of volunteer activists never 

thought possible and it has made 

the political equations far more 

difficult. 

The government’s prestige, 

will, and clout have all been put 

into the Rampal basket and to 

retreat or even reconsider Rampal 

would be considered a defeat and 

this government has not had one 

in the last decade or so. It has no 

intention of being pushed into a 

corner and it won’t. But that has 

put more than a coal project into 

the spot; its politics that is being 

affected although the opposition is 

non-existent. 

From a space of total 

confidence where it had no 

thought of any opposition, the 

mood has shifted to battling a tiny 

opponent. How the government 

handles itself and tries to build 

public opinion will be worth 

watching. • 

Afsan Chowdhury is a journalist and 

researcher.


24 

Sport 


TOP STORIES 

Moeen: Hardest 60 

I’ve ever made 

The England batters perhaps 

assumed that the pitch will be a 

good one to bat on, at least for the 

first two days, but the Bangladesh 

spinners, led by debutant Mehedi 

Hasan Miraz’s five-for, made life 

difficult for the visitors. PAGE 25 

Zalmi grab Shakib, 

retake Tamim 

Pakistan Super League T20 

franchise Peshawar Zalmi roped in 

ace Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib 

al Hasan and retook opening 

batsman Tamim Iqbal during 

the players’ draft in Dubai on 

Wednesday. PAGE 26 

Mourinho issues 

Rashford warning 

Portuguese manager Jose 

Mourinho does not want Marcus 

Rashford to be selected for 

next year’s European Under-21 

Championships if the Manchester 

United striker is a regular in the 

senior England squad. PAGE 27 

Messi ruins 

Guardiola return 

Lionel Messi spoiled Pep 

Guardiola’s homecoming by 

scoring a hat-trick in Barcelona’s 

4-0 win over 10-man Manchester 

City in the Champions League, 

while Bayern Munich shook off 

their recent patchy form to defeat 

PSV Eindhoven 4-1. PAGE 28 

Bangladesh spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz is all smiles following the end of the opening day’s play of the first Test against 

England at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday 

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK 

‘Never dreamed of such debut’ 

• Mazhar Uddin 

from Chittagong 

Ever since he started playing in 

the age-level groups, Mehedi 

Hasan Miraz had that X-factor in 

him whenever he walked into any 

ground. 

After several promising displays, 

Miraz’s crowning moment 

came in the Under-19 World Cup 

earlier this year when he was 

named the player of the tournament, 

prompting many to label 

him the next Shakib al Hasan for 

his sheer talent. 

It was no surprise therefore for 

anyone who followed him closely 

over the years to see him in action 

yesterday when he picked up five 

wickets on Test debut against a 

formidable England side. Miraz 

was booming with confidence, a 

rare sight indeed for a teenager. 

The 18-year old became the 

youngest ever Bangladeshi to bag 

five wickets on debut, bettering Sohag 

Gazi’s record, ending the opening 

day’s play with brilliant bowling 

figures of 5/64 from his 33 overs. 

It was all surreal for Miraz, who 

informed that he never dreamed of 

taking five wickets in his Test bow. 

“I never thought that I would 

get five wickets in my debut 

match. And I didn’t even think 

that it would be this outstanding. I 

thought I would rather have an average 

performance where I would 

take one or two wickets and score 

30-odd runs. But when things go 

well, it actually goes pretty well 

which was the case for me,” a jubilant 

Miraz told the media. 

“Even our coach (Chandika 

Hathursingha) said to me that I 

should not think of taking five 

or six wickets and try to bowl on 

the right spot. And things went 

pretty well for me. All thanks to 

almighty Allah,” he said. 

According to Miraz, he was 

bowling outside the wicket initially 

but skipper Mushfiqur Rahim 

told him to bowl in the line of 

the wicket, which would in turn 

create more chances for him to 

pick up wickets. 

He clean bowled another English 

debutant Ben Duckett to get 

his first wicket in international 

cricket but Miraz said his fifth 

dismissal, that of Jonny Bairstow, 

was among his favourites. 

“My fifth wicket of the day 

where I bowled Bairstow was my 

favourite one. The ball skidded 

on to hit the stumps. The batsman 

was unable to understand the 

delivery and interestingly, even 

I didn’t understand what happened 

at that time,” said Miraz, 

sporting a smile. 

The Khulna cricketer informed 

that he had the experience of 

bowling with the new ball from 

his age-level days. The youngster 

bowled a whopping 33 overs during 

the opening day’s play. 

Miraz stated that he used to 

bowl long spells with Bangladesh 

left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak 

for Khulna in the National Cricket 

League, which helped him tremendously. 

He also gave credit to the Bangladesh 

Cricket Board’s age-level 

coach Sohel Islam, who mentored 

the youngster during his age-level 

days. 

“One thing I would like to mention 

is that I would like to thank 

Sohel sir who was our assistant 

coach in the U-19 level. He guided 

me from the U-15 days. He discussed 

with me continuously how 

to improve my bowling. I also tried 

to contact him [yesterday] as I am 

feeling really good. I believe he 

will also do the same,” he added. • 

Mehedi Hasan Miraz, at 18 years and 361 days, became the youngest bowler 

to take five wickets on Test debut for Bangladesh. Previously, the record 

belonged to Sohag Gazi, who at 21 years and 100 days, picked up 6/76 against 

the West Indies in 2012. Mehedi is also the fourth youngest bowler in the 

history of five-day cricket to take five wickets on debut. 

PLAYERS AGES FIGURES OPPOSITION YEARS 

Pat Cummins 18 yrs, 193 days 6/79 South Africa 2011 

Shahid Afridi 18 yrs, 235 days 5/52 Australia 1998 

Shahid Nazir 18 yrs, 318 days 5/53 Zimbabwe 1996 

Mehedi Hasan 18 yrs, 361 days 5/64 England 2016 

Miraz’s mentor 

says it’s just 

the start 



It would have been any mentor’s 

dream to see his student shine in 

his first international appearance 

for his country. 

And one could hardly ask for 

a better start than Mehedi Hasan 

Miraz, who made his international 

bow against England yesterday. 

Miraz became the youngest Bangladeshi 

to take five wickets on debut 

and also the fourth youngest bowler 

in the history of Test cricket to 

achieve the feat as he picked up 5/64 

from his 33 overs against England 

to take the home side to the driving 

seat during the first day’s play. 

Sohel Islam, who is currently 

the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s 

head coach of the Under-17 

age-level group, guided Miraz right 

from the early stages of his career. 

Miraz learned many bowling tricks 

from Sohel from his U-15 days. He 

was also the assistant coach of the 

U-19 team which was led admirably 

by Miraz. 

Sohel believes it’s just the start 

of a new life for Miraz. He also 

urged his disciple to keep his feet 

on the ground, forget whatever he 

has achieved on the first day and 

look to continue what he has been 

doing over the years. 

“Obviously I am very happy for 

him and my message to him will 

be to remain focused on his game 

and don’t let anything else come 

between his performance. It’s just 

the start of his career and whatever 

he has already achieved is surely 

the reward of his hard work,” Sohel 

told Dhaka Tribune over phone 

yesterday. 

According to Sohel, the biggest 

strength of Miraz’s bowling is his 

accuracy that was clearly evident 

right from the age-level group. 

“I think his biggest strength is 

his accuracy as he can bowl in the 

right line right from the start of his 

spell. He also has the experience of 

bowling with the new ball from the 

age-level period and it was no exception 

in his international debut,” 

he added. •

Sport 25 



SCORECARD 

ENGLAND FIRST INNINGS R B 

A. Cook b Shakib 4 26 

B. Duckett b Mehedi 14 35 

J. Root c Sabbir b Mehedi 40 49 

G. Ballance lbw b Mehedi 1 7 

M. Ali c Rahim b Mehedi 68 170 

B. Stokes b Shakib 18 34 

J. Bairstow b Mehedi 52 126 

C. Woakes not out 36 77 

A. Rashid not out 5 28 

Extras (b14, lb4, w2) 20 

Total (seven wickets, 92 overs) 258 

Fall of wickets 

1-18 (Duckett), 2-18 (Cook), 3-21 (Ballance), 

4-83 (Root), 5-106 (Stokes), 6-194 

(Moeen) , 7-237 ( Bairstow) 

Bowling 

Shafiul 9-1-33-0, Mehedi 33-6-64-5, 

Kamrul 8-0-41-0 (w2), Shakib 19-6- 

46-2, Taijul 17-8-28-0, Sabbir 3-0-11-0, 

Mahmudullah 2-0-17-0, Mominul 1-1-0-0 

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim and the close-in fielders appeal unsuccessfully for the dismissal of England’s Moeen Ali during the opening day’s play of the first 

Test at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday 


Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal and Shakib al Hasan take a 

breather in the drinks cart yesterday 

MI MANIK 

Moeen: Hardest 

60 I’ve ever made 



The England batters perhaps 

assumed that the pitch at Zahur 

Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium 

in the port city will be 

a good one to bat on, at least 

for the first two days, but the 

Bangladesh spinners, especially 

debutant Mehedi Hasan 

Miraz’s five-for, made life difficult 

for the visitors. 

At the end of the first day, 

England were 258/7 with 

left-handed batsman Moeen 

Ali top-scoring with a patient 

170-ball 68. It was Moeen who 

showed the most fight among 

the England batsmen. 

The visitors found it difficult 

to cope with the conditions 

and the spin-friendly wicket 

and according to Moeen, it was 

his toughest half-century yet 

in Test cricket. 

The southpaw also praised 

the Bangladesh bowlers for 

putting in a disciplined performance. 

“It was very tough. [Yesterday] 

was the hardest 60 

I’ve ever made. They bowled 

well. They bowled very accurately. 

And it’s not just about 

surviving, it’s about scoring 

runs. It’s tough. They set 

good fields,” Moeen told the 

media yesterday. 

It was very tough. 

[Yesterday] was 

the hardest 60 

I’ve ever made. 

They bowled 

well. They 

bowled very 

accurately 

“They were dirty runs 

[yesterday]. It was a massive 

mental challenge, especially 

with the reviews. I kept missing 

the ball and they hit my 

pad. I couldn’t figure out why. 

It was a good mental challenge,” 

he said. 

It was a rather eventful 

219-minute stay at the crease 

as he survived five reviews, 

including three in an over. 

“We are normally pretty 

tight, but we didn’t speak for 

a session. It was a tough pitch 

to umpire, but what can I say? 

The guy gave me out three 

times! I knew I had a hit the 

first one or gloved it, there 

was definitely something 

there. [Joe] Root saved me on 

the other two,” he said. 

The 29-year old went 

on to heap praise on debutant 

Miraz, informing that 

he bowled quite accurately, 

which in turn paid rich dividends 

for the home side. 

“I thought they might 

open with a spinner but I 

didn’t think it was going to 

spin as much. You saw the 

new ball, it spun straightaway. 

He (Miraz) bowled very 

accurately with the new ball. 

Definitely he is a good prospect 

for Bangladesh,” he said. 

Moeen is of the opinion 

that they are still in a good 

position and that their initial 

target would be to post close 

to 300 runs, or above, in the 

first innings. He added that 

the pitch has a lot to offer for 

the spinners and expressed 

hope that he, along with Gareth 

Batty and Adil Rashid, 

will play vital roles. • 

IN NUMBERS 

Bangladesh players to take a fivewicket 

haul on their Test debut, 

7 

including Mehedi Hasan. Incidentally, 

four of those have been in the last five 

years. No team has had more than three 

five-wicket hauls by debutants in this 

period. Across all formats, Bangladesh 

bowlers have taken seven five-fors in 

debut in last five years, again the most 

for any team, by a distance. 

Younger Bangladesh bowler to 

1 take five-wicket hauls in Tests, than 

Mehedi who was 18 years, 361 days. 

Enamul Haque Jr had taken three fivefors 

at a younger age than Mehedi’s in 

2005. Overall, Mehedi is the fourthyoungest 

bowler to take a five-wicket 

haul on Test debut. 

Number of players to score 1000- 

1 plus runs in a year in Tests batting at 

No. 6 or lower. Jonny Bairstow became 

the first to achieve this in this year. The 

previous most runs by any player at No. 

6 or below was 984 by VVS Laxman in 

2002. He was also the first player to go 

past 1000 Test runs this year. 

Partnerships of 50 or more runs 

6 between Bairstow and Moeen Ali 

in Tests this year for the sixth-wicket - 

most by any pair for wickets six or lower 

in a year. Four pairs had five such stands 

including Andrew Flintoff and Geraint 

Jones for England in 2004. 

Runs added by England’s first 

21 three wickets, is their lowest in 

the first innings of any Test in Asia. Their 

previous lowest was 22 runs in Galle in 

2007-08. 

Tests missed by Gareth 

142 Batty between his last Test 

and this come-back Test - most by any 

player. Batty’s last Test was more than 

11 years ago, also against Bangladesh, in 

June 2005. 

Previous most Tests played 

133 by an England player, by Alec 

Stewart. Alastair Cook appeared in his 

134th Test in this match to become the 

most capped England player.


26 


Sport 

PAKISTAN SUPER LEAGUE 

Peshawar grab Shakib, retake Tamim 

• Tribune Report 

PSL T20 franchise Peshawar Zalmi 

roped in ace Bangladesh all-rounder 

Shakib al Hasan and retook 

opening batsman Tamim Iqbal during 

the players’ draft in Dubai on 

Wednesday. 

Shakib will feature in the Pakistan 

Super League for the second 

time after playing for Karachi 

Kings in the inaugural edition 

while Tamim will participate in his 

second consecutive season in the 

same colours. Tamim had a prolific 

campaign last time around, scoring 

267 runs in six matches to emerge 

as the team’s highest run scorer. 

Peshawar will be captained by 

the West Indies’ Darren Sammy, 

in place of previous captain Shahid 

Afridi, while well-established 

internationals like Chris Jordan, 

Shaun Tait, Jonny Bairstow, Eoin 

Morgan and Brad Hodge will also 

turn out for Peshawar. 

Local players Mohammad Hafeez, 

Afridi and Kamran Akmal 

shore up the Peshawar side. Veteran 

Pakistan cricketer Younis Khan, 

who went unsold in the draft, will 

mentor the side. 

Alongside Peshawar, Karachi 

Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Islamabad 

United and Quetta Gladiators 

will take part in the second edition 

of the tournament, scheduled to 

be held from February-March next 

year. 

Islamabad were crowned champions 

of the inaugural 2016 PSL 

season, defeating Quetta in the final 

on February 23. 

New players 

Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales (England), 

Haris Sohail, Irfan Khan, 

Khushdil Shah, Sohaib Maqsood 

and Iftikhar Ahmed (Pakistan), Mohammad 

Shahzad (Afghanistan) 

and Shakib al Hasan (Bangladesh) 

Retained players 

Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad 

Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, 

Junaid Khan, Imran Khan, Hasan 

Ali and Mohammad Asghar (Pakistan), 

Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh), 

Darren Sammy (West Indies) and 

Chris Jordan (England) 

Released 

Aamer Yamin, Musadiq 

Ahmed, Shahid Yousuf, Taj Wali, 

Israrullah and Abdur Rehman 

(Pakistan), Shaun Tait, Brad 

Hodge and Jim Allenby (Australia), 

Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan 

(England) • 

Australia quick Starc fit and ready to take on South Africa 

• Reuters, Sydney 

Australia’s pace spearhead Mitchell 

Starc is confident he will be fit 

to take on South Africa in next 

month’s first Test after declaring 

himself available for a domestic 

Sheffield Shield match yesterday. 

Starc sustained a nasty gash on 

his left leg in a freak training accident 

last month and has been 

sidelined since, casting doubt over 

his participation in the three-Test 

home series against the Proteas. 

His compatriots were sweating 

over his fitness after Australia 

slumped to an unprecedented 5-0 

one-day series defeat in South Africa, 

but yesterday Starc told 30-odd 

journalists assembled outside Sydney 

Cricket Ground he was “ready 

to go”. 

“It’s going well,” the 26-year-old 

said. “It’s not restricted at the moment. 

“The first session I had about 

two weeks ago, it was a bit tight, 

but since then it’s been fine and 

I’ve been bowling off the long run. 

“Unfortunately these things 

happen in life and in cricket but 

hopefully I can get up to Brisbane 

and get some bowling under the 

belt, then move on to Perth.” 

Starc will travel with the New 

South Wales team to Brisbane 

on Monday for a four-day match 

against Queensland, where he will 

play alongside fellow Test paceman 

Josh Hazlewood. 

The pace duo were always going 

to be rested from the ODI series 

even before Starc injured his leg 

and the left-armer was confident 

he could now play through six 

Tests against South Africa and Pakistan 

over the Australian summer. 

Starc also thought that with 

Barcelona’s Luis Suarez, his daughter Delfina and son Benjamin, pose with his 2016 European Golden Shoe trophy, which is 

awarded to the top goalscorer in Europe’s domestic leagues, during an awards ceremony in Barcelona yesterday REUTERS 

Australia’s first-choice pace attack 

back on board, the South African 

batsmen would find it far harder to 

score runs than they did against an 

inexperienced bowling unit in the 

ODI series. 

“I think the South Africans obviously 

played really well in that 

series and they’ve been talking it 

up coming over here to Australia,” 

he said. 

“It’s two very different teams 

and Josh and I are looking forward 

to being there in Perth. Hopefully 

I’m there, I’ll be making myself 

available for selection.” 

Starc, who sustained the injury 

when he landed on the metal base 

of a set of wickets during fielding 

practice, agreed with Australia 

captain Steve Smith’s description 

of the wound as “gruesome”. 

“I couldn’t actually look at it,” 

he said. “I didn’t actually see it 

until after surgery. It wasn’t the 

prettiest thing, and it’s still not the 

prettiest thing. 

“It’s all going well, it’s still not 

closed up but that won’t stop me 

playing.” 

The first Test against South Africa 

begins at the WACA on Nov. 3.• 

Williamson, Southee 

star in final-over win 

• Agencies 

India wouldn’t have expected a 

target of 243 to trouble them. But 

it did. Their top order tends to finish 

games off. Not this time. That 

left MS Dhoni and a set of batsmen 

not accustomed to finishing an innings. 

New Zealand exploited that 

to pull off a six-run victory and level 

the series. 

It was a chaotic scrap to the finish, 

which brought a noisy crowd at 

the Feroz Shah Kotla to their feet in 

the final stages. India were 172 for 

6 - and the man dismissed was the 

Indian captain, who was also their 

best option against an equation of 

71 runs in 63 balls. Then a goofy over 

from Martin Guptill - four wides, 10 

balls, and two wickets - brought 

Hardik Pandya front and centre for 

the second match in a row. 

In Dharamsala, he offered a 

glimpse at his utility as a new-ball 

bowler. In Delhi, he suggested he 

has promise as a man who could 

come in late and stay sensible under 

pressure. He wrestled an equation 

of 48 off 36 balls down to 10 off six. 

2ND ODI 

NEW ZEALAND 242/9 (Williamson 118, 

Bumrah 3/35, Mishra 3/60) beat INDIA 

236 (Jadhav 41, Dhoni 39, Southee 

3/52) by six runs 

In that time New Zealand’s disciplines 

were taking a beating. It 

was the final overs of the innings, 

but they didn’t even look for the 

yorker. Most of their success yesterday 

was the result of the fast 

bowlers hitting back of a length on 

a pitch that was slow.•

Sport 27 



QUICK BYTES 

‘Mentally tough’ Modric 

to retire at Real Madrid 

Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric 

wants to play out the rest of his 

career with the Spanish giants 

after signing a new contract until 

2020. Modric, 31, has become 

a fundamental part of the Real 

side, winning two Champions 

League titles, since his arrival from 

Tottenham Hotspur in 2012. “My 

wish is to retire at Real Madrid and 

with this renewal I am closer to that 

goal,” Modric said on Wednesday. 

“I want to thank the club and the 

president for having so much 

confidence in me. I am going to 

continue giving everything I have, 

working hard and I hope to have 

more success in front of me.” 

–AFP 

Pardew backs 

Southgate as manager 

Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew is 

open to the England coach’s job but 

believes interim manager Gareth 

Southgate could be the answer 

to the national team’s current 

managerial crisis. Southgate has two 

more games in charge to convince 

the FA that he is the right man for 

the job following England’s home 

win over minnows Malta and a draw 

against Slovenia in the World Cup 

qualifiers this month. During his 18- 

year managerial career, Pardew has 

come up against some of the most 

successful managers in club football. 

–REUTERS 

Mourinho issues Rashford with 

England Under-21 warning 

• AFP, Manchester 

Jose Mourinho does not want Marcus 

Rashford to be selected for next 

year’s European Under-21 Championships 

if the Manchester United 

striker is a regular in the senior 

England squad. 

The United manager was responding 

to stories that England’s 

governing Football Association 

were keen to include Premier 

League stars, such as Rashford, in 

their Under-21 squad for the tournament 

in Poland in June. 

Mourinho has no problem with 

Rashford, who turns 19 on the last 

day of this month, being a part of 

that squad - but only if he has not 

established himself in the senior 

set-up. 

“We are in mid-October, the 

Championships will be in the summer,” 

United manager Mourinho 

said Wednesday. 

“I think we have to wait and see 

what happens until then. Because if 

the player becomes a regular in the 

‘A’ national team, if you want to call 

it that, then to say it is important for 

his development (to be) with the 

Under-21s, makes no sense.” 

Gareth Southgate has been promoted 

from his post as England Under-21 

boss to be the manager of the 

senior England team on an interim 

basis, with the FA still to announce 

if the former England defender will 

succeed Sam Allardyce on a permanent 

basis after the veteran coach 

was forced out after just one game 

following indiscreet comments 

made to undercover reporters. 

“If he’s an Under-21 player in 

the national team, then he is an 

Under-21 player and there is no discussion 

about that,” said Mourinho 

of Rashford. 

“But if he becomes a regular 

choice for Gareth Southgate in the 

first team, then we have to speak 

because we don’t want him going.” 

Rashford has five England caps to 

his name, four of them as a substitute 

in competitive internationals. 

Mourinho was speaking as he 

put the finishing touches to plans 

for the Europa League group game 

with Fenerbahce at Old Trafford 

yesterday. The game could be the 

opportunity for Wayne Rooney and 

Henrikh Mkhitaryan to feature in 

the starting side as Mourinho juggles 

his squad ahead of Sunday’s 

trip to Chelsea. 

Rooney has not started the last 

four United games and has also 

seen his place in the England runon 

XI disappear under new manager 

Southgate. 

“Wayne is working well, he is 

one of those responsible for the atmosphere 

for the players,” insisted 

Mourinho. “He is positive, he is a 

good example. We count on him to 

start or be on the bench. He will be 

there (yesterday).” • 

Germany climb, 

Belgium slip in 

FIFA rankings 

• AFP, Paris 

Germany have moved up to second 

behind Argentina as Belgium 

dropped out of the top three in the 

latest FIFA world rankings released 

yesterday. 

A pair of 2018 World Cup qualifier 

wins against Czech Republic 

and Northern Ireland lifted world 

champions Germany up one spot, 

with Brazil also up one to third. 

Former world number one side 

Belgium are on the drift, down two 

to fourth and out of the first three 

for the first time since March 2015. 

Spain, who beat Belgium in a 

friendly last month, are back in the 

top 10 while Euro 2016 sensations 

Wales slid one place to 11th. 

FIFA rankings 

1. Argentina 

2. Germany (+1) 

3. Brazil (+1) 

4. Belgium (-2) 

5. Colombia (-1) 

6. Chile 

7. France (+1) 

8. Portugal (-1) 

9. Uruguay 

10. Spain (+1) 

11. Wales (-1) 

12. England 

13. Italy 

14. Switzerland (2) 

15. Poland (2) 

16. Croatia (-2) 

17. Mexico (-2) 

18. Costa Rica 

188. Bangladesh (-3) • 

DAY’S WATCH 

CRICKET 

GAZI TV, BTV, STAR 

SPORTS 2 

10:00AM 

England Tour of Bangladesh 

1st Test, Day 2 

TEN 3 

12:00PM 

West Indies Tour of Pakistan 

2nd Test, Day 1 

FOOTBALL 

SONY SIX 

12:40AM 

Spanish La Liga 

Osasuna v Real Betis 

SONY ESPN 

10:45PM 

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 

Final 

STAR SPORTS 1 

7:20PM 

Indian Super League 

Mumbai v Goa 

TEN 1 

2:50PM 

A-League 2016/17 

Melbourne City v Perth Glory 

12:45AM 

Sky Bet EFL 

Burton Albion v Birmingham City 

TEN 3 

12:35AM 

French Ligue 1 2016/17 

Monaco v Montpellier Herault 

KABADDI 

STAR SPORTS 2 

Kabaddi World Cup 2016 

7:20PM 

Semi Final 1: South Korea v Iran 

9:40PM 

Semi Final 2: Thailand v India 

HOCKEY 

STAR SPORTS 4 

Asian Hockey Champions 

4:00PM 

Pakistan v Korea 

6:30PM 

Malaysia v China


28 


Sport 

RESULTS 

GROUP A 

Arsenal 6-0 Ludogorets 

Sanchez 12, Walcott 42, 

Ozil 56, 83, 87, 

Oxlade-Chamberlain 46 

PSG 3-0 Basel 

Di Maria 40, Lucas 62, 

Cavani 90+3-P 

GROUP B 

Napoli 2-3 Besiktas 

Mertens 30, Adriano 13, 

Gabbiadini 69-P Aboubakar 38, 86 

Dynamo Kiev 0-2 Benfica 

Salvio 9-P, Cervi 55 

GROUP C 

Celtic 0-2 M’gladbach 

Stindl 57, Hahn 77 

Barcelona 4-0 Man City 

Messi 17, 61, 69, 

Neymar 89 

GROUP D 

Rostov 0-1 Atletico Madrid 

Carrasco 62 

Bayern Munich 4-1 PSV Eindhoven 

Mueller 13, Kimmich 21, Narsingh 41 

Lewandowski 60, 

Robben 84 

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi shoots to score against Manchester City during their UEFA Champions League Group C match at Nou Camp on Wednesday 

Messi ruins Guardiola’s Barcelona return, 

clinical Bayern thrash PSV to stop rot 

REUTERS 

• AFP, Paris 

POINTS TABLE 

P W D L 

GROUP A 

GD Pts 

Arsenal 3 2 1 0 8 7 

Paris SG 3 2 1 0 5 7 

Basel 3 0 1 2 -5 1 

L Razgrad 3 0 1 2 -8 1 

GROUP B 

Napoli 3 2 0 1 2 6 

Besiktas 3 1 2 0 1 5 

Benfica 3 1 1 1 0 4 

Dynamo Kiev 3 0 1 2 -3 1 

GROUP C 

Barcelona 3 3 0 0 12 9 

Man City 3 1 1 1 0 4 

M’gladbach 3 1 0 2 -3 3 

Celtic 3 0 1 2 -9 1 

GROUP D 

Atletico Madrid 3 3 0 0 3 9 

Bayern Munich 3 2 0 1 7 6 

PSV Eindhoven 3 0 1 2 -4 1 

Rostov 3 0 1 2 -6 1 

Lionel Messi spoiled Pep Guardiola’s 

homecoming by scoring a hattrick 

in Barcelona’s 4-0 win over 

10-man Manchester City in the 

Champions League on Wednesday, 

while Bayern Munich shook off 

their recent patchy form to defeat 

PSV Eindhoven 4-1. 

Messi pounced on a Fernandinho 

slip to nudge Barca in front on 

17 minutes, and the Argentine doubled 

his tally on the hour following 

the dismissal of City goalkeeper 

Claudio Bravo. 

The Chile international, who 

left the Camp Nou in August to replace 

Joe Hart at City, was sent off 

for a blatant handball outside the 

area having knocked his misplaced 

clearance straight to Luis Suarez. 

Messi swept in a third on 69 minutes 

to complete a second straight 

hat-trick in Europe, while Barca 

also finished the game a man down 

after substitute Jeremy Mathieu 

picked up a second booking. 

Neymar missed a late penalty 

but atoned with Barca’s fourth 

soon after as the Spaniards made it 

three wins from three to take control 

of Group C, with second-place 

City five points adrift. 

“At that level it is hard, but until 

10 against 11 it was open and 

we were competing against a team 

with a big personality,” Guardiola 

told BT Sport. 

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil celebrates scoring against Ludogorets during their UEFA 

Champions League Group A match at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday REUTERS 

“But after the (red) card it was 

over. I spoke with (Bravo), he was 

disappointed but it’s part of the 

game.” 

Lars Stindl and Andre Hahn 

both capitalised on mistakes from 

Kolo Toure to gift Moenchengladbach 

their first points of the competition 

with a 2-0 win at Celtic. 

In Munich, Carlo Ancelotti’s 

Bayern dismissed concerns about 

their performance of late by ending 

a three-match winless run at home 

to PSV Eindhoven. 

Thomas Mueller grabbed a 

13th-minute opener at the Allianz 

Arena before fellow Germany international 

Joshua Kimmich netted 

his seventh goal in all competitions 

this season. Luciano Narsingh gave 

PSV hope when he halved the deficit 

shortly before the break, but Poland 

striker Robert Lewandowski eased 

fears of another setback with Arjen 

Robben netting Bayern’s fourth. 

However, the Bundesliga giants 

still trail Atletico Madrid in Group 

D after Yannick Carrasco’s second-half 

strike steered last year’s 

finalists to another 1-0 victory 

away to Russian side Rostov. 

Mesut Ozil notched a second-half 

hat-trick as Arsenal 

thrashed Ludogorets Razgrad of 

Bulgaria 6-0, the German piling 

on the misery for the visitors after 

goals from Alexis Sanchez, Theo 

Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain. 

“It will be difficult not to be satisfied, 

we scored a lot of goals and 

kept a clean sheet. We were fast 

and dangerous. We are confident 

and we must stay focused in every 

single game,” said Gunners boss 

Arsene Wenger. 

Paris Saint-Germain also have 

seven points in Group A, but the 

French champions rode their luck 

in a 3-0 win over Basel. 

The Swiss outfit twice hit the 

woodwork at the Parc des Princes 

before Angel di Maria fired the 

hosts ahead just before half-time. 

Brazilian Lucas doubled PSG’s 

lead on 62 minutes, with Basel defender 

Marek Suchy then heading 

against the post, before Edinson 

Cavani netted his 17th goal for club 

and country this term courtesy of a 

stoppage-time penalty. 

Napoli’s hopes of becoming the 

first side through to the last 16 

were dashed as Vincent Aboubakar 

struck twice in Italy to earn Besiktas 

an impressive 3-2 victory. 

Adriano put the Turkish champions 

ahead on 12 minutes in Naples, 

but Belgian winger Dries 

Mertens replied on the half hour. 

Aboubakar restored Besiktas’ 

lead before the interval only for 

Manolo Gabbiadini to cancel it out 

from the penalty spot, with Lorenzo 

Insigne having seen an earlier 

spot-kick kept out by Fabri. 

But Cameroon international 

Aboubakar struck again four minutes 

from the end to move Besiktas 

to within a point of leaders Napoli 

in Group B. Benfica also registered 

their first win thanks to an Eduardo 

Salvio penalty and a Franco Cervi 

goal in their 2-0 triumph away to 

Dynamo Kiev. •

Downtime 

29 



CROSSWORD 

ACROSS 

1 Cicatrix (4) 

4 First man (4) 

8 Floor covering (3) 

9 Move with bounding 

steps (4) 

10 Work hard (4) 

11 Numeral (5) 

12 Dexterous (4) 

14 Fish eggs (3) 

15 Dry, of champagne (3) 

17 Flow back (3) 

19 Tree (3) 

21 Dash (4) 

23 Mistake (5) 

26 Visage (4) 

27 Popular exercise (4) 

28 Corded fabric (3) 

29 Water pitcher (4) 

30 Bring up (4) 

DOWN 

1 Surgical stitch (6) 

2 Dry (4) 

3 Sovereign (5) 

4 Drink (3) 

5 Birds (5) 

6 Monkey (3) 

7 Adults (3) 

11 Metal (5) 

13 Part of a theatre (5) 

16 Profession (6) 

18 Freight boat (5) 

20 Thin biscuit (5) 

22 Back of the neck (4) 

23 Optic (3) 

24 Argue (3) 

25 Rowing implement (3) 

CODE-CRACKER 

How to solve: Each number in our 

CODE-CRACKER grid represents a 

different letter of the alphabet. For 

example, today 17 represents N so fill N 

every time the figure 17 appears. 

You have two letters in the control 

grid to start you off. Enter them in the 

appropriate squares in the main grid, then 

use your knowledge of words to work out 

which letters go in the missing squares. 

Some letters of the alphabet may not be 

used. 

As you get the letters, fill in the other 

squares with the same number in the 

main grid, and the control grid. Check 

off the list of alphabetical letters as you 

identify them. 

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 

CALVIN AND HOBBES 

SUDOKU 

How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the 

numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must 

contain all nine digits with no number repeating. 

PEANUTS 

SATURDAY’S SOLUTIONS 

CODE-CRACKER 

CROSSWORD 

DILBERT 

SUDOKU

30 



Showtime 

Habib Wahid’s new song 

to end poverty 

• Showtime Desk 

To spread the message about 

alleviating poverty in the 

country, singer and musician 

Habib Wahid has sung a new 

song. An initiative of the 

World Bank, the song is made 

to celebrate the country’s 

progress and envisions a future 

of possibilities for prosper 

Bangladesh and the world. 

The song “Ei Bangla Ei 

Manush” came out as a music 

video, which is directed by Maruf 

Raihan, while Chirkutt’s Sharmin 

Sultana Sumi penned its lyrics. 

The World Bank’s YouTube 

channel released the video on 

October 17. 

In a Facebook post the singer 

said, “I’m extremely happy and 

honoured to be a part of such 

an amazing and meaningful 

project! Thank you World Bank 

for believing in me. Thank 

you Sharmin Sultana Sumi for 

the wonderful heartfelt lyrics! 

Thanks to the amazing new talent 

Maruf Raihan and the entire 

team for making such an amazing 

video in such short notice! And 

the biggest thanks goes to all 

the powerful and hard working 

people of Bangladesh because 

you are the ones who show us the 

real meaning of love, patience 

and hard work! You people will 

surely make poverty history.” 

Thanks to the resilience of 

its people and development 

innovations, Bangladesh has 

helped 20 million of its people 

rise out of poverty in less than 

two decades. The World Bank 

thinks initiative like “Ei Bangla Ei 

Manush” will inspire all to build 

together a prosper world. 

For online use: 

https://www.youtube.com/ 

watch?v=65dGbJpQVcU • 

Chai-wala 

to Fashionwala 


A “chaiwala” is starting a new 

career as a model after a photo of 

the dreamy-eyed chap went viral. 

Arshad Khan, 18, was manning 

a tea stall at the Itwar Bazaar 

market in Pakistan’s capital city, 

Islamabad, when an aspiring 

photographer Jiah Ali captured 

him working. 

Only four days after the image 

was posted on social media, 

Arshad has bagged himself a 

modelling contract with online 

retailer Fitin.pk. 

Two days after the image was 

posted online, Arshad told Samaa 

TV that women were visiting 

him at the stall: “About 30 to 50 

girls came and met me, they took 

pictures with me.” 

It seems Fitin.pk hope his 

smoldering unkempt mane and 

stubble will attract some extra 

visitors to their site. 

The internet sensation has 

even been spotted wearing a full 

suit with gelled back hair - the 

opposite of his laid-back look at 

the market. 

But the model is taking 

everything in stride. When the 

Samaa TV interviewer asked if 

he was open to acting in movies, 

Khan casually replied, “sure I 

will.” 

Now, Arshad can be seen 

posing in a collection of TV 

series-themed tops on Fitin. 

pk.com, a retailer run by 

university students. 

Social media users also saw 

this young man’s potential, as his 

piercing stare has caused Arshad 

to trend on Twitter in several 

countries. 

Even a Facebook user posted, 

“Chai walla is no more chai walla, 

now he is fashion walla!” 

“He is now being compared 

to film stars like Fawad Khan. I 

think it was basically his natural 

beauty which people liked,” said 

the photographer who clicked his 

picture. • 

Source: Indian times 

Mel C reveals reason she’s 

not part of the Spice Girls 

reunion 


Spice Girls’ Melanie C recently 

has revealed why she won’t be 

part of next year’s all-femalemusical-group’s 

reunion. 

The singer says being a 

mother to seven-year-old 

daughter Scarlet is primarily 

why she’s chosen not to join 

Mel B, Emma Bunton and Geri 

Horner as they celebrate the 

band’s 20 year anniversary. 

The Sporty Spice told the 

Sun, “The thing I’ve learned is 

to say ‘No’ more because, by 

nature, I’m a people pleaser. I 

had to think about myself and 

the most important thing in my 

life, which is being a mother 

to my little girl. I had to be 

present for her.” 

“We always said we had 

to be comfortable but lots of 

people were getting involved 

and I wasn’t comfortable 

with the direction that it was 

taking,” she added. 

Talking about her 

relationship with Mel B, she 

admitted things were tough 

with the “hot-headed” star, 

who unfollowed her on Twitter 

and called her a “b**ch” on The 

Late Late Show after Mel opted 

to not take part in the reunion. 

Mel also revealed that she’s 

got no plans for more kids just 

yet while she focuses on her 

“little monkey”. •

Showtime 

31 



Aynabaji selected 

for film festivals in 

Germany and India 

•Showtime Desk 

Amitabh Reza Chowdhury’s debut 

feature Aynabaji is selected for 

the International Film Festival 

Mannheim-Heidelberg (IFFMH). 

Soon after, the thriller starring 

Chanchal Chowdhury and 

Masuma Rahman Nabila in the 

lead will also be screened at the 

47th International Film Festival 

India in Goa. 

Michael Kötz, IFFMH’s festival 

director, confirmed the news to 

the filmmaker saying that the 

festival’s selection committee is 

impressed after watching the film. 

The 65th International Filmfestival 

Mannheim-Heidelberg will take 

place from November 4 to 19, 

while Aynabaji will be featured 

in its International Discovery 

section. A total of four screenings 

of Aynabaji will take place in 

the festival from November 12 

to 15. The festival, established 

in 1952, held jointly by the cities 

of Mannheim and Heidelberg 

in Baden-Württemberg, which 

presents art-house films of 

international newcomer directors. 

Amitabh Reza Chowdhuy is 

quite happy with the news of his 

film being selected for IFFMH 

who is likely to join the festival. 

After returning from IFFMH, 

Chowdhury will head to Goa to 

attend the 47th International Film 

Festival India, which will be held 

from November 20 to 28. • 

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil- Releasing is “Mushkil” 

•Showtime Desk 

Bollywood director Karan Johar 

dropped a bombshell this past 

Wednesday with a two-minute 

video explaining why he will no 

longer work with actors from 

Pakistan. 

“Nothing else matters to me 

but my country,” Johar said in the 

video. 

“Going forward, I would like 

to say that of course I will not 

engage with talent from the 

neighboring country,” he added, 

referring to Pakistan. 

Johar has faced potential bans 

and threats of violence over his 

latest movie Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, 

which loosely translates as “Oh, 

Heart! It’s Difficult” because one 

of the actors is Pakistani. It is due 

to be released on October 28. 

Last week, Amey Khopkar, 

a leader of the nationalist 

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena 

(MNS) party, threatened to attack 

filmmakers like Johar. 

TV host Barkha Dutt tweeted 

she was “ashamed that we as a 

society have bullied (Johar) into 

having to prove his patriotism. 

‘Anti-national’ has become the 

label of the mob.” 

Many in Bollywood have been 

speaking against the mood to ban 

Pakistani artists. 

“Who a filmmaker casts and 

what a filmmaker does, shouldn’t 

be controlled and dictated by 

politics,” said Tanuj Garg, a film 

producer and managing partner 

at Ellipsis Entertainment. 

“A situation where a 

filmmaker is held to ransom is 

not desirable in a democracy,” 

he added, pointing out that 

India already has a powerful 

film certification board which 

strictly vets releases. “Political 

groups trying to impose bans is a 

travesty of justice.” 

Pakistani journalist Rafay 

Mahmood told CNN the mood 

was “depressing and tragic.” 

Nitin Datar, president of the 

Cinema Owners and Exhibition 

Association of India, said a 

number of his group’s theatres 

would not be releasing the movie 

in the states of Maharasthra, Goa, 

Karnataka, and Gujarat. 

He pointed out that the 

movie’s release at the end of 

October coincides with the Hindu 

festival of lights, Diwali. 

“This is the Diwali period. If a 

riot takes place ...the Diwali spirit 

will be spoiled,” Datar said. 

Tensions between India and 

Pakistan have soared in recent 

months with frequent skirmishes 

along their disputed border in 

Kashmir. A heightened sense of 

fear and jingoism has seeped into 

regular discourse, particularly in 

national TV news broadcasts. • 

WHAT TO WATCH 

Cast: Jay Baruchel, Cate 

Blanchett, Gerard Butler 

The Hobbit: The Battle of the 

Five Armies 

HBO 6:39pm 

darkness. 

Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin 

Freeman, Richard Armitage 

Crazy, Stupid, Love 

WB 2:18pm 

friend, Jacob, learning to pick up 

girls at bars. 

Cast: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, 

Julianne Moore 

Mission: Impossible – Ghost 

Protocol 

the unlikely friend of a young 

dragon himself, and learns there 

may be more to the creatures 

than he assumed. 

Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy 

Renner, Simon Pegg 

How to Train Your Dragon 2 

Star Movies 9:30pm 

When Hiccup and Toothless 

discover an ice cave that is 

home to hundreds of new wild 

dragons and the mysterious 

Dragon Rider, the two friends 

find themselves at the center of a 

battle to protect the peace. 

Bilbo and Company are forced 

to engage in a war against an 

array of combatants and keep 

the Lonely Mountain from 

falling into the hands of a rising 

A middle-aged husband’s life 

changes dramatically when his 

wife asks him for a divorce. He 

seeks to rediscover his manhood 

with the help of a newfound 

Zee Studio 9:30pm 

A hapless young Viking who 

aspires to hunt dragons becomes 

Furious 7 

Sony PIX 11:30pm 

Deckard Shaw seeks revenge 

against Dominic Toretto and his 

family for his comatose brother. 

Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, 

Dwanye Johnson •

32 



INSURANCE SCHEME SUGGESTED 

FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH PAGE 12 

Back Page 

AYNABAJI SELECTED FOR FILM 

FESTIVALS IN GERMANY AND INDIA PAGE 31 

Debutant Miraz stars in eventful day 

• Mazhar Uddin from 

Chittagong 

Mehedi Hasan Miraz became the 

youngest Bangladeshi to pick up five 

wickets on debut as the opening day 

of the first Test match well and truly 

belonged to the home side with England 

posting 258/7 at Zahur Ahmed 

Chowdhury Stadium yesterday. 

Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow 

fought hard for their fifties but they 

too fell soon after reaching their 

milestone. England will look to 

stretch their innings as far as possible 

when Chris Woakes (36*) and 

Adil Rashid (five not out) resumes 

the second day’s proceedings today. 

The home side named three 

debutants for the first time since 

2008 while it was also the first 

time Bangladesh played with three 

debutants at home since the inaugural 

Test match in 2000 with Sabbir 

Rahman, Miraz and Kamrul Islam 

Rabbi receiving their Test caps 

early in the morning. 

Tigers skipper Mushfiqur Rahim 

might have lost the toss but it mattered 

little as the pitch had a lot to 

offer for the spinners, right from 

the opening exchanges. 

And it was young off-spinner 

Miraz who stole the show in his 

Test bow. He was handed the new 

ball in the second over of England’s 

innings and showed tremendous 

confidence. What’s more, he immediately 

got results. 

He picked up his maiden wicket 

in international cricket when 

he clean bowled another debutant 

Ben Duckett (14) to start off proceedings. 

At the other end, visiting captain 

Alastair Cook was no doubt quite 

eager to make his record breaking 

match a memorable one after becoming 

the most-capped England 

Test player with 134 appearances. 

BTRC shuts down Citycell 

• Ishtiaq Husain and 

Arifur Rahman Rabbi 

The Bangladesh Telecommunication 

Regulatory Commission 

(BTRC) yesterday shut down the 

country’s first mobile phone operator 

Citycell after conducting a raid 

on its offices and suspended its 

spectrum due to outstanding fees. 

Earlier, the spectrum allotted to 

mobile phone operator Citycell was 

suspended due to failure of paying 

dues, as ordered by the High Court. 

BTRC on August 17 issued a notice 

to Citycell asking to explain by 

30 days why its licence for the operation 

would not be cancelled for 

its failure to pay dues. 

Meanwhile, the raid comes 

in the wake of BTRC suspending 

Citycell’s spectrum when it failed 

Bangladesh spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz bowls during the opening day’s play of the first Test against England at Zahur Ahmed 

Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday 


to pay outstanding payments. 

BTRC officials entered the Citycell 

headquarters at 5pm yesterday. 

Banani police Inspector Wahiduzzaman 

confirmed the operation 

to Dhaka Tribune. But he could not 

provide any details. He said that 

the operation was being carried out 

to follow court orders. 

No payments, no operations 

State Minister for Posts and Telecommunication 

Tarana Halim said 

the regulator suspended Citycell’s 

operations as it had failed to pay 

government dues. 

She announced: “BTRC has shut 

down Citycell’s operations and suspended 

the spectrum since it failed 

to pay the dues.” 

“Citycell was supposed to pay 

the two third of the outstanding 

But Shakib al Hasan gave the home 

side a huge relief as he shattered 

the timber with Cook departing 

for four when he tried to sweep a 

delivery that eventually went on to 

hit the stumps after deflecting off 

his body. 

Miraz then trapped Gary Ballance 

(one) in front; the visitors 

amount within four weeks, but it 

failed to pay the money. That is why 

we took the decision to implement 

the judgment of the court,” she said. 

The announcement came at 

press conference held at Bangladesh 


Commission (BTRC) office 

while the drive was being carried 

out in Citycell offices. 

A BTRC official confirmed that 

the regulator suspended Citycell’s 

spectrum at 5pm yesterday. 

Tk 477crore overdue in fines, fees 

Citycell has owed to the government 

of Tk 477.51 crore since long 

as spectrum and license renewal 

fees and other charges. 

On August 29, a five-member 

bench of Appellate Division of the 

Supreme Court headed by Chief 

reeling on 21/3 within the first hour. 

However, Moeen, who enjoyed 

all the luck in the world, tried to rescue 

the tourists alongside Joe Root, 

adding 62 runs for the fourth wicket 

as they went to lunch on 81/3. 

Root though was eventually dismissed 

after the lunch break when 

Sabbir took a sharp catch at slip off 

Justice SK Sinha gave a verdict 

where Citycell was allowed to continue 

its operation if it paid all its 

dues within three months. 

On August 17, the BTRC issued a 

notice to Citycell asking to explain 

within 30 days why its license for 

the operation should not be cancelled 

for its failure to pay dues. 

The telecom regulator also ordered 

the company to create an 

alternative arrangement for providing 

the service to its subscribers 

even after shutdown. 

On July 31, BTRC asked Citycell 

again to pay its all dues, including 

regulatory fee and fine worth 

Tk477 crore by August 16. 

Out of the total outstanding 

payment, two-thirds must be paid 

in a month while the rest of the 

amount must be paid within the 

the bowling of Miraz, scoring 40 off 

49 balls with five fours. 

But the talk of the day apart 

from Miraz was perhaps Moeen, 

who survived five reviews, including 

three in an over. 

Shakib duly picked up his second 

wicket of the day when he removed 

the dangerous Ben Stokes 

for 18 as England were once again 

struggling on 106/5. However, 

Moeen kept on going strong at the 

other end as he was joined by Bairstow. 

Together, the sixth wicket 

pair added 88 runs. 

Moeen was eventually caught 

behind to become the fourth victim 

of Miraz after scoring a well-made 

68, featuring eight fours and a six. 

Like Moeen, Bairstow too got 

lucky as he was dropped on 13 at slip 

by Sabbir off left-arm spinner Taijul 

Islam in the 49th over. He went on 

to score his 11th Test fifty. He also 

became the second wicket-keeper 

to score 1,000 runs in a year after 

Zimbabwean Andy Flower, who 

managed 1024 runs in 2000. 

The Yorkshireman was eventually 

dismissed after scoring 52 with 

the help of eight fours as Miraz hit 

the timber with a sliding delivery 

to become the seventh Bangladeshi 

to bag five wickets on debut, and 

the youngest among them. 

The home side will look to wrap 

things up when the second day’s 

play resumes while England will 

try to post a decent total in their 

first innings in order to remain 

alive in the Test match. • 

next two months. 

As per the judgment of the AD, 

Citycell had to pay Tk318 crore 

to the BTRC by October 19. But, it 

couldn’t do it. 

Besides, the AD had also given 

them (citycell) another one month 

for the remaining one third outstanding 

amount. 

“But, as the operator didn’t fulfill 

the first part of the judgment of 

AD, so there is no option for another 

part of the judgment,” said State 

Minister Tarana Halim. 

Bangladesh Telecom Limited received 

the license for telecom services 

in 1989. 

It is the only CDMA network operator 

in the country. It is currently 

owned by Singtel with 45% stake and 

the remaining 55% is owned by the 

Pacific Group and Far East Telecom. • 

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 

8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

DT e-Paper, Friday, October 21, 2016

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