Democracy

Dhaka has for decades pressed Islamabad for three key steps: a formal apology for the atrocities committed by the Pakistani military during the 1971 war, repayment of an estimated USD 4.5 billion owed to Bangladesh since independence, and the repatriation of thousands of Pakistanis stranded in the country.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, 76, was arrested on August 22, ushering in the highest-profile detention amid President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign.

UN-mandated independent investigators have uncovered “systematic torture” in Myanmar’s military-run detention facilities.

The council also criticized the government for excluding minorities from all reform commissions, which were set up to recommend measures aimed at combating discrimination and promoting social justice.

Nayak argues the response is problematic on multiple fronts. Section 32, he says, is a weak, omnibus penal clause covering breach of official duty but does not specifically address wrongful inclusion of ineligible voters.

The global human rights watchdog said that Afghanistan now faces one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, exacerbated by donor governments’ aid cuts and the return of 1.9 million refugees expelled from Iran and Pakistan. 

In a significant announcement, Yunus declared that the interim government would formally request the Election Commission to organise the national election in February 2026, prior to the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

Pakistan has sentenced 108 members of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party to prison over their alleged involvement in protests against the military in May 2023.