DHAKA- Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today said ensuring every child gets the opportunity to grow and develop properly is crucial to building a strong foundation for Bangladesh and making the country stronger in the today’s competitive world.

“Today’s children are the pillars of their families. If they can grow up properly, the foundation of their families will become stronger. Likewise, if we can provide all children across Bangladesh with opportunities to develop properly, the foundation of our country will become much stronger,” he said.

The Prime Minister was speaking in a discussion at Bangladesh Shishu Academy marking the Children’s Rights Day 2026 and the 50th anniversary of the academy.

Tarique Rahman said, “Making the future of today’s children strong means making the future of the nation strong. And a strong future for the nation means we will be able to build a strong and powerful Bangladesh.”

Addressing the children as his “little friends”, the Premier said children should not be confined only to academic studies, but should also be given opportunities to explore their talents in sports, arts, culture and music. He urged parents to recognise and nurture the individual qualities of their children instead of putting them under pressure to pursue only conventional academic activities.

“I want you to complete what I could not,” he told the children, recalling his own childhood interest in playing the guitar and keyboard. The Prime Minister said many children have talents in drawing, recitation, music, dance and other creative activities, and urged them to develop those talents fully.

He said the government wants children to have exposure to arts and culture alongside sports and music so that they can develop themselves according to their individual interests.

Tarique Rahman said the government has already taken initiatives to identify and develop children’s sporting talents, including a nationwide primary-level football competition in which around 22 lakhs boys and girls participated.

He expressed the hope that if such initiatives are continued, internationally acclaimed footballers and other sports talents would emerge from among the country’s children.

He also recalled the “Natun Kuri” programme introduced by Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman to promote children’s cultural talents, saying the programme has been revived alongside a sports-based “Natun Kuri” initiative.

“We want to build our children in such a way that a child will have good exposure to art and culture, become skilled in them, and similarly develop proficiency in music and sports,” he said.
The Prime Minister said many families, particularly those in remote and rural areas, cannot afford to provide children with opportunities for extracurricular activities.

“So, from the school level, we are trying to create facilities for arts, culture, sports and music so that every child can choose a subject according to his or her preference,” he said.

He said the government expects to begin the full process from 2027 or 2028, under which children at primary and secondary levels would have opportunities to learn music, play musical instruments and choose sports according to their interests.

The Prime Minister also announced plans to introduce opportunities for children to learn a third language in addition to Bangla and English, with options including Arabic, Mandarin, German and Japanese.

He said knowledge of an additional foreign language would help children in their future education and employment abroad and enable them to compete and survive more effectively in the global environment.

However, he stressed that academic, sporting, artistic or linguistic achievements alone would not be enough. “Children must also become humane,” he said, urging them to show compassion not only towards people but also towards nature, animals and birds.

Calling upon parents and guardians to instil a sense of responsibility towards the environment and other living beings in children, the Prime Minister said, “If we are kind to nature, nature will certainly be kind to us.”

The premier also urged children to care for trees and animals around their homes and schools and sought their cooperation in keeping the environment clean. He asked them to discourage adults from throwing garbage indiscriminately in public places.

“If you see an adult throwing garbage or waste somewhere and harming the environment, you can tell them to put it in the proper place,” he said.

Tarique Rahman said a clean environment would help children grow up in a healthy environment and become physically and mentally healthy people.

He called on all sections of society to work together to build the country saying the task does not necessarily require major efforts but can be achieved through small, collective actions.

“We will build this country ourselves. If we want to build the country, all of us must work together,” he said.

The Prime Minister also recalled visiting the academy as a child with his younger brother and parents- Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman and Begum Khaleda Zia- at the time of its inauguration.

He said he also found some of his and his younger brother’s writings displayed at the academy, taking him back five decades in his memories.

Prime Minister’s wife and Vice-President of the Ziaur Rahman Foundation Dr Zubaida Rahman also addressed the event, chaired by Women and Children Affairs Minister Prof Dr. A Z M Zahid Hossain.

Earlier, 150 children welcomed the Prime Minister when he arrived at Bangladesh Shishu Academy premises. Later, the programme began with the national anthem.

Following the discussion, the Prime Minister enjoyed a cultural event performed by children and visited the children’s drawings and a photo exhibition gallery.

LONDON — Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son and former adviser to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has urged Western governments to speak out over political detentions and the exclusion of the Awami League from Bangladesh’s political process, warning that continued silence could contribute to instability and affect Western economic and security interests.

Joy made the remarks by video link on September 29 at a London seminar organised by the Global Centre for Democratic Governance at One Great George Street. The event focused on democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Bangladesh.

During his address, Joy accused Britain and other Western governments of overlooking alleged abuses while maintaining commercial ties with Bangladesh. He alleged that politicians and journalists had been detained for extended periods without due process and questioned the legitimacy of an election in which the Awami League was excluded. His comments covered developments since Sheikh Hasina left office in August 2024.

Bangladesh’s interim government banned Awami League activities in May 2025 pending proceedings before the International Crimes Tribunal related to the suppression of the 2024 uprising. The authorities said the measure was aimed at protecting national security and people involved in the proceedings.

The February 2026 parliamentary election received a generally positive assessment from international observers, although concerns remained over political inclusion. The Commonwealth’s final report described the election as peaceful, orderly and transparent while also highlighting the consequences of the Awami League’s exclusion and continuing concerns over media freedom and political participation.

Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, reported in July 2025 that many arrests of people perceived to be Awami League supporters appeared arbitrary and politically motivated. The organisation also said that some forms of repression associated with Hasina’s government, including widespread enforced disappearances, appeared to have ended.

Joy also blamed the military for five deaths during unrest in Gopalganj in July 2025. Human Rights Watch likewise reported five deaths in clashes involving security forces and Awami League supporters. The military said at the time that its personnel had acted in self-defence after warnings were ignored and troops came under attack. The competing accounts leave questions over the precise circumstances and responsibility for the deaths.

Joy also raised concerns about Bangladesh’s ability to finance aircraft purchases and imported gas, while claiming that domestic investment had effectively stopped. Available economic data, however, provide a more mixed picture. Boeing announced on September 23 that Biman Bangladesh Airlines had ordered 11 additional aircraft, bringing the airline’s total orders during 2026 to 25. The announcement confirms the aircraft purchases but does not establish whether Bangladesh has missed contractual payments or demonstrate its ability to meet all future financial obligations.

Similarly, available investment data do not support a literal claim that domestic investment has stopped. A January 2026 economic review by the Centre for Policy Dialogue estimated private investment at 22.48 percent of GDP in fiscal year 2025, compared with 23.96 percent a year earlier.

Bangladesh nevertheless continues to face significant economic challenges. The International Monetary Fund has highlighted fiscal constraints, stress in the banking sector and persistent inflation. In its assessment, the IMF projected economic growth of 3.5 percent for fiscal year 2027 and called for reforms to increase government revenue and strengthen the banking sector.

Joy concluded his remarks by warning of renewed political confrontation and security risks. He also urged Bangladeshis living abroad to engage with their elected representatives and encourage them to raise issues involving human rights, democratic participation and political inclusion in Bangladesh.

DHAKA – The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has approved an application seeking a court order to prevent former central general secretary of the banned Bangladesh Chhatra League Siddique Nazmul Alam from leaving the country. Assistant Director of the ACC Public Relations Department Md Tanzir Ahmed disclosed the information at a regular media briefing at the commission’s headquarters today.

According to the ACC, an investigation is underway into allegations that Nazmul Alam illegally acquired money, attempted to legitimise the funds by transferring them to bank accounts operated in his own name and in the names of his associates, and allegedly laundered money abroad to acquire assets.

ACC Assistant Director Muhammad Zafar Sadek Shibly of the commission’s Money Laundering Wing is conducting the investigation. ACC documents said an application was submitted to the commission’s Director of Money Laundering on February 16 seeking to prevent Nazmul Alam from leaving the country. The commission subsequently approved the filing of the application before the court.

DHAKA — Bangladesh Bank has expanded the scope of international card payments for air tickets purchased from foreign airlines, allowing eligible transactions to be settled through international acquiring and payment arrangements outside Bangladesh. The Foreign Exchange Policy Department-1 (FEPD-1) introduced the facility through Circular No. 39, expanding the framework established under FE Circular No. 47 issued on November 19, 2025.

Under the revised arrangement, foreign airlines operating in Bangladesh may accept international card payments for air tickets, provided the proceeds are settled through established international acquiring and payment settlement arrangements outside Bangladesh. The facility applies only to foreign airlines. Bangladeshi airlines will continue to follow existing local settlement and domestic acquiring arrangements for international ticket sales originating from Bangladesh.

A key provision of the new arrangement is that eligible air-ticket purchases will not be counted against an individual’s annual travel entitlement. In other words, such purchases will not be deducted from the standard annual foreign-exchange travel quota. Bangladesh Bank has also introduced a post-facto card replenishment mechanism for these transactions. Authorized Dealers (ADs) may replenish an international card after verifying the ticket purchase against the relevant card statement and confirming that the transaction falls within the eligible Merchant Category Codes (MCCs) specified by the central bank.

The foreign airlines covered by the facility are Air India, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Emirates, Flydubai, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), Singapore Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, Thai Airways International, Turkish Airlines and Air Arabia.

According to the circular, Authorized Dealers must report all ticket purchases made under the facility through Bangladesh Bank’s Transaction Monitoring (TM) module. The central bank also instructed ADs to continue applying the provisions of FE Circular No. 47 of 2025 that have not been specifically modified by the latest circular. These include applicable documentation, verification and compliance requirements.

Bangladesh Bank further clarified that foreign airlines receiving ticket proceeds through offshore settlement arrangements must include those proceeds when calculating their remittable surplus earnings. Amounts settled outside Bangladesh cannot subsequently be claimed again as part of the airlines’ regular profit remittances.

The necessary adjustment must be made in accordance with the audit requirements set out under Part-B of FEPD-1 Circular No. 08, issued on May 7, 2026. Bangladesh Bank has instructed Authorized Dealers to inform their customers and corporate constituents about the revised facility and ensure compliance with all applicable foreign-exchange regulations.