The government has sent several letters to the British authorities concerned as part of its ongoing process to bring convicted BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman back home from London.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali came up with the disclosure at a press conference at his ministry today.

The press meet was arranged on the two-day 45th session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (OIC-CFM) scheduled to begin on Saturday at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the capital.

"The process of writing letters (to British authorities) is going on. More than a letter has already been sent in this regard," he said.

The minister said they are taking further steps and writing letters based on the responses from the British government.

The return of the BNP acting chairman from the UK has come in the limelight following State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam's assertion that Tarique handed over his passport to the British Home Office four years ago.

Later, BNP recognised that Tarique Rahman submitted his passport to the British Home Office as he got political asylum there.

On June 2, 2014, the British Home Office with a forwarding letter handed over passports of Tarique Rahman, his wife and daughter to the Bangladesh High Commission, London as they surrendered those to the Home Office.

Tarique, facing over a dozen of cases, was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment and fined Tk 20 crore by the High Court in a money laundering case in 2016.

He was also convicted along with his mother BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case where he was sentenced to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk 2.10 crore.

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina took oath as the prime minister for the fourth consecutive term and formed government with 37 ministers yesterday.

This is her fifth stint as the PM.

The 76-year-old daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is already the longest serving prime minister of the country.

She became the prime minister for the first time in 1996. She returned to power in 2009 and has won three consecutive elections since then.

Her new cabinet has to hit the ground running given the pent-up issues that are threatening to blow up. From economy to geopolitics, labour dissatisfaction to declining investor confidence, impending LDC graduation to strained public finances -- challenges are in every corner.

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AL helps itself to fourth straight win

President Mohammed Shahabuddin yesterday administered the oath of office and oath of secrecy to Hasina and her new council of ministers -- 25 ministers and 11 state ministers -- at the Bangabhaban Darbar Hall. Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain conducted the ceremony.

The Jatiya Sangsad speaker, the chief justice, the chief election commissioner, Supreme Court judges, MPs, political leaders, chiefs of the three services, journalists, and top civil and military officials were present at the event.

President's wife Rebecca Sultana and PM's sister Sheikh Rehana were there.

US Ambassador Peter Haas, Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma, Chinese Ambassador Yao Wen, Russian Ambassador Alexander Mantytskiy, British High Commissioner Sarah Cooke and French Ambassador Marie Masdupuy were also present.

The ceremony was held a day after the Awami League Parliamentary Party unanimously elected Hasina as its leader, paving the way for her to be the PM.

After the swearing-in was over, Hasina, wearing a white saree and blue shawl, signed the oath of office and oath of secrecy.

Immediately after the cabinet members took oath, the cabinet division issued a gazette notification mentioning the portfolios.

The PM keeps the defence, power, cultural affairs, and labour ministries as well as the cabinet and armed forces divisions for herself.

Former foreign minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali is the new finance minister, replacing AHM Mustafa Kamal.

Previously, he was appointed as a minister for a year in the 9th parliament. He remained a minister through the full term of the 10th parliament.

Mohammed Hasan Mahmud, who served as the information minister in the immediate past cabinet, replaces AK Abdul Momen as the foreign minister.

In January 2009, Hasan Mahmud was appointed as the state minister for foreign affairs. But six months later, he was given the portfolio of state minister for environment. In November 2011, he was made the minister for environment.

AL central committee member Mohammad Ali Arafat has been appointed as the state minister for information.

Ahsanul Islam Titu, a lawmaker from Tangail-6, is the new state minister for commerce.

Mymensingh-9 lawmaker Abdus Salam has been made the new planning minister. This is the first time he has made it to the cabinet.

Muhammad Faruk Khan, who was commerce minister from 2009 to 2011, is the new civil aviation and tourism minister.

Saber Hossain Chowdhury, a former deputy minister and president of Bangladesh Cricket Board, is the new minister for environment.

Eleven ministers of the immediate past cabinet have retained their berths in the new one. They include Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, Law Minister Anisul Huq, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, LGRD Minister Tazul Islam, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder, and Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman.

Faridul Haque Khan and Farhad Hossain are now ministers for religious affairs and public administration. Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, who was the deputy education minister, is the education minister, replacing Dipu Moni. The latter will head the social welfare ministry.

Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury, a lawmaker from Brahmanbaria-3, is the new housing and public works minister while former fisheries minister Narayan Chandra Chanda is the land minister.

AL praesidium members Jahangir Kabir Nanak and Abdur Rahman are the new textiles and fisheries ministers.

Former chief whip Abdus Shahid is replacing AL praesidium member Abdur Razzaque as the agriculture minister.

Samanta Lal Sen, who is inducted in the cabinet for the first time as a technocrat, is the new health minister.

Rajbari-2 lawmaker Zillul Hakim will be the railways minister, replacing Nurul Islam Sujan.

Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hassan is the new sports minister.

Nasrul Hamid, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, Zunaid Ahmed Palak and Zaheed Farooque will continue to be state ministers for power division, shipping, information technology, and water resources.

The other state ministers appointed yesterday are Simeen Hussain (women and children affairs), Kujendra Lal Tripura (CHT affairs), Mohibobur Rahman (disaster management), Shofiqur Rahman Choudhury (expatriates' welfare), and Rumana Ali (primary education).

Hours after the oath-taking ceremony, the PM appointed Mashiur Rahman, Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Gowher Rizvi, Salman F Rahman, Kamal Abdus Naser Chowdhury, and Tarique Ahmed Siddique as advisers.

However, the circular did not contain the name of PM's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who was her ICT adviser.

In the January 7 parliamentary polls, the AL won 222 constituencies, and independents, mostly AL leaders, won 62. The Jatiyo Party bagged 11, and AL allies Bangladesh Workers Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and Bangladesh Kalyan Party won one seat each.

The PM dropped 30 members of the previous cabinet, including heavyweights like Abdur Razzaque, AHM Mustafa Kamal, AK Abdul Momen and MA Mannan and inducted 12 new faces.

Of the 30, 15 were ministers, 13 state ministers and two deputy ministers. Besides, she dropped three technocrat ministers who resigned in November.

BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman did not violate electoral code of conduct by interviewing nomination seekers from the party through videoconference, the EC secretary said yesterday.

“As he [Tarique] interviewed the candidates online, the commission thinks that it cannot do anything right now,” Helaluddin Ahmed told reporters at the capital's Nirbachan Bhaban following an EC meeting where the issue was discussed.

In another development, the telecom regulator on Sunday night ordered gateways to block telecommunications application software Skype, through which Tarique made a videoconference on the day.

The matter was brought to the EC's attention after the Awami League, on Sunday, sent them a letter alleging that the electoral code of conduct was violated as Tarique, a convicted fugitive in three cases, talked to the nomination seekers.

However, later at a press conference on the same day, Faruk Khan, AL presidium member, did not disclose which part of the electoral code was violated.

After the Awami League sent a written complaint on the issue to the EC, the commission discussed the matter at its meeting and made the observations, the EC secretary said.

 “The commission found that as he [Tarique] is now aboard, the electoral code of conduct will not be applicable for him,” Helal said. 

Additionally, he said that everyone should abide by the High Court order that had barred media outlets and others from publicising any statement of Tarique Rahman.

BTRC BLOCKS SKYPE

The telecom regulator blocked the communication application Skype.com on Sunday night and later blocked its mobile application yesterday.

A top official of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission confirmed the news without commenting any further on the issue.

The BTRC issued the order to all the internet international gateways, internet service providers and mobile operators.

A top official of the Internet Service Provider Association of Bangladesh said they complied with the order within a few hours of getting it and the software was no longer available in the country.

“However, other communication channels and applications are open for video chatting and video conferencing,” he said, requesting anonymity.

Earlier in 2015, the government had blocked for sometime almost all the communication applications, including Facebook, Whatsapp, Viber and others, immediately after the Supreme Court pronounced a verdict upholding the death penalty of two war criminals.

In August this year, the Telecom and ICT Minister Mustafa Jabbar said they would consider blocking social media sites like Facebook again and if needed, the internet connection could also be shut down to “save the state and citizens of the country”.

NAYAPALTAN CLASH A CRIMINAL OFFENCE

EC Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed said that after reviewing the police report on the Nayapaltan clash, the commission considered it a “criminal offence” and added that the police could go ahead with investigation.

Speaking to reporters at the briefing, he said that the commission also asked him to send another directive to the Inspector General of Police to urge them not to harass any innocent people.

On Sunday night, police sent the report on the November 14 clash between BNP activists and law enforcers in front of the party's Nayapaltan office.

BNP SEEKS CLARIFICATION

The BNP, in a letter to the EC yesterday, sought clarification on whether or not elected chairmen of Zila Parishad and Upazila Parishads could contest the parliamentary polls.

The party's chairperson's advisory council member, Bijan Kanti Sarkar, handed over the letter to EC officials.

He said that they were not sure whether these were offices of profit or not as the Representation of the People Order 1972 was silent on the matter.

So they sought the clarification, he said.

Helal  said that the legal wing of the commission was working on the issue and they would send a clarification as soon as possible.