National Citizen Party (NCP) convener and Member of Parliament Nahid Islam declared that the current parliament has no value without the formation of a constitutional reform council. He made the remarks on Thursday afternoon at a press conference held at the party’s central office in Rupayan Tower, Banglamotor, Dhaka. Islam stated that although the election process and voting were fair, manipulation occurred in the results. Despite this, he said his party accepted the outcome in the interest of democracy and national stability and took oath to make both the parliament and the reform council functional.

He further alleged that the people of Bangladesh, who had voted in favor of reform in a referendum held under the July Charter Implementation Order, were deceived. According to Islam, the referendum’s popular verdict was ignored, amounting to a betrayal of the aspirations for a new Bangladesh. He urged that the constitutional reform council be formed and its members take oath promptly, reiterating that without it, the parliament holds no legitimacy.

Islam’s comments underscore ongoing political contention surrounding electoral integrity and constitutional reform in Bangladesh.

National Parliament Chief Whip and NCP convener Nahid Islam has accused the ruling BNP of appointing loan defaulters and murder case suspects as ministers while pretending to reject legitimate parliamentary benefits. Speaking at a press conference in Dhaka’s Banglamotor on Thursday, he alleged that the BNP government is attempting to suppress media freedom and that its new cabinet continues old political arrangements without inclusivity or regional balance.

Nahid Islam said the NCP had hoped the recent election would advance democracy and good governance in Bangladesh, but alleged vote manipulation shattered those expectations. He stated that despite flaws, his party accepted the results for the sake of stability and took oath to make both the National Parliament and the Constitutional Reform Council functional. He accused the BNP of deceiving the public by not taking oath as reform council members.

Citing Transparency International Bangladesh, Nahid claimed 62 percent of MPs are businesspeople with large debts. He urged immediate convening of both the parliament and the reform council, warning that if the referendum is annulled, the government’s legitimacy would be questioned.

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister and BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has launched a special website for residents of Thakurgaon-1 constituency to directly report incidents of extortion, land grabbing, or other local problems. In a verified Facebook post on Thursday, February 19, he urged citizens to use the platform to inform him about any wrongdoing or crime in their area. Fakhrul stated that the website, inaugurated on January 7, has already received a strong response, with numerous complaints and messages under review by his team. He assured that every message will be answered soon.

Several residents welcomed the initiative. Businessman Saiful Islam said the website offers a safe way to report extortion without fear, while teacher Roksana Begum called it a positive example of direct communication with a public representative. Youth Abdul Kader emphasized that visible action must follow the complaints and requested that identities of complainants be kept confidential.

The initiative aims to create a secure channel for citizens to report local crimes and ensure accountability through direct communication with their representative.

At a press conference at the Ministry of Education in Dhaka on Thursday afternoon, State Minister for Education Bobby Hajjaj announced that the government will treat education as the state’s first investment rather than an expenditure. He said education will be the main factory for human resource development and the central project for nation-building. Hajjaj stated that the government aims to raise education spending to five percent of GDP, aligning with international standards of four to six percent.

He outlined a three-year fiscal uplift plan to improve both the quantity and quality of education funding, emphasizing milestone-based cash releases and alignment of development projects with the school calendar. The minister acknowledged inefficiencies, noting that 53 percent of the secondary and higher education development fund remained unused last fiscal year. He pledged reforms in procurement, spending quality, and classroom outcomes.

Hajjaj also announced initiatives for teacher training, digital literacy, artificial intelligence awareness, and cyber safety. Plans include mandatory third-language education, improved school infrastructure, and digital tools such as “One Teacher, One Tab.” He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to building a skilled, just, and technology-enabled Bangladesh through education.

US President Donald Trump has congratulated Bangladesh’s new Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on assuming office. In a letter sent on Wednesday, Trump extended greetings and best wishes on behalf of the American people for Rahman’s historic victory. The message emphasized the longstanding partnership between the United States and Bangladesh, built on mutual respect and shared interests in ensuring prosperity among strong and sovereign states within a free Indo-Pacific region.

Trump expressed optimism that under Prime Minister Rahman’s leadership, bilateral trade relations would advance further. The letter highlighted expectations that implementing mutual trade agreements would benefit farmers and workers in both countries. It also underscored the importance of completing regular defense agreements to ensure access to advanced US military equipment for Bangladesh’s armed forces.

The US President conveyed his hope that relations between the two nations would become stronger than ever before and affirmed his full confidence in the US ambassador stationed in Bangladesh.

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir emphasized the urgent need for collective effort to build a successful and just state. Speaking at a views exchange meeting at the Secretariat on Thursday, he said individuals, society, and the state are deeply interconnected, and working as a team beyond divisions is essential for achieving development, good governance, and justice.

He noted that the government is implementing the Prime Minister’s vision amid a damaged economy and weakened state system. Emphasizing accountability to citizens, he said the government has launched multiple initiatives to restore the effectiveness and public trust of state institutions that had become weak or dysfunctional over the past fifteen years. Strengthening these institutions, he added, is key to building a sustainable and development-oriented state.

State Minister Mir Shah Alam highlighted that the ministry is directly linked to the public and must work collectively to uphold democracy and development. He described the 31-point program and election manifesto as a social contract with citizens, urging all to prioritize public interest over party interest for a welfare-oriented and sustainable state.

The National Citizens Party (NCP) has expressed concern over the show-cause notices issued to four journalists of Ekhon Television and the reported harassment of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) Managing Director Mahbub Morshed. In a statement signed by the party’s media cell member Sadia Farzana Dinar on Thursday, February 19, 2026, the NCP warned that failure to learn from the fate of past autocrats could lead to similar consequences for new ones.

The statement said the incidents reflect worrying signs for freedom of expression under the new government, which had been formed just a day earlier. According to the NCP, the journalists were questioned for expressing support for reform and referendum on Facebook, while a mob was allegedly mobilized to remove the BSS chief. The party accused media owners of exerting pressure and appointing partisan figures to control editorial positions.

The NCP demanded reinstatement of the Ekhon TV journalists and retention of the BSS editor, emphasizing that the democratic right to free expression, achieved through the July uprising, must not be lost.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate Sansila Zebrin Priyanka has demanded the cancellation of the Sherpur-1 (Sadar) constituency result and called for a re-election. She made the demand at a press conference held on Thursday at the Sagar-Runi auditorium of Dhaka Reporters Unity. In the thirteenth parliamentary election, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Hafez Md Rashedul Islam was declared the winner in the constituency.

Priyanka alleged that many result sheets lacked polling agents’ names, signatures, and national identity numbers, and in some cases, presiding officers’ seals were missing. She claimed that presiding officers themselves filled in polling agents’ names and signatures, and overwriting was used to replace names. She also accused local officials, including the returning officer and assistant returning officer, of accepting incomplete documents and failing to act on repeated complaints. Priyanka further alleged post-election violence against polling agents who tried to present evidence of irregularities.

She urged the Election Commission to conduct a transparent and impartial investigation into the allegations and take legal action. Priyanka also claimed that slow voting and interference by Jamaat supporters disrupted polling in areas where her support base was strong.

A South Korean court has sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of abusing power and leading a plan to impose military rule in December 2024. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, according to The Japan Times. Under South Korean law, the maximum punishment for masterminding a rebellion is either death or life imprisonment. The country last issued a death sentence in 2016 but has not carried out any executions since 1997.

The 65-year-old former president received the sentence for his failed attempt to declare military rule. Yoon is expected to appeal the verdict, and any decision by the appellate court could later be challenged in the Supreme Court. He is already serving a sentence for issuing an order to impose military rule, while two other cases against him remain pending.

Hundreds of Yoon’s supporters gathered outside the courthouse during the verdict announcement, with the crowd reportedly larger than during a previous ruling last month.

Philippine Vice President and newly declared presidential candidate Sara Duterte has been hit with a fourth impeachment complaint, according to documents obtained by AFP on Thursday. The complaint, filed Wednesday just hours after she announced her 2028 presidential bid, accuses Duterte of misusing public funds and improperly handling undeclared assets. Duterte, daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, was impeached by the House of Representatives last year, but the Supreme Court dismissed that case due to procedural errors.

Under the Philippine constitution, if the impeachment is accepted, the Senate will begin a trial. A conviction would disqualify Duterte from politics and end her presidential ambitions. Lawmaker Paolo Ortega of La Union province, one of two supporters of the complaint, said the issue concerns constitutional accountability and undisclosed wealth. Another supporter, Leila de Lima, described the new filing as an improved version of the case dismissed last year.

Analysts cited in the report said Duterte’s 2028 candidacy aims to unify her allies and strengthen her faction’s chances of returning to power.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed during a parliamentary discussion on Tuesday that Palestinians kill each other and that the Israeli government bears no responsibility. His remarks, reported by Middle East Eye, triggered widespread anger and condemnation. The debate arose as Palestinian lawmakers, including Iman Khatib-Yassin, argued that Smotrich’s proposed 1.5 percent property tax on vacant land would harm Palestinians, who own property but are not permitted to develop it.

The lawmakers accused the government of failing to curb rising violence within Palestinian communities. In response, Smotrich said the government could not be blamed for killings among Palestinians and urged education and condemnation of terrorism, calling for Hamas to be defined as a terrorist organization. His comments were denounced as hateful and racist by opponents.

According to the human rights group Abraham Initiatives, 51 Palestinians have been killed in Israel so far this year, following 252 killings in 2025 across 218 incidents—a record figure nearly four times higher than the previous decade’s average.

Barrister Asaduzzaman Fuad, central general secretary of the Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party, has called for financial assistance to organize iftar events at mosques, madrasas, and orphanages in Babuganj and Muladi upazilas of Barishal. He made the appeal on February 18 through a video message posted on his Facebook page, emphasizing the need for prayers and financial cooperation to ensure smooth iftar arrangements during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.

Fuad stated that his constituency, Barishal-3, includes more than 600 mosques, madrasas, and orphanages where iftar is regularly arranged every Ramadan. He noted that providing for these institutions, many located in remote and river-surrounded areas, often becomes difficult. Therefore, he urged affluent individuals and expatriates to come forward with support.

In his message, Fuad also referenced the ongoing process of building a new Bangladesh following the 2024 mass uprising. He called for unity in creating a humane and just society inspired by the sacrifices of martyrs and encouraged participation in social and cultural initiatives promoting justice and freedom.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has warned that Islamabad is prepared to launch new attacks in Afghanistan if Kabul fails to provide credible assurances of peace. Speaking to France 24 on Wednesday, Asif said that despite efforts by several allied countries to mediate between Pakistan and Afghanistan amid rising tensions, those attempts have not produced results. The warning follows an unprovoked terrorist attack from Afghan territory on a Pakistani border post in October last year, which led to subsequent clashes along the border.

Asif accused the Afghan Taliban of failing to act against terrorist groups despite multiple rounds of talks. He also alleged that India, Kabul, and militant organizations share a common stance and blamed New Delhi for waging a “proxy war” against Pakistan through militant attacks. Asif further stated that since the May 2025 war between India and Pakistan, there has been no direct or indirect contact between the two countries.

He dismissed the possibility of establishing diplomatic ties with Israel, saying such a move could only be considered if an independent homeland for Palestinians is ensured. Asif added that Pakistan is ready to contribute to Trump’s international peace force if conditions become favorable.

Prime Minister Tarek Rahman held an inter-ministerial meeting at the Cabinet Division in Dhaka on Thursday to finalize the implementation plan for the government’s proposed Family Card distribution program. The meeting began around 11:30 a.m. at the Prime Minister’s Office in the Secretariat, marking his second day in office. Earlier in the morning, he met separately with the directors general of the NSI and DGFI, as well as the chiefs of the three armed forces.

According to the Prime Minister’s schedule, the Family Card meeting was part of a series of official engagements aimed at launching new national initiatives. Later in the day, at 2:00 p.m., another inter-ministerial meeting was scheduled to discuss a five-year plan to plant 2.5 billion trees and to undertake dredging and re-excavation of rivers, canals, and water bodies across the country.

The meetings reflect the new administration’s focus on social welfare and environmental restoration programs, as outlined in its early policy agenda.

The Chittagong University Nationalist Teachers Forum has congratulated Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairman Tarique Rahman on being elected the country’s 11th Prime Minister following the 13th National Parliamentary Election. The message of congratulations was issued on Wednesday in a statement signed by Forum President Professor Dr. Mohammad Al Amin, General Secretary Professor Mohammad Zahedur Rahman Chowdhury, and Organizing Secretary Professor Dr. Md. Shafiqul Islam.

In the statement, the Forum said that after 17 years, Bangladesh has witnessed a fair, neutral, and participatory national election in which the BNP achieved a landslide victory with an absolute majority. The Forum described the election as a milestone in the country’s democratic journey, crediting the people for securing their voting rights and choosing change under Tarique Rahman’s visionary and development-oriented leadership.

The statement further expressed optimism that under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s leadership, Bangladesh will achieve economic freedom, modernization of education, youth employment, and a just society. It added that the new government will work for all citizens regardless of political affiliation and that the Forum will continue to play a constructive role in sustaining democracy and national progress.