National Citizen Party leaders and activists travelling to Habiganj for a Wednesday protest said their convoy faced repeated obstruction in Moulvibazar’s Sreemangal. The protest was called over allegations of an attack on Tuesday’s July march. Led by convener Nahid Islam, the group encountered an empty truck placed across the Dhaka-Sylhet regional highway near the Bahubal-Rashidpur gas field, after passing the Tea-Kanya intersection. NCP leaders removed the truck and continued forward.

NCP said its convoy was stopped shortly before 4 p.m. in Sreemangal. Chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary said the group had been blocked at three locations by 5 p.m. He alleged that police were used first, followed by trucks placed on the road with punctured tyres, and finally a tractor positioned on the roadway.

Sreemangal police investigation inspector Abdur Razzak said the convoy had been stopped out of concern for its safety, but did not listen to police and passed through Sreemangal. Because Section 144 was imposed in Sreemangal around the programme, NCP had called an emergency press conference at Habiganj Circuit House at 4:30 p.m. Party leaders and activists had not reached the venue by the latest report.

Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Trivedi said India is eagerly awaiting a visit by Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, while stressing that the decision rests entirely with the Bangladeshi leader. He spoke to reporters on Wednesday afternoon after meeting Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman and State Minister Shama Obaed Islam at the Foreign Ministry in Dhaka. The meeting was Trivedi’s first with the two ministers since taking up his post in Dhaka.

Trivedi described the talks as very warm and said they covered various aspects of bilateral relations, including sports and cricket. He also referred to the resumption of Indian visas for Bangladeshis, calling it convenient for people in both countries. The high commissioner said India and Bangladesh share a historic relationship, as well as a border, common culture and common dreams.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited Tarique Rahman, as the current BIMSTEC chair, to attend the outreach segment of the 18th BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13. Bangladesh has not yet made a final decision on whether it will accept the invitation and attend the summit. Trivedi said he looks forward to building a relationship beneficial to people in both countries.

NCP southern region chief organiser and Cumilla-4 lawmaker Hasnat Abdullah said police cannot both serve as law enforcers and implement a party agenda. He made the remarks during an argument with police officers who stopped NCP leaders travelling to a rally in Habiganj on Wednesday. He said those wishing to engage in politics should do so openly under a BNP banner.

Hasnat alleged that police were blocking NCP leaders instead of detaining people who posed security threats. He asked officers under which law they were preventing him from proceeding. The National Citizen Party, or NCP, called Wednesday's protest over allegations of an attack during Tuesday's “July Padayatra”.

NCP central leaders and activists, led by convenor Nahid Islam, had set out for Habiganj to join the programme but were stopped at several points along the route, the report said. As of the latest update in the afternoon, they were stationed on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway at Kamaichhara in Bahubal upazila amid police barriers. Heavy rain began during the standoff, and NCP leaders remained there despite being soaked.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord Implementation Movement Committee has demanded a national commission to advance implementation of the accord, alleging a lack of visible action by the BNP-led government. At a discussion meeting held Wednesday at the National Press Club, representatives said no visible initiative had been taken during the government’s first five months in office.

The organization held the meeting under the title, “Five Months of the BNP-led Government: Assessment of Progress in Implementing the Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord.” Joint coordinator Zakir Hossain read a written statement saying the government had announced a 180-day programme after taking office. The committee welcomed that programme and had urged the government to place implementation of the accord on its priority list.

Transparency International Bangladesh Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said full implementation of the accord and protection of indigenous peoples’ rights were necessary to fulfil the government’s pledge to build a multinational and pluralist “Rainbow Nation” under its 31-point programme. Revolutionary Workers Party General Secretary Saiful Haque alleged excessive militarization of the region in the name of security and called for an immediate commission involving stakeholders.

Law enforcement agencies imposed tight security in Bahubal upazila of Habiganj on Wednesday, 29 July 2026, amid rival programmes by the National Citizen Party (NCP) and BNP. Additional police and Border Guard Bangladesh personnel were deployed at key locations from noon. At about 5pm, a convoy carrying NCP convener Nahid Islam and other central leaders encountered police barricades after reaching the upazila boundary.

Local sources said additional personnel were positioned in Mushai, Kamaichhara, Mirpur Choumuhana and Titarkona. The convoy also included Akhtar Hossain, Hasnat Abdullah and Sarjis Alam. In the Mirpur area, police restricted traffic by parking private vehicles across the road, affecting movement on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway.

Long-distance buses and other vehicles were stranded, causing a lengthy traffic jam and hardship for passengers. The NCP convoy, which had remained in the hilly Mushai area from 5pm, had not been able to proceed before evening. Local businesspeople and residents expressed concern, including over possible security risks from a prolonged stay. Law enforcement agencies gave no immediate official statement on the reason for the barricades or their next steps.

The National Citizen Party, or NCP, called a protest in Habiganj on Wednesday over alleged attacks during Tuesday’s July march. Central leaders and party workers, led by convener Nahid Islam, set out for Habiganj but said they faced obstructions along the way. As of the latest report in the afternoon, they were staying on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway at Kamaichhara in Bahubal upazila amid heavy rain.

NCP leaders said their convoy was stopped in Sreemangal, Moulvibazar, shortly before 4 p.m. Chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary said the convoy had been blocked at three locations by 5 p.m.: first by police, then by trucks with punctured tyres, and finally by a tractor placed on the road. Nahid Islam wrote on Facebook that the group had crossed a fourth barricade and was continuing toward Habiganj.

Sreemangal police investigation inspector Abdur Razzak said the convoy had been stopped for security reasons, but did not heed police advice and passed through Sreemangal. NCP had scheduled an emergency news conference at Habiganj Circuit House after Section 144 was imposed in Sreemangal, though its leaders had not yet arrived. Police said Section 144 was also in force in Habiganj municipal area, where Border Guard Bangladesh personnel and a magistrate were deployed.

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami candidate and the party’s medical division amir, Dr SM Khaleduzzaman, criticised State Minister for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Nurul Haque Nur in a Facebook post on Wednesday afternoon. The report says Khaleduzzaman issued the remarks while commenting on Nur’s role in the ministry.

In the post, Khaleduzzaman wrote that Nurul Haque Nur should return to the “bikashprotha” of the past. He described the Expatriates’ Welfare Ministry as important, saying the fate of millions of expatriates and the country’s economic wheel depend on it.

Khaleduzzaman further said that having an inexperienced state minister in charge of such a ministry was a cruel irony for expatriates’ fate. The source does not include any response from Nurul Haque Nur or information about any subsequent action related to the Facebook post.

Tension gripped Chhagalnaiya in Feni after rival BNP groups announced programmes and counter-programmes following clashes over sand extraction. On Wednesday, Rapid Action Battalion and police personnel were deployed at key points in the municipal town to prevent untoward incidents. Public concern grew from the afternoon as security patrols and searches were intensified.

Armed law enforcement personnel were positioned at Zero Point, College Road, the Chhagalnaiya-Feni road and the Chhagalnaiya-Shubhapur road, among other locations. Around 5pm, several supporters of the Alamgir Siddique group who tried to gather on College Road dispersed after being stopped by RAB and police. Police said an argument and scuffle occurred between Officer-in-Charge Md Abu Taher, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leader Nadim Uddin and an associate, but no one was detained or arrested.

Earlier, allegations said upazila BNP leader Riaz Uddin Mazumdar Tipu was seriously injured in a clash, while four others were hurt trying to rescue him. Tipu filed a written complaint naming 14 people and 20 to 30 unidentified suspects. Hanif, a member of the Siddique group, was also injured, and both sides denied allegations of attacks against each other.

Road Transport, Bridges, Railways and Shipping Minister Sheikh Robiul Alam said those who gave their lives in the July movement were the nation’s finest sons. He made the remarks on July 29 as chief guest at a discussion titled “Shashwata July,” organised by the Dhaka College unit of Chhatra Dal in Dhaka. The event commemorated martyrs and injured people from the July mass uprising and the past 17 years of anti-autocracy movements.

Alam said the movement succeeded because of unity between students and the public, alongside an active role by politicians. He said politicians stood with students and the public from beginning to end, risking their lives. He also claimed that current Prime Minister Tarique Rahman appointed him chief coordinator when the movement began, and that he worked diligently to accelerate it.

The minister alleged that some people not seen in the field during the July movement are now claiming its main leadership. He said voters had answered such claims through elections. Alam also said the public knows whose hands keep the state safe and who stands beside people during crises. Chhatra Dal leaders and activists, the Dhaka College principal, teachers, students and guests attended the event.

Police stopped a convoy of National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders travelling from Moulvibazar to Habiganj at the Cha-Kanya area of Sreemangal on Wednesday afternoon, amid political tensions and restrictions under Section 144. The convoy left Moulvibazar Circuit House shortly before 4pm and was halted around 4:30pm. A scuffle occurred between police and NCP leaders. Those in the convoy included NCP convener and lawmaker Nahid Islam, chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary, Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah and Mahmuda Mitu.

Witnesses said the convoy included about 10 microbuses, while more than 100 police officers were positioned on the main road. NCP leaders got out of their vehicles and spoke with senior police officials. Police told them not to enter Habiganj while Section 144 remained in force, while the NCP leaders called for the blockade to be lifted.

Tensions intensified after the NCP alleged that BNP, Chhatra Dal and Jubo Dal activists attacked its members in Habiganj on Tuesday. Police said several journalists' vehicles were vandalised and some party activists were injured. The administration imposed Section 144 in Habiganj municipality from Wednesday morning. NCP suspended two planned July marches in Moulvibazar and announced a protest march and rally in Habiganj.

Bangladesh’s Appellate Division has stayed a High Court order that barred the “shown arrest,” arrest, or harassment of individuals when no specific case existed against them. The order was issued on Wednesday morning by a bench led by Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury.

The Appellate Division also directed that the High Court rule connected to the matter be disposed of within four weeks. Attorney General Barrister Md Ruhul Quddus Kajol represented the state during the hearing. Senior lawyer Barrister Sara Hossain and Advocate Syed Mamun Mahbub appeared for the applicants.

Earlier, the High Court had ruled in the cases of several individuals that the respondents could not subject them to shown arrest, arrest, or any other form of harassment if there was no case against them. The appellate court’s stay takes effect alongside its instruction for the High Court rule to be resolved within the stated four-week period.

Discussion over moving Northern Electricity Supply Company, or NESCO, Limited’s headquarters from Rajshahi to Bogura has resurfaced after a recent Power Division letter. Issued on July 16 by the Company Affairs-1 branch, the letter asked the company’s managing director to assess and submit views on the possible financial, administrative and operational effects of a relocation. The disclosure has prompted concern among political, social, business and professional groups in Rajshahi.

A feasibility committee had previously been formed in March after a DO letter from the state minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives. The report says that effort largely stalled amid strong public reaction in Rajshahi. Managing Director Md Mashiuor Rahman said he had received the ministry’s letter and that the company would discuss the matter with its board before sending its views to the government.

Protesters at a human chain outside NESCO’s headquarters said a move could harm Rajshahi’s administrative standing, employment, commerce, housing, transport and local economy. Sources supporting a review cited delays in some administrative work for the Rangpur region, while NESCO operates across 16 districts in Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions. Opponents urged consideration of digital management and stronger regional offices as alternatives.

The National Citizen Party, or NCP, has temporarily suspended its planned visit and all related programmes in Kulaura, Moulvibazar, following an attack on the party’s central leaders and activists in Habiganj. The “July Awakening to Build the Country” programme had been scheduled for Wednesday, July 29.

NCP convener and opposition chief whip Nahid Islam MP, chief organiser Hasnat Abdullah MP, member secretary Akhtar Hossain MP, Asif Mahmud Bhuiya Sajib and chief coordinator Nasir Uddin Patwary were among central leaders expected to attend the programme.

Faruk Uddin Ahmed Sundar, convener of the NCP’s Kulaura upazila unit, told Amar Desh that central leaders urgently suspended all programmes in Kulaura and Rajnagar upazilas in response to the Habiganj incident. New dates for the postponed programmes will be formally announced later.

National Citizen Party leaders, including convener and parliamentary opposition chief whip Nahid Islam and southern region chief organiser Hasnat Abdullah, were travelling to Habiganj to join a protest over attacks on the party’s July march. The administration imposed Section 144 after the BNP and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal announced programmes at the same location, but NCP leaders still planned to go ahead with their programme.

NCP media subcommittee member Yasir Arafat said the leaders were very close to the location for the purpose of holding the programme. Asked how they would proceed under the order, he said a further decision would be made after the convener and other central leaders arrived. Central leaders Nasiruddin Patwary and Sarjis Alam were already in Habiganj.

During Tuesday’s July march in Habiganj town and while returning afterward, the convoy carrying NCP central leaders was attacked repeatedly, according to the report. Allegations were made against BNP and Chhatra Dal activists. Sarjis Alam and several other central leaders were later confined, before leaving Habiganj at night with assistance from law enforcement agencies. Tensions persisted in the district after the new Wednesday programme was announced.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US President Donald Trump at the White House and described the meeting as “one of the best ever,” according to a report published on July 29, 2026. Netanyahu also rejected suggestions of strains in relations between the United States and Israel.

Speaking to Fox News after the meeting, Netanyahu said the two countries shared the same goal of preventing Iran’s nuclear programme. He said those waiting to find a crack in the alliance would instead see a relationship as strong as a granite wall.

Addressing Iran, Netanyahu said they did not want Tehran’s “extremist government” to possess nuclear weapons that could threaten Americans, world peace and Israel’s existence. Since Trump returned to office for a second term in January 2025, Netanyahu has visited the White House eight times, more than any other foreign leader, the report said.