At an International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC) discussion marking July Uprising Day 2026 on Wednesday, poet and journalist Abdul Hai Shikder said July had eased the pain of the Liberation War’s unfulfilled dreams. Speaking as chief discussant, the Jugantor editor described the uprising as inevitable and linked it to memories of Palashi, the Language Movement, the Liberation War and the patriotism, honesty and sacrifice of Shaheed Zia.

Shikder said the July struggle was directed not only against fascism but also against domination, urging awareness of cultural aggression and other forms of dominance. He said long-standing deprivation, resentment and aspirations for a justice-based state lay behind the movement. He also described 17 years of continuing political struggle and the 36-day quota reform movement as part of a wider demand for rights, justice and a discrimination-free state.

IIUC Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Mohammad Ali Azadi called for respect for public opinion and for ensuring good governance, accountability, rule of law, freedom of expression, media freedom and fundamental human rights. The programme included a victory rally, recollections, an unveiling of a July commemorative publication, a documentary screening and prayers. Shikder was honoured at the event.

Bangladesh Parliament’s Acting Speaker Barrister Kaiser Kamal called for a firm commitment to building a non-discriminatory Bangladesh opposed to imperialism and hegemony. He made the remarks on Wednesday as chief guest at a cultural programme titled “Songs of the Monsoon Revolution” at Manik Mia Avenue in the capital, marking the Victory Day of the July mass uprising. Kamal also paid deep respect to those killed and injured while fighting fascism.

The event was attended by Parliament Chief Whip Md Nurul Islam, Opposition Chief Whip Md Nahid Islam and Parliament Whip Ashraf Uddin Nizan as special guests. Nurul Islam said participants should not deviate from the goals of the victory revolution and should ensure that young people’s dreams are not trampled. He said the monsoon revolution should be held in people’s hearts.

Whip ABM Ashraf Uddin Nizan called for unity in confronting any national crisis and vigilance so that no one can become fascist in the future. Nahid Islam called for continued struggle to build a non-discriminatory Bangladesh and remembered the July martyrs. NCP leaders, lawmaker Hasnat Abdullah and other speakers pledged to build a changed Bangladesh regardless of differences of opinion.

A three-day photography exhibition titled “July Is Not Over Yet” opened at the opposition leader’s residence on Mintoo Road in the capital to mark the second anniversary of the July mass uprising. Opposition leader and Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman formally inaugurated the exhibition on Wednesday afternoon, August 5, 2026. The opening-day display continued until 8pm.

The exhibition is intended to preserve memories of the July movement, present the sacrifices of martyrs to younger generations, and document the movement’s history. It features many rare images from the July mass uprising. A large number of visitors viewed the exhibition on its first day. Professor Dilara Chowdhury, party secretary general Mia Golam Porwar, other party leaders, lawmakers and members of civil society attended the opening.

Dr Shafiqur Rahman said the events of two years ago had earned a special place in history and should be known by people from children to young adults. He said such initiatives could help people better understand the movement’s sacrifices. He also reiterated a commitment to stand beside injured people and martyrs’ families. The exhibition is scheduled to continue from 11am to 8pm on Thursday and Friday.

Prime Minister’s adviser and office spokesperson Mahdi Amin called for stronger national unity to prevent the resurgence of what he described as fugitive fascist forces. In a Facebook post on the night of August 5, marking the second anniversary of the July mass uprising, he said the 2024 uprising ended fascist rule and opened a new democratic path for Bangladesh.

Amin said the sacrifices and struggle of BNP leaders and activists over more than a decade helped create the background for the uprising, while pro-democracy forces rose above narrow political identities. He said an undesirable distance is now visible within that unity, but argued that people can question one another, offer constructive criticism and disagree respectfully. He described the uprising’s real strength as the spontaneous, united participation of people from all sections of society.

He said thousands were killed during the July-August uprising and at least 30,000 were injured. Amin also said transparent and impartial trials for past human rights violations would establish the rule of law. He stated that the government is supporting martyrs’ families and injured people, while work on the 31-point programme, election manifesto, July Charter and constitutional reforms is continuing.

Opposition leader and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami chief Dr Shafiqur Rahman alleged that activists of Chhatra Dal, Jubo Dal and Swechchhasebak Dal carried out armed attacks on Islamic Chhatra Shibir leaders, activists and students at educational institutions over the past four days. He made the remarks on Wednesday afternoon while visiting injured Jagannath University Shibir activists and students at Islami Bank Central Hospital.

Rahman said the alleged attacks resembled assaults carried out with helmets and locally made weapons during the Awami League period. Referring to an incident at Dhaka Alia Madrasa, he alleged that the institution's principal was attacked while trying to stop attackers and required 11 stitches to a head injury. He also alleged attacks on injured people at hospitals and on the pregnant wife of one injured person.

He urged BNP's top leadership to take party action against those involved and called on the government to enforce the law impartially. Rahman said the public would view inaction against alleged attackers alongside cases against victims as a government decision. He also alleged that unrest at educational institutions could be intended to divert attention from energy, electricity and rising commodity-price pressures.

Jamaat-e-Islami chief and opposition leader Dr Shafiqur Rahman urged Amar Desh editor Mahmudur Rahman to take an initiative to restore unity among July revolutionaries. He made the appeal on Wednesday at the Engineers Institution in Ramna, Dhaka, during an event titled “Droh-er July in Memory of the Martyrs,” organised by the Forum of Engineers and Architects Bangladesh. Shafiqur said workers, students, religious scholars, businesspeople, ordinary citizens and political activists had collectively delivered Bangladesh and called for unity against fascism.

He said the same recognition should be given for the same work regardless of whether it was done by one’s own child or another person’s child. He also said anyone committing violence should be called a terrorist without applying different standards. Shafiqur encouraged Mahmudur Rahman to again lead an effort involving all sides, pledging prayers and support.

Mahmudur said the government should have formed an all-party committee to observe the anniversary of the July Revolution collectively. He argued that separate events led to several unpleasant incidents that could have been avoided through a unified observance. He said the government bears greater responsibility for building national unity, while the opposition should respond to such an effort.

Information and Broadcasting State Minister Yaser Khan Chowdhury said the sacrifice and bloodshed of July martyrs created an environment for free, fair and neutral elections in Bangladesh. He made the remarks on 5 August at a reception and discussion for martyrs’ families and July fighters at Nandail উপজেলা পরিষদ auditorium in Mymensingh, held for July Mass Uprising and Resistance Day.

He said BNP, its affiliated and associate organisations, and their workers had participated in a 17-year anti-fascist movement, with many facing imprisonment and persecution. According to him, this sacrifice enabled BNP to assume responsibility for running the state. He also said he had worked quietly for Nandail’s development and led movement activities there with local leaders and activists.

The state minister announced that listed July martyrs’ families would receive semi-permanent houses within two months, while tube wells would be installed at their homes within seven days. He also said Family Cards and Farmer Cards would be provided to martyrs’ families in Nandail. The programme included tree planting, a graffiti signing, the opening of a photo exhibition and book fair, and the inauguration of a July Corner.

After two days of clashes, chases, counter-chases and rival programmes, leaders and activists of Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Islami Chhatra Shibir appeared on the same stage at Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur. The August 5 July Mass Uprising Day programme was organised by the university administration and included a rally, tree planting and a discussion meeting. Leaders of both groups said they hoped to preserve peaceful coexistence on campus by avoiding violence and differences.

Despite rain, participants held an umbrella-carrying rally from the university’s main gate, passing Shaheed Abu Sayeed Square and Modern Mor before ending at the south gate of the administrative building. A tree-planting programme in memory of those killed in the July mass uprising followed, with the vice-chancellor and the presidents of both student groups taking part.

Shibir president Md. Abdur Rakib Murad said his organisation had not obstructed Chhatra Dal programmes and wanted a stable campus environment. Chhatra Dal president Rafael Imtiaz Yamin called for unity and rejection of disorder, violence and division. Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Md. Shawkat Ali said maintaining a peaceful environment was everyone’s responsibility at a university, which he described as a place for knowledge and free expression.

Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman said Bangladesh will never again become a “client state” and that the government’s foreign-policy principle is “Bangladesh First.” He made the remarks on August 5, 2026, as chief guest at a July Mass Uprising Day event at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital. He also recalled Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s remarks at the opening of the July Memorial Museum earlier that morning.

Rahman said the success of the July movement had placed a historic responsibility on the nation to protect sovereignty and pursue an independent foreign policy based on national interests. He said Turkey’s foreign minister recently told him that Bangladesh, once seen as fading in the international arena, had returned strongly. Rahman described the comment as reflecting Bangladesh’s renewed standing internationally.

Paying tribute to those killed in the July-August 2024 mass uprising, he said they gave their lives in the struggle for democracy, justice and human rights, and expressed sympathy for those permanently injured. He called the nationwide internet shutdown during the 2024 events one of Bangladesh’s darkest chapters. He said he contacted the UN secretary-general’s office on August 5 to draw international attention to serious human-rights violations in Bangladesh.

BNP activists in Alokbali, Narsingdi, held a protest meeting over allegations that members of the “fascist Awami League” and accused persons in murder cases were given posts in a newly formed BNP convening committee. The meeting was held Tuesday afternoon at Alokbali Abdul Mannan Chowdhury High School field and was organised by deprived veteran party leaders and activists.

Former Alokbali Union BNP president Shah Alam Chowdhury chaired the meeting. Speakers included former joint convener Dr Nazrul Islam, Union Parishad members Mizanur Rahman and Hazrat Ali, and Sajal Mia, among other deprived leaders. They alleged that alleged Awami League figures had been included in the new convening committee.

The speakers said leaders and activists who had faced attacks, cases and persecution for supporting BNP had instead been excluded. They expressed concern that veteran activists could again face attacks, cases and persecution if the committee runs the party. They demanded the immediate removal of the alleged Awami League members and murder-case accused, and formation of an Alokbali Union BNP committee with veteran workers. They said they would announce larger programmes if their demands were not met.

Dhaka University has unveiled the foundation stone for a “July Memorial Monument” to preserve memories of the July mass uprising and present its history and sacrifices to younger generations. Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr A B M Obaidul Islam inaugurated the foundation stone at the mall area beside the university’s administrative building at 10:30am on August 5. Families of those killed in the uprising, teachers, officials and student organisation representatives attended.

Earlier, the vice-chancellor hosted a tea gathering for members of the families of those killed. A discussion meeting on the uprising was later held at the Teacher-Student Centre auditorium. The vice-chancellor described the uprising as an unforgettable chapter in the struggle for freedom, democracy and justice, saying its central lesson was building a non-discriminatory, just, humane and democratic state.

The university said it has implemented programmes including the memorial monument, a July Corner, preservation of photographs and graffiti, and tuition-fee waivers for July fighters and injured students. Five relatives of people killed in the uprising received honours at the meeting. Injured students also shared their experiences, while attendees held a special prayer and observed one minute of silence for those killed.

Liberal Democratic Party president Col (retd) Oli Ahmed said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s own party members do not want him to remain prime minister. He made the remarks on Wednesday as a special guest at an 11-party unity rally at the south gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in the capital, marking the second anniversary of the July mass uprising.

Ahmed said conspirators were positioned around the prime minister and urged him to identify alleged brokers within his party. He said Tarique Rahman faced no threat from Ahmed’s side, but could face danger from “brokers” in his own household. Ahmed said he had repeatedly asked the prime minister over recent months not to create divisions or conditions that could begin his downfall.

Referring to attacks in three places in the country the previous day, Ahmed said they showed that people within the party did not want Tarique Rahman as prime minister. He also cited past political ties involving BNP, Jamaat and Awami League, while saying he had not joined Jamaat. Ahmed said those seeking to protect Bangladesh’s independence and sovereignty, build a country free of foreign influence and uphold Islamic values had united.

State Minister for Land and Hill Tracts Affairs Mir Mohammad Helal Uddin said opposition parties do not want to implement the July Charter in practice and merely speak about it publicly. He said the government has taken effective steps to carry out the charter’s reform proposals. Helal made the remarks on Wednesday afternoon at a discussion at Chittagong University’s Faculty of Social Sciences auditorium marking July Mass Uprising Day 2026.

He said all political parties except one signed the National July Charter at the South Plaza of the National Parliament on October 17, 2025. According to Helal, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman MP announced that the charter would be fully implemented, including notes of dissent. He said a 17-member constitutional amendment committee had been formed to advance necessary reforms based on the charter’s proposals.

The committee held its first meeting on August 4 under the home minister’s chairmanship, Helal said. He added that decisions on constitutional reforms would follow discussions with all stakeholders. Seven seats on the committee are held for BNP lawmakers, five for other parliamentary parties and five allocated to Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, he said. Helal alleged Jamaat sought time and later did not submit member names.

Dhaka-12 lawmaker and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami executive council member Saiful Alam Khan Milon called for immediate constitutional reform, saying the prime minister’s plan would not bring liberation for Bangladeshis. Speaking on August 5 at the Institution of Engineers in Ramna, Dhaka, at an event titled “Droh-er July in Memory of the Martyrs,” he urged the government not to attempt to control universities through a “helmet force.”

Milon blamed Jubo Dal, Chhatra Dal and BNP for an incident in which a youth from Habiganj lost an eye. He referred to violence at Jagannath University, Alia Madrasa and Dhaka College, saying the government and Tarique Rahman could not evade responsibility. He alleged the attacks at Jagannath University and Alia Madrasa were planned and that those involved were not students there.

He also accused BNP of failing to follow its own 31-point agenda, including constitutional reform and a two-term limit for a prime minister. Milon said parliament failed from its first sitting by allowing needed rules for constitutional reform to lapse. He raised concerns about delays in the charge sheet in the Hadi murder case and called for reform, rather than amendment, of the constitution’s basic structure.

An 11-party alliance held a rally and mass procession in Chauddagram, Cumilla, demanding implementation of the referendum verdict and the July charter, as well as justice for the killers of July. The programme took place at Chauddagram Bazar on Wednesday afternoon. Upazila Jamaat Ameer Mahfuzur Rahman chaired the rally, while Secretary Belal Hossain conducted it.

Those present included Cumilla South District Jamaat Ameer Advocate Md Shahjahan, Dhaka Metropolitan North Jamaat Majlish-e-Shura member VP Sahab Uddin, and Labour Welfare Federation central vice-president Mujibur Rahman Bhuiyan. Chauddagram upazila president of Khelafat Majlish Maulana Shahjalal also attended the event.

Other participants included former upazila Jamaat secretary Shah Mizanur Rahman, municipal Jamaat Ameer Maulana Ibrahim, NCP Jubo Shakti central vice-president Sufian Raihan, Chauddagram Upazila NCP joint coordinator Mamun Mojumdar, and Upazila Shibir president Nasim Miahji. Leaders and activists from the 11-party alliance joined the programme, where the alliance pressed its stated demands for implementation and accountability.