Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (October 13, 2022) reiterated that Bangladesh must grow food in every inch of land, go for savings and practice austerity to avert a famine that international organisations fear may grip the world in 2023.

"Utilise every inch of land for food production, we have to go for savings and practice austerity. I hope that all will maintain that course," she said.

The premier said this at the Flag raising ceremony of Head Quarters 71 Mechanized Brigade, 15 and 40 East Bengals (Mechanized), 9 and 11 Bangladesh Infantry Regiments (Mechanized) held at CMP Centre and School at Savar Cantonment.

She asked all to remain cautious as the international organisations are apprehending that 2023 will be the time of famine across the world.

"But Bangladesh must not fall victim of that famine. For that we have to produce foods in our own lands. We have to go for savings and practice austerity," she told the ceremony in her virtual address from her official residence Gono Bhaban.

Hasina said that the aim of her government is to use every inch of uncultivated land for food production.

She urged every institution to go for food production in whatever land it has.

She mentioned that developed countries are suffering severely due to Ukraine-Russia war and consequent sanctions as food scarcity is becoming evident there.

"Bangladesh is also in the same position. That blow is already being felt here. We are trying to control that," she said.

In this connection, she said the government has given cards to one crore people for distributing rice at Tk 30 per kg.

She also said the government is selling rice to 35 lakh vulnerable people at a price as low as Tk 15 per kg.

"For those who are unable to work we are giving 25-40 kg of rice per month free of cost considering the size of their families," she added.

Army chief General S M Shafiuddin Ahmed also spoke at the programme.

PM Hasina witnessed an orderly and graceful parade demonstrated by the members of different brigades and regiments of Bangladesh Army.

For some time now, we have observed our head of government, politicians, and high-ranking officials often favouring foreign media outlets for interviews instead of engaging with national media. As a result, Bangladeshi citizens are often forced to rely on international sources for information that should be readily available domestically. This practice, we believe, should change as we work toward building a new and different kind of Bangladesh.

Continuing this trend, Bangladesh's Chief of Army Staff General Waker-uz-Zaman recently gave an interview to Reuters, where he stated that he fully supports the interim government, led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, in its mission to implement key reforms following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. This is encouraging news, as the country is clearly in desperate need of reforms that can hopefully prevent the brutal authoritarianism of the former government from being repeated. However, the army chief also mentioned that he believes these reforms should lead to elections within the next 18 months.

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Army chief’s remark on democratic transition: Political parties give cautious, mixed reaction

Previously, politicians, advisers to the interim government, and others have spoken about the need for reforms before elections are held, but no specific timeframe was proposed by anyone in the government until now. This, of course, raises the question whether the government will face any limitations regarding how much time they will be given to implement these reforms.

Given the questions that could arise as a result of the army chief's statement, we must ask, wouldn't it have been more appropriate for the chief adviser himself to address the issue of the interim government's timeframe? Since the government has not officially announced a specific timeline, the army chief's remarks could create confusion. In light of this, we believe that such a statement should have been avoided until the chief adviser directly addressed the matter.

The army chief also proposed placing the defence ministry under the office of the president. We assume he suggested this since politicians have previously tried to use the army for political reasons, a practice that, as he himself admitted, risks politicising the defence force. Such politicisation can only harm the professionalism of the army as well as our national interests. Therefore, we fully agree with him that the army must remain a professional force, free of political influence. We believe the same must be done with the DGFI, which has also been subject to political misuse. Another encouraging statement by the army chief was his commitment to ensuring that any army personnel found guilty of human rights violations would be held accountable. This would help ensure that our army remains a force the people can trust and respect.

Finally, we commend the army for supporting the interim government and for preventing further bloodshed during the final days of the brutal Hasina-led government. This really proved its pro-people stance, for which it deserves our appreciation. We hope that the army will always stand by the people of Bangladesh and safeguard our national interests, and never be used as a political weapon under any circumstances.

The Daily Star has launched a new series of talk show ‘The Election Talks 2018’ where experts analyse all aspects of the upcoming general elections, contemporary politics, events and incidents.

In today’s episode chief editor of Ekushey TV Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul talks with the show host Journalist Golam Mortoza.

Bangladesh Army chief General Aziz Ahmed received Covid-19 vaccine at Dhaka Combined Military Hospital (CMH) today, according to a press release from ISPR.

After taking the vaccine, General Aziz, who joined work today after a trip to USA, called upon people to take the vaccine and shun rumours over the vaccination.  

He expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for taking measures to vaccinate mass people including members of Bangladesh Army.

As per the instruction of the army chief, Covid-19 inoculation has started at all the CMHs across the country under the nationwide vaccination programme that began on February 7.