<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
     xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
     xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
     xmlns:admin="http://webns.net/mvcb/"
     xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"
     xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
     xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/">
<channel>
<title>Counterpoint &#45; : Policy</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/rss/category/policy</link>
<description>Counterpoint &#45; : Policy</description>
<dc:language>en</dc:language>
<dc:rights>Copyright 2025 counterpoint&#45; All Rights Reserved.</dc:rights>

<item>
<title>Why Did Urban Planning in Dhaka Fail So Miserably?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-Did-Urban-Planning-in-Dhaka-Fail-So-Miserably</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-Did-Urban-Planning-in-Dhaka-Fail-So-Miserably</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Disorder in Dhaka is not always accidental. It is often profitable. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69e74b99f3eeb.jpg" length="110440" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 23 Apr 2026 15:56:08 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>M.K.Aaref</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Urban Planning, Infrastructure, RAJUK</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The July Order Cannot Live Outside the Constitution</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Live-Outside-the-Constitution</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Live-Outside-the-Constitution</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ There is a sensible way out, and it lies inside the Constitution, not outside it. If the new government wants to preserve the Reform Council model, it should table a constitutional amendment under Article 142 defining the Council’s status, powers, voting threshold, relation to Parliament, and oath. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69ba3ef39330a.jpg" length="342613" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:16:32 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Khan Khalid Adnan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Interim Government, Referendum, Reform, July Charter</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Beyond Renewal: Rethinking the Post 2026 Ganges Water Governance Framework</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Beyond-Renewal</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Beyond-Renewal</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ It is now part of the international customary law that no states are allowed to use the international watercourses even in their own territories, in such a way that would cause significant harm to other basin states or to their environment. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69dc882ecc407.jpg" length="99605" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:08:06 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Julian Rafah and Taposhi Rabeya</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>India, Farakka, Ganges, Mekong Agreement</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>When Measles Kills Again</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/When-Measles-Kills-Again%3A-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Children-and-a-Crisis-of-Health-Governance</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/When-Measles-Kills-Again%3A-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Children-and-a-Crisis-of-Health-Governance</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Parents must trust that vaccines are available, safe, and reliably delivered and that the health system stands with them. This trust cannot be built through campaigns alone. It requires sustained community engagement, local leadership, and transparent communication. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69db302abc523.jpg" length="69975" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 21:30:12 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Khalilur Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Measles, WHO, Vaccination</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Will Dr. Zahid go after Facebook and YouTube?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/will-dr-zahid-go-after-facebook-and-youtube</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/will-dr-zahid-go-after-facebook-and-youtube</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ He can keep the portfolio as a badge of party confidence. Or he can turn it into something rarer in our politics: A record. And if he wants that record to mean anything, he should begin by demanding answers from Facebook and YouTube. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69d62266cb437.jpg" length="53143" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sat, 11 Apr 2026 15:42:46 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Omar Shehab</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Youtube, Facebook, Dr Zahid, child law</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>No Time to Waste</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/no-time-to-waste</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/no-time-to-waste</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ It is striking that nearly two years after a youth led uprising that was triggered by protests about jobs, the economy is largely absent from public discourse. This may be the ultimate July betrayal of them all.  ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69d72d6065cff.jpg" length="106009" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:40:08 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jyoti Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Economy</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Why a Business Advisory Council isn&amp;apos;t a Bad Idea</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/the-pm-needs-a-business-advisory-council</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/the-pm-needs-a-business-advisory-council</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ At a time when investor confidence is closely tied to perceptions of policy stability and transparency, a structured and inclusive engagement framework sends a powerful signal. It tells both domestic and international investors that policymaking is consultative, predictable, and responsive. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69d34c1811e92.jpg" length="73853" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:01:01 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Asif Ibrahim</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Tarique Rahman, Inflation</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Who Pays for Interest&#45;Free Loans? We All Do.</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/who-pays-for-interest-free-loans-we-all-do</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/who-pays-for-interest-free-loans-we-all-do</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Money is not free. Interest-free loans do not eliminate cost; they merely obscure it. Whether financed through budgetary allocations or institutional balance sheets, the subsidy embedded in such loans must ultimately be borne by someone. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69d27181d1c1b.jpg" length="100711" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 13:09:44 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Tashzid Reza</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Interest-Free Loans, Vehicle Loans, Government Accountability, Fiscal Policy, Subsidy Reform</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Why are Critical Ordinances not being Passed into Law?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/why-are-critical-ordinances-not-being-passed-into-law</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/why-are-critical-ordinances-not-being-passed-into-law</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The ordinances concerning the Human Rights Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and the prevention of enforced disappearances,  are all directly aimed at protecting citizens’ rights, and maintaining the separation of powers. Rendering them ineffective is deeply disappointing from the perspective of citizens. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69d207fc4043c.jpg" length="78274" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 05 Apr 2026 12:58:37 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sharif Bhuiyan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Governance, judicial independence, Accountability</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Bangladesh’s Next Development Chapter Must Start with Health</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/bangladeshs-next-development-chapter-must-start-with-health</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/bangladeshs-next-development-chapter-must-start-with-health</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Strengthening healthcare services means investing in frontline workers, improving facility readiness, ensuring reliable supplies of essential medicines, and better integrating services across the continuum of care. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69cb6e656a8ff.jpg" length="56404" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:00:11 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mosabbir Hossain</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Health, Healthcare</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>After the Oil Crisis, We Go Back to Sleep</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/After-the-Oil-Crisis%2C-We-Go-Back-to-Sleep</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/After-the-Oil-Crisis%2C-We-Go-Back-to-Sleep</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh is not short of clever people or workable ideas. What we are short of is institutional willingness to treat a crisis as something other than an inconvenience to be weathered. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69ca2b07b24d6.jpg" length="649042" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:43:04 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Muhaimen Siddiquee</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Bangladesh, Oil crisis, Policy failure, Traffic</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Theatre of the Streets: How Bangladesh Mistakes Performance for Governance</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Theatre-of-the-Streets%3A-How-Bangladesh-Mistakes-Performance-for-Governance</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Theatre-of-the-Streets%3A-How-Bangladesh-Mistakes-Performance-for-Governance</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Albert Camus wrote that we must imagine Sisyphus happy but for those caught in Bangladesh’s cycles of performative governance, happiness is not the point. Each new deadline, each “operation,” each raid is a boulder pushed up the hill. The problem rolls back down, and we begin again. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69c8d2735300b.jpg" length="110545" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 29 Mar 2026 16:29:00 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Zakir Kibria</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>DMP, Footpath, Street Vendors, Governance</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Democracy, Rule of Law, and the Promise of Bangladesh</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Democracy%2C-Rule-of-Law%2C-and-the-Promise-of-Bangladesh</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Democracy%2C-Rule-of-Law%2C-and-the-Promise-of-Bangladesh</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done; impartially, consistently, and without fear or favor. For ordinary citizens to trust the system, they must believe that the law protects them equally, regardless of wealth, influence, or affiliation. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69c232d9b9b40.jpg" length="78539" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:30:58 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>A Gafur</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Uprising, Rule of Law</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>How Do We Keep Commodity Prices Low? Auctions are the Answer.</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/how-do-we-keep-commodity-prices-low-auctions-are-the-answer</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/how-do-we-keep-commodity-prices-low-auctions-are-the-answer</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The logical way forward is for the government to ensure that all large producers of perishable agricultural commodities set up daily auctions. Then government agencies can ensure fair prices by auditing the records of the auctions. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69bf8e9e26e87.jpg" length="67234" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 22 Mar 2026 15:09:42 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Zeeshan Hasan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Commodities, Food, Actions, Chicken, Eggs, Agricultural Commodities</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Why the Admission Debate Misses the Bigger Crisis</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-the-Admission-Debate</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-the-Admission-Debate</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ In the end, the controversy is not about a mechanism. It is about a mindset. It reveals a society that remains deeply anxious about opportunity and deeply divided in access to it. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_6991a36c915f2.jpg" length="98742" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sat, 21 Mar 2026 12:26:45 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>H.M. Nazmul Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Education, Reform</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>What is the UN Good For?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/is-the-united-nations-becoming-irrelevant</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/is-the-united-nations-becoming-irrelevant</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ If the UN cannot prevent wars, cannot restrain powerful states, or even name the aggressors, then the world must confront an uncomfortable question: Is the United Nations still fulfilling its founding mission? ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69b654f1c8461.jpg" length="38650" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 12:47:07 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Md Mustafizur Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>UN Charter, Credibility, UN, Iran War</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>What Nelson Mandela’s Truth and Reconciliation Offers Bangladesh Today</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/What-Nelson-Mandela%E2%80%99s-Truth-and-Reconciliation-Offers-Bangladesh-Today</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/What-Nelson-Mandela%E2%80%99s-Truth-and-Reconciliation-Offers-Bangladesh-Today</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ South Africa’s experience shows that legitimacy depends on perceived impartiality and transparency from day one. For a country at the crossroads, that is an invitation worth considering. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69b2862b5a842.jpg" length="61844" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 15:40:26 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>A Gafur</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Nelson Mandela, South Africa, TRC, Bangladesh</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Why Bangladesh’s Women’s Movement Must Include Men</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Beyond-a-Zero-Sum-Game</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Beyond-a-Zero-Sum-Game</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Frustration, when it has nowhere constructive to go, seeks a target. Too often, women become that target -- online through harassment and abuse, offline through control, intimidation, or violence. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69aff098b74c3.jpg" length="96965" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 11 Mar 2026 10:21:43 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Asif Saleh</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Women&#039;s Rights, BRAC</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Preserving Places of Peace for Refugee Women and Girls</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Preserving-%E2%80%98places-of-peace%E2%80%99-for-refugee-women-and-girls</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Preserving-%E2%80%98places-of-peace%E2%80%99-for-refugee-women-and-girls</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Beyond food, water and shelter, refugees make it clear that safety, dignity, and purpose are also essential to a meaningful life. But cuts under the prioritization exercise jeopardize this holistic commitment to Rohingya well-being. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69afe7cdbbb26.jpg" length="110385" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2026 15:44:05 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Gitanjali Singh and Ivo Freijsen</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Rohingya, UNHCR, UN</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The World Heard “Rape Me” 30 Years Ago. Why Are We Still Here?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-World-Heard-%E2%80%9CRape-Me%E2%80%9D</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-World-Heard-%E2%80%9CRape-Me%E2%80%9D</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ We need more than purple sarees; we need greater representation of women in Parliament to steer the budget toward safety and a localized commitment to the UN Security Council’s Women, Peace and Security agenda. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69ad04507d425.jpg" length="59296" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 08 Mar 2026 11:08:49 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Tasmiah T. Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Women’s Day, Nirvana</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Should the Police Killings Be Investigated?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Police-Killings</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Police-Killings</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ If unlawful killings by police are prosecuted while unlawful killings of police are ignored, the law becomes partisan. If mob killings are investigated while state killings are diluted, the law becomes cynical. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69a7d62b7b26a.jpg" length="74768" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 04 Mar 2026 12:51:42 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Omar Shehab</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>NCP, BNP, Police, July Uprising</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>A Mandate Won. Trust Now at Risk.</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/a-mandate-won-trust-now-at-risk</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/a-mandate-won-trust-now-at-risk</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ This government came to power with a democratic mandate.  But it risks squandering it. City administrations must look neutral. International crimes prosecutions must feel independent. And the central bank must signal credibility beyond politics. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_69a141b9e194a.jpg" length="72273" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 13:10:00 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Nakibur Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>BNP, Mandate, Bangladesh Bank, Governor, Tajul Islam, Ahsan Mansur, ICT, City Corporations</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Why the New Governor Won&amp;apos;t Work</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/why-the-new-governor-wont-work</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/why-the-new-governor-wont-work</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ When it comes to the central bank governor, optics are everything. If he is perceived to be the government&#039;s man, then no one will have the necessary faith in him, and he will fail before he even starts. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_69a13da97f68f.jpg" length="116820" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Fri, 27 Feb 2026 12:47:20 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Zia Hassan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Bangladesh Bank, Governor</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>How to Lose Friends and Alienate People</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/how-to-lose-friends-and-alienate-people</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/how-to-lose-friends-and-alienate-people</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ If the BNP&#039;s goal had been to signal to the Bangladeshi people that everything their adversaries say about them is true, that nothing has changed from the time they were last in office 20 years ago, that they remain exactly the same party of cronyism, corruption, and contempt for public opinion, they could not have done a better job. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_6987688291712.jpg" length="103683" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 12:13:48 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Zafar Sobhan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>BNP, Central Bank, Governor, Ahsan Mansur</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>An Unforced Error</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/an-unforced-error</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/an-unforced-error</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Keeping interest rates artificially low is a recipe for disaster. We have been here before -- not even too long ago -- and we know how this story ends. It won&#039;t be pleasant for anyone, least of all the newly-elected government. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_699fb82b1fdaf.jpg" length="127448" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 09:04:43 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jyoti Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Bangladesh Bank, Governor, Interest Rates</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>AI and Bangladesh: A Turning Point for Development</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/AI-and-Bangladesh</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/AI-and-Bangladesh</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ If Bangladesh treats artificial intelligence simply as another digital tool, it risks falling behind in a world where advantage increasingly rests on capability and commodified intelligence rather than labour alone. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_699bf6b370ced.jpg" length="103349" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2026 13:30:52 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mubashshira Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>AI, Bangladesh, Policy, Economy</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Beyond the F&#45;Word</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Beyond-the-F-Word</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Beyond-the-F-Word</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Calling it fascism narrows our field of vision. It directs us toward interwar Europe -- uniforms, total mobilization, ideological conquest -- when our own trajectory resembles something different. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_699bf27bc6ea3.jpg" length="64205" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2026 13:06:39 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Saba El Kabir</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Fascism, Syndicates</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Why the New Government Must Kill the Power Oligarchy to Save the Republic</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Engineered-Twilight-642</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Engineered-Twilight-642</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ By erecting solar canopies over these historic arteries, we can generate thousands of megawatts of clean energy while providing the shade necessary to preserve our water levels. Beneath these canopies, the state must build structured aquaculture systems, renting them back to local farmers. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_6991a94ea4a36.jpg" length="73253" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 17 Feb 2026 17:11:39 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Kawsar Chowdhury</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Dhaka, Bangladesh, Ziaur Rahman</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Something appears to have gone seriously wrong with Bangladesh&amp;apos;s election dispute process</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Something-appears-to-have-gone-seriously-wrong-with-Bangladeshs-election-dispute-process</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Something-appears-to-have-gone-seriously-wrong-with-Bangladeshs-election-dispute-process</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The absence of any election recounts, with requests allegedly refused, will allow grievances to fester ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_6991a603b1ab1.jpg" length="46082" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 15 Feb 2026 16:56:12 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>David Bergman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Post Election, Vote, Law</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Bangladeshis Have Chosen to Temper Government Power. And That&amp;apos;s a Great Thing.</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Bangladeshis-Have-Chosen</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Bangladeshis-Have-Chosen</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ No one can predict exactly what Bangladesh&#039;s constitutional architecture will look like by year&#039;s end. The process will be messy, contentious, and imperfect. But the direction is clear. Two-thirds of voters have chosen a path away from capricious rule toward a system where power is tempered. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_69904adda872a.jpg" length="26179" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 15 Feb 2026 16:14:34 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Whit Mason</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>July Charter, Referendum, Interim Goverment</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Bangladesh Has Woken Up to a New Reality</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Bangladesh-Woke-Up-to-a-New-Reality</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Bangladesh-Woke-Up-to-a-New-Reality</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Tarique Rahman can do what Sheikh Hasina would not: trust the Parliament he leads. Let it examine the Yunus era, line by line. Keep what works. Amend what can be saved. In that sequence, through that process, a course will emerge. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_698ff791ba31d.jpg" length="51063" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sat, 14 Feb 2026 10:18:32 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Owen Lippert</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>BNP, Elections, Tarique Rahman, Interim</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Trump’s Second&#45;Term Foreign Policy and the Remaking of Global Order</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/America-First%2C-World-Second</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/America-First%2C-World-Second</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The question now is not only how America will wield its power, but how the rest of the world will respond to a superpower increasingly guided by transactional interests rather than shared norms. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_698c03bc77319.jpg" length="77643" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 11 Feb 2026 18:15:26 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mustafa Kamal Rusho</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>United States, Trump, Middle East, Venezuela, China</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Case For Voting Yes</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-Bangladesh-Must-Choose-Reform-Now</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-Bangladesh-Must-Choose-Reform-Now</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Opponents of the referendum write as though rejecting this package will clear the way for a more measured, item by item process of constitutional improvement. But nothing in Bangladesh’s recent history suggests that such a sequence will materialize on its own. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_698c001c1e0ee.jpg" length="52623" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 11 Feb 2026 10:06:13 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Whit Mason</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>July Charter, Referendum</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Which Charter Reforms Are You Voting For? No One Knows.</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/which-charter-reforms</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/which-charter-reforms</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The wording in the referendum question, set out in the four separate categories of reforms, only clearly match with 20 of the 47 numbered proposals set out in the July Charter ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_6988111b6fb83.jpg" length="31381" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 10:27:01 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>David Bergman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Referendum, Election, Vote</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Bangladesh&amp;apos;s Draft AI Policy: Vision Needs Velocity</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Bangladeshs-Draft-AI-Policy%3A-Vision-Needs-Velocity</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Bangladeshs-Draft-AI-Policy%3A-Vision-Needs-Velocity</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Success depends on three commitments that cannot be deferred: Speed. Visible, funded action in year one. Not plans for action. Action. Resources. Specific, budgeted commitments, not proposals ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_698595995647f.jpg" length="96545" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 12:45:38 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Zunaid Kazi</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>AI, Bangladesh, Policy</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>DNCC Rent Control Will Cause More Problems Than It Solves</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/DNCCs-Rent-Control</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/DNCCs-Rent-Control</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The government and the local authorities must focus on establishing a quickly implementable, balanced and transparent legal framework, not an imaginary policy. Otherwise, this guideline will remain on paper as always, and homeowners and tenants will bear the consequences. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_6978587d9bfc8.jpg" length="485664" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 03 Feb 2026 12:10:23 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Raisul Sourav</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>DNCC, Rent Control, Gulshan</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>When Welfare Becomes Withdrawal</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/when-welfare-becomes-withdrawal</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/when-welfare-becomes-withdrawal</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ In the hands of Jamaat-e-Islami, a five-hour workday is not welfare. It is soft patriarchy, cloaked in empathy. Bangladesh should not repeat the mistakes of others when better models are already visible. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_6979b25bc93c4.jpg" length="466222" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 28 Jan 2026 12:53:36 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Hasan Ferdous</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Jamaat-e-Islami, 5-Hour Workday</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>A 5&#45;Hour Workday for Mothers Is Welfare Policy, not a Patriarchal Plot</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/a-5-hour-workday-for-mothers-is-welfare-policy-not-a-patriarchal-plot</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/a-5-hour-workday-for-mothers-is-welfare-policy-not-a-patriarchal-plot</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh’s working mothers deserve a serious conversation about policies that ease their load and secure their economic future. They deserve thoughtful engagement, not reflexive dismissal. For once, let us debate the policy instead of demonizing the policymaker. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_697849da8f8f4.jpg" length="108805" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Jan 2026 11:15:23 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Nakibur Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Women, Welfare, Mothers, Jamaaat, Jamaat-e-Islami, 5-hour workday</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>How Bangladesh Betrays Its Tea Garden Workers</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Bitter-Harvest</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Bitter-Harvest</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Tea workers exist and spend their entire lives on lands that they do not and will not own, unable to build assets or escape the plantation system. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_697879e4b7e12.jpg" length="1125360" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2026 18:10:58 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Azeema Anhar Humaira</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Tea, Tea Workers</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>ICC and the Upcoming Election</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/ICC-AND-GENERAL-ELECTION%3A-FACING-THE-CHALLENGES</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/ICC-AND-GENERAL-ELECTION%3A-FACING-THE-CHALLENGES</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Our cricketers will suffer the most over this difficult period which is why they must receive full sympathy and financial support. If this means that we forfeit participation in the 2026 World Cup (as has now transpired) so be it. There will be another opportunity in 2 years. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_6975de2b8b384.jpg" length="124916" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2026 15:11:24 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Salahdin Imam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>ICC, Mustafizur Rahman, Cricket, World Cup, T20 World Cup</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>What the Law Actually Says About Polygamy</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/what-the-law-actually-says-about-polygamy</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/what-the-law-actually-says-about-polygamy</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ There was never a provision in the law that the permission of the first wife is needed for a second marriage; therefore, the court did not say anything new. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_696dbf7f6aec0.jpg" length="64438" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2026 18:05:48 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Raisul Sourav</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Polygamy, Law, Muslim Marriage</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Why Bangladesh needs rule&#45;based trade monitoring</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Ending-discretionary-oversight</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Ending-discretionary-oversight</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ A country aspiring to become a trillion dollar economy cannot afford to operate with manual, subjective, or personality-driven oversight. It needs strong institutions delivering predictable outcomes. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_69425fadf0df3.jpg" length="59992" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 18 Jan 2026 07:46:20 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Tashzid Reza</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Bangladesh Bank, Central Bank, Trade, Under-Invoicing, Over-Invoicing</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Somaliland’s Israel Gambit Is a Strategic Own Goal. Bangladesh Learned This Lesson in 1971</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Somaliland%E2%80%99s-Israel-Gambit-Is-a-Strategic-Own-Goal.-Bangladesh%C2%A0Learned-This-Lesson-in-1971</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Somaliland%E2%80%99s-Israel-Gambit-Is-a-Strategic-Own-Goal.-Bangladesh%C2%A0Learned-This-Lesson-in-1971</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh rejected Israel’s recognition not because it could afford to be principled -- but because it could not afford not to be strategic. Somaliland should take note. The lesson is clear: recognition divorced from coalition-building and regional consensus can be worse than no recognition at all. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_695f4164b9b21.jpg" length="67149" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 14 Jan 2026 11:19:12 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Atif Ahmed Choudhury</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Israel, Gaza, Somaliland, 1971</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>How Bangladesh Slipped into the Global High&#45;Risk Category</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/How-Bangladesh-Slipped</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/How-Bangladesh-Slipped</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ What is ultimately at stake is not merely the ease of obtaining visas. It is how Bangladeshi citizens are perceived as participants in the global order. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_69634737d24ee.jpg" length="106501" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 12 Jan 2026 12:46:30 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>H.M. Nazmul Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Visa, Export, Migration</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The UN Charter Is Not an Arrest Warrant</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-UN-Charter</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-UN-Charter</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Normalizing forced extractions in the name of justice does not advance accountability; it advertises that power can dispense with law ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_696773c649b5a.jpg" length="59713" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 11 Jan 2026 12:41:04 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Khan Khalid Adnan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Self-defense, Retaliation, Jurisdiction</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Ten Tasks for Future Bangladesh</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Ten-Tasks-for-Future</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Ten-Tasks-for-Future</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh has turned a page in its political history and a new phase of political governments is about to start. This may therefore be a good time to think about the future socio-economic tasks. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_6942ba62cacfe.jpg" length="83345" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2026 14:03:22 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Nazrul Islam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Development. Military Service, PR</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The State Had a Full Year. The Students Never Do.</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/You-Had-a-Full-Year</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/You-Had-a-Full-Year</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Governments have changed. Elections have come and gone. Political narratives have shifted -- sometimes dramatically. Yet NCTB has remained reliably unable to perform its most basic function. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_695513bb3b8f3.jpg" length="111669" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 17:26:30 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Omar Shehab</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Textbooks, Accountability, Education, NCTB</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Is Jamaat Using NCP as a Secular Shield?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/is-jamaat-using-ncp-as-a-secular-shield</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/is-jamaat-using-ncp-as-a-secular-shield</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ If NCP grows too strong, it risks becoming a genuine rival. My sense is that Jamaat has neither the intention to reform itself nor the willingness to allow such growth. Jamaat will remain the benchmark of right-wing politics in Bangladesh, while exploiting the NCP whenever a secular shield becomes necessary. The greatest casualty of this alliance will be July itself. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_69538e76b019d.jpg" length="28554" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2025 14:37:31 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Tuhin Khan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>NCP, Jamaat, Coalition</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>How Bangladesh Can Rebuild Its Skills to Build the World</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/From-Chance-to-Design</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/From-Chance-to-Design</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ What is being proposed is a National Education &amp; Skills Master Plan -- not a document, but an operating system. Its core rule is brutally simple: no training exists unless it maps to a destination country, a verified certification standard, and a real wage ladder. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_695278c80c548.jpg" length="47050" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Dec 2025 13:05:52 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Kawsar Chowdhury</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Skills, Migration, Training</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Rage Was Economic, Not Political</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-the-Rage</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-the-Rage</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The critics are right: the system is unjust. But addressing anger without repairing the economic wiring that produces it has only ever muted the noise. We are not risking a tinderbox. We are responsible for the one we are already living in. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_6950e6b07876a.jpg" length="52710" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 28 Dec 2025 14:14:39 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Saba El Kabir</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>July Uprising, Youth, Jobs, Unemployment, Anger</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>When Bangladesh’s Demographic Dividend Turns Into a Curse</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/When-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Demographic</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/When-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Demographic</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ This demographic dividend becomes a curse when policy fails to match demography. The interim government’s focus on political stabilization overshadows economic planning, leaving youth unemployed and restless. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_69429619b2fff.jpg" length="44360" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 28 Dec 2025 11:43:42 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>M.K.Aaref</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Youth, Employment, Unemployment</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Bangladesh Cannot Afford to Underinvest in Cultural Diplomacy Any Longer</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Bangladesh-Cannot-Afford-to-Underinvest-in-Cultural-Diplomacy-Any-Longer</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Bangladesh-Cannot-Afford-to-Underinvest-in-Cultural-Diplomacy-Any-Longer</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ What Bangladesh lacks is not culture, talent, or stories -- but the vision and infrastructure to translate them into sustained soft power ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_694a25e7c587d.jpg" length="102262" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 19:14:50 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Atif Ahmed Choudhury</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Soft Power</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Democratization of Human Rights Violations</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Democratization-of-Human</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Democratization-of-Human</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The authoritarian habits cultivated over a decade and a half did not disappear with the fall of a government; they seeped into the public bloodstream. When state violence takes a step back, social violence often steps forward. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_6947e7f04dd94.jpg" length="46099" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 18:31:27 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>H.M. Nazmul Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Mobs, Crossfire, Assailants</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Rivers as Sovereignty: Bangladesh Must Reclaim Its Water Future</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Rivers-as-Sovereignty</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Rivers-as-Sovereignty</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ We cannot build the Bangladesh we envision -- democratic, just, climate-resilient -- while accepting manufactured water scarcity as inevitable. The rivers that created Bengal sustain us still -- but only if we fight to reclaim them. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_6942aa042f39b.jpg" length="154331" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 18 Dec 2025 06:03:07 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Farhana Sultana</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Farraka, Teesta, Rivers</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Time to Focus on Internal Security</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/time-to-focus-on-internal-security</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/time-to-focus-on-internal-security</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh needs to develop a national security strategy that forms the basis for decisions on the investments that will be needed to properly train and equip civilian law enforcement agencies, who need to be depoliticized and professionalized, as well as the country’s armed forces.     ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_693fab0e9d8b5.jpg" length="51150" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2025 06:24:14 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jon Danilowicz</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Terrorism, Election</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Peace Is Still an Illusion For Palestine</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Peace-Is-Stiil-an-Illusion</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Peace-Is-Stiil-an-Illusion</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Without accountability, restraint, and a genuine recommitment to Palestinian sovereignty, the truce will remain a mirage -- and peace a far cry ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_69350e1153127.jpg" length="66155" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Dec 2025 11:01:44 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mustafa Kamal Rusho</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Israel, Palestine</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Nano&#45;Loan Trap: Inside Bangladesh’s Fintech Fraud Boom</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Nano-Loan-Trap</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Nano-Loan-Trap</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ As Bangladesh embraces digital credit, scammers and unregulated apps are turning instant loans into instruments of fear -- exposing a system moving faster than its laws. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_6935337dd3ca1.jpg" length="84097" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Dec 2025 13:56:28 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Isthiaq Mohammod</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Is the Judiciary in Bangladesh Truly Independent?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Is-the-Judiciary</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Is-the-Judiciary</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ True judicial independence cannot rest on the discretion of one office, no matter how elevated. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202511/image_870x580_692beb93e8818.jpg" length="110739" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 13:01:29 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Salah Uddin Bhuiyan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Judicial system, reform</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Should Former IGP Mamun Walk?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Can-an-Approver-Still-Be-an-Accused</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Can-an-Approver-Still-Be-an-Accused</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Can an Approver still be an accused in the Hasina case? It is difficult to defend the proposition that a person who has been formally pardoned, can remain in law an accused for the same conduct. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202511/image_870x580_692c07cb03813.jpg" length="53610" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2025 14:46:05 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Khan Khalid Adnan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>ICT, Sheikh Hasina, Death Penalty</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>No, Dhaka Is Not At Risk of a 9.0 Earthquake That Would Liquefy the City</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/no-dhaka-is-not-at-risk-of-a-90-earthquake-that-would-liquefy-the-city</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/no-dhaka-is-not-at-risk-of-a-90-earthquake-that-would-liquefy-the-city</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Dhaka’s earthquake threat lies in poor construction, not geology. We need to be concerned about and plan soberly for what would happen if a 6.0 quake hits instead of catastrophizing doomsday scenarios. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202511/image_870x580_692963e77634e.jpg" length="98620" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 30 Nov 2025 11:53:37 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Asifur Rahman Khan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Dhaka, Earthquake</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Is India Bound to Extradite Sheikh Hasina?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/After-the-Death-Verdict</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/After-the-Death-Verdict</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The India-Bangladesh Extradition Treaty allows either country to request extradition with an arrest warrant and a conviction. Procedurally, Bangladesh meets the threshold: Hasina has been convicted and sentenced. On paper, this gives Dhaka a strong case. But extradition is never just about procedure. It hinges on interpretation -- and political will. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202511/image_870x580_6921ab38b739d.jpg" length="60060" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 24 Nov 2025 13:00:08 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Salah Uddin Bhuiyan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Sheikh Hasina, Verdict, India, Death Penalty</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>A Verdict That Weakens Justice and Strengthens India’s Hand</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/A-Verdict-That-Weakens-Justice</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/A-Verdict-That-Weakens-Justice</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ In the end, this is not merely about the fate of one leader. It is about whether Bangladesh chooses a future built on due process and political inclusion, or one defined by courtroom theatrics and punitive exclusion. Right now, the scales are tilted dangerously toward the latter. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202511/image_870x580_69229536ead1e.jpg" length="48918" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 24 Nov 2025 11:02:17 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Ashok Swain</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Sheikh Hasina, Verdict, India, Death Penalty</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>COP30 Needs To Put People First</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/make-cop30-about-human-welfare</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/make-cop30-about-human-welfare</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The time is long over due to drop the fixation on inefficient net zero targets and double down on adaptation to drive green energy breakthroughs ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202511/image_870x580_691045893ab36.jpg" length="69311" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2025 13:42:42 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Bjorn Lomborg</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>COP20, Global Warming, Climate Change, Bill Gates</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>A New Bangladesh Must be Built on New Ideas</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/%E2%80%9CLets-find-something-new%E2%80%9D</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/%E2%80%9CLets-find-something-new%E2%80%9D</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ As we chart our future as an innovating nation, we must ask ourselves: Will we continue to be a nation that tolerates and even encourages heresy, heterodoxy and esoterism, or will we ignore the lessons of history and become a closed society, one that is hostile to new ideas? ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202511/image_870x580_690b654289a56.jpg" length="59166" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 13:11:50 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Syed Akhtar Mahmood</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Economy, Innovation</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>A Question of Trust</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/A-Question-of-Public-Trust</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/A-Question-of-Public-Trust</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Why is Bangladesh rushing a typhoid vaccine lacking sufficient -- in fact any -- efficacy data? This level of irresponsibility is unacceptable. We have the capacity to supply good-quality vaccines for the protection of our children, and this should be a national priority. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202510/image_870x580_68fdaa177ddb6.jpg" length="54527" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 26 Oct 2025 10:57:19 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Rezaul Karim, Jubayer Rahman, and Mohammad Sorowar Hossain</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Typhoid, Interim Government, Vaccine</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>India’s Foreign Policy and the Game Theory of Power</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/India%E2%80%99s-Foreign-Policy-and-the-Game-Theory-of-Power</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/India%E2%80%99s-Foreign-Policy-and-the-Game-Theory-of-Power</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ India has made non-alignment and multi-lateralism the cornerstone of its foreign policy since independence. But now the time may be coming when it will have to choose a side. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202505/image_870x580_68305547b3b87.jpg" length="80012" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Fri, 24 Oct 2025 11:29:55 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Saif Sayeem</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>India</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Impossible Yes/No Binary</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Impossible-Yes</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Impossible-Yes</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ How a Flawed Referendum Risks National Division ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202510/image_870x580_68f31114e4bf5.jpg" length="35291" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sat, 18 Oct 2025 09:42:14 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Syed Hasibuddin Hussain</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Referendum</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Dignity for Victims, Respect for the Armed Forces of Bangladesh</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Dignity-for-Victims</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Dignity-for-Victims</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ In the eyes of the law, liability is personal. A uniform is not a cloak of impunity, nor does the language of the law permit targeting the uniform to put an entire institution in the dock. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202510/image_870x580_68ee059f190e3.jpg" length="172654" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 12 Oct 2025 16:32:19 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Asif Bin Ali</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Army, ICT</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Killers Cannot Hide Behind the Uniform</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/killers-cannot-hide-behind-the-uniform</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/killers-cannot-hide-behind-the-uniform</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ There can be no mercy for those who were involved in enforced disappearances or extrajudicial killings. They must be brought to justice. Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to their victims. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202510/image_870x580_68e890818b1c3.jpg" length="56409" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Fri, 10 Oct 2025 10:50:44 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Faham Abdus Salam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Extrajudicial killing, Army</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Health Equity Must Be at the Heart of Bangladesh’s Democratic Transition</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Health-Equity-Must-Be-at-the-Heart-of-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Democratic-Transition</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Health-Equity-Must-Be-at-the-Heart-of-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Democratic-Transition</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Health equity is the difference between a child getting antibiotics or dying from an infection. It is the difference between a woman surviving childbirth or bleeding to death. This is a moral test for the kind of nation we want to become. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202508/image_870x580_68982c2ab7dc9.jpg" length="43379" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 10 Aug 2025 04:59:56 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Shamaruh Mirza</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Healthcare</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Reflections from Capitol Hill: A Year On in Washington and Dhaka</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Reflections-from-Capitol-Hill%3A-A-Year-On-in-Washington-and-Dhaka</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Reflections-from-Capitol-Hill%3A-A-Year-On-in-Washington-and-Dhaka</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ One year after the July Revolution, the path ahead is still being shaped. The violence, sacrifice, and demands of the Bangladeshi people must not be forgotten or undermined. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202508/image_870x580_688f87fd0d9ab.jpg" length="125129" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 03 Aug 2025 06:49:49 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Farhana Sultana</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>July Uprising, July Revolution, United States</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>A Defining Moment for Bangladesh–US Trade: From Tariff Turbulence to Strategic Triumph</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/a-defining-moment-for-bangladeshus-trade-from-tariff-turbulence-to-strategic-triumph</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/a-defining-moment-for-bangladeshus-trade-from-tariff-turbulence-to-strategic-triumph</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The tariff deal is a diplomatic win that signals a larger Indo-Pacific power shift, avoids economic fallout, and proves that while Trump’s tariffs worked, so did Dhaka’s relentless resolve to secure a better deal ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202507/image_870x580_6868c5f030fec.jpg" length="56579" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 03 Aug 2025 04:50:19 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Zahid F. Sarder</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Second Tariff War: A New Dawn for Bangladesh&amp;apos;s Export Ambitions</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/the-second-tariff-war-a-new-dawn-for-bangladeshs-export-ambitions</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/the-second-tariff-war-a-new-dawn-for-bangladeshs-export-ambitions</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The Interim Government must act with a sense of urgency to make Bangladesh the reliable, skilled, and diverse hub that the disrupted global economy is now seeking. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202507/image_870x580_68835b2b46320.jpg" length="106835" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2025 09:15:48 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Kawsar Chowdhury</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Empowerment or Tokenism? Rethinking Women’s Representation in Bangladesh Politics</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Empowerment-or-Tokenism-Rethinking-Women%E2%80%99s-Representation-in-Bangladesh-Politics</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Empowerment-or-Tokenism-Rethinking-Women%E2%80%99s-Representation-in-Bangladesh-Politics</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ We need women in politics, but reserved seats are not the way. A better solution would be to mandate 33% nomination quota for each party. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202506/image_870x580_68510e8228fae.jpg" length="46371" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 24 Jun 2025 06:01:54 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Shamaruh Mirza</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Who Leads the Leaders?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/who-leads-the-leaders</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/who-leads-the-leaders</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ As the Chief Advisor prepares to meet with Keir Starmer in the UK, it is worth looking at how the two men are similar, how they differ, and what lessons each can learn from the other. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202506/image_870x580_684594987c6c7.jpg" length="84766" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jun 2025 13:48:27 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Niaz Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Chief Advisor, Prof Yunus, Keir Starmer</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Export Dreams On Hold: How Bonded Reform Is Leaving SMEs Behind</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/export-dreams-on-hold-why-bonded-reform-is-leaving-smes-behind</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/export-dreams-on-hold-why-bonded-reform-is-leaving-smes-behind</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Export-led growth should be a movement -- not a monopoly. If we want the next generation of Bangladeshi exporters to rise, we need to trust them, back them financially, and give them the tools -- not traps -- to succeed. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202506/image_870x580_683ee05f9dfd7.jpg" length="26496" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 03 Jun 2025 10:56:52 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Kawsar Chowdhury</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Exports, SME, Budget</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Shut Down Bhasan Char Now</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/shut-down-bhasan-char-now</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/shut-down-bhasan-char-now</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bhasan Char is a symbol of the corruption and cronyism of the last regime, a so-called humanitarian scheme that served only to line the pockets of the powerful. The Interim Government can do the right thing by making a clean break from Sheikh Hasina&#039;s most disastrous Rohingya policy. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202506/image_870x580_683c0bf856801.jpg" length="64272" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 01 Jun 2025 08:15:44 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Shafiur Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Retail Investors Versus Dhaka Stock Exchange</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/retail-investors-versus-dhaka-stock-exchange</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/retail-investors-versus-dhaka-stock-exchange</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ It&#039;s true that retail investors are part of the problem with the stock market. But the DSE and the rules of the game aren&#039;t helping. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202505/image_870x580_682dbabd6a569.jpg" length="85616" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 21 May 2025 09:30:51 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sayeed Ibrahim Ahmed</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Expensive Green Delusion</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/the-expensive-green-delusion</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/the-expensive-green-delusion</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Think that cheap solar and wind is taking over from fossil fuels? Think again. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202505/image_870x580_682db845942cd.jpg" length="37855" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 21 May 2025 09:07:49 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Bjorn Lomborg</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Green Energy, Solar, Wind, Renewable</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Much ado about nothing (much)?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/much-ado-about-nothing-much</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/much-ado-about-nothing-much</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh’s debate about a humanitarian corridor highlight broader issues ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202505/image_870x580_68199d095f13f.jpg" length="66826" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 14 May 2025 08:42:32 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jon Danilowicz</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Rohingya, Humanitarian Corridor</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>A new year’s resolution for progress: Focus on what works</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/a-new-years-resolution-for-progress-focus-on-what-works</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/a-new-years-resolution-for-progress-focus-on-what-works</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ As we approach the new year, we need to stop chasing grand lists of unachievable goals and focus on what’s working ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202505/image_870x580_681b459d805d0.jpg" length="182348" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 May 2025 11:36:16 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Bjorn Lomborg</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

</channel>
</rss>