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<title>Counterpoint &#45; : Policy</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/rss/category/policy-10</link>
<description>Counterpoint &#45; : Policy</description>
<dc:language>en</dc:language>
<dc:rights>Copyright 2025 counterpoint&#45; All Rights Reserved.</dc:rights>

<item>
<title>The Unfinished Promise of Police Reform</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Unfinished-Promise</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Unfinished-Promise</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Abu Sayed&#039;s killing -- and the statement later made by the police officer convicted of his murder -- did not simply expose failures in the conduct of individual officers. Together, they illuminated deeper structural weaknesses within policing and compelled the nation to confront fundamental questions about accountability, professionalism, and the relationship between the police and the public. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202607/image_870x580_6a589874ac64d.jpg" length="121359" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 20 Jul 2026 14:38:24 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>MD. Zarif Rahman and Opshora Islam Tondra</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>July Uprising, Abu Sayed, Police Police Reform</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Let&amp;apos;s Get Real on Taxes</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/lets-get-real-on-taxes</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/lets-get-real-on-taxes</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Taxation is not simply about extracting more money from society. It is about defining the relationship between the state and its citizens. Countries do not become middle-income merely because they collect more taxes. They succeed when taxation strengthens the social contract rather than weakens it. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202607/image_870x580_6a533c2ce7dba.jpg" length="52787" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2026 14:03:17 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mohammad A. Rab</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>GDP, Tax</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Doctor on the Motorbike</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/the-doctor-on-the-motorbike</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/the-doctor-on-the-motorbike</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The image of Aall remains striking precisely because he was an outlier. He did not speak the language of diplomatic balance. He spoke about calories, mortality and responsibility. He insisted that humanitarian action was not morally neutral when people were dying. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202607/image_870x580_6a5362529f7bc.jpg" length="84551" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 12 Jul 2026 15:49:43 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Shafiur Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Dr Cato Aall, History, Humanitarian failure, Rohingya</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Diplomacy Afresh: H.E. Dinesh Trivedi</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Diplomacy-Afresh%3A-H.E.-Dinesh-Trivedi</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Diplomacy-Afresh%3A-H.E.-Dinesh-Trivedi</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ It is prudent for the Indian government to appoint H.E. Dinesh Trivedi, a former politician, as the High Commissioner to Bangladesh at a time when relations between the two countries are experiencing turbulence over the ouster of the last government.  ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202606/image_870x580_6a3cc5c94e043.jpg" length="585118" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Jun 2026 11:57:30 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jaglul Ahmed</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>India bangladesh, diplomatic policy, 1947 partition, push in, India, Bangladesh</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Case of the Garo Community</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/the-case-of-the-garo-community</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/the-case-of-the-garo-community</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh cannot claim to protect cultural diversity while systematically demolishing the indigenous land system that supports that culture. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202606/image_870x580_6a3ba217c8761.jpg" length="107912" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2026 16:40:20 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Muhammad Asadullah, Mohammad Azizur Rahman,  Ritu Sen Gupta &amp; Fateema Tuz Zahra</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Cultural Diversity, Indigenous Communities</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Why the Dollar Remains Inevitable</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-Dollar-Remains-Inevitable</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-Dollar-Remains-Inevitable</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Stability is not achieved through currency redesign, but through effective liquidity coordination and risk management within the existing global monetary framework. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202606/image_870x580_6a37721b5dc40.jpg" length="142930" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2026 11:05:38 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Tashzid Reza</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Dollars, payment</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Missing Number in the Budget</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Missing-Number</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Missing-Number</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The first BNP budget allocates billions for growth, infrastructure, and social protection. But its success will ultimately be judged by whether it creates employment for Bangladesh&#039;s growing workforce. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202606/image_870x580_6a3249cf16a55.jpg" length="377911" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 Jun 2026 13:09:08 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mohammad A. Rab</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>budget, bangladesh employment, budget for jobs, BNP budget</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Shroud of Sexism over Parliament</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Shroud-of-Sexism</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Shroud-of-Sexism</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ A parliament is not a place to demean women for their Islamic attire; its primary mandate is to protect and uphold the rights of every citizen. Failing to do so violates the democratic principles that the very institution was built to safeguard. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202606/image_870x580_6a33a633a3e2e.jpg" length="66886" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2026 18:03:15 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Zeenat Khan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Monirul Islam Chowdhury, MP, Sexism</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The One Percent Imperative</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-1-Imperative</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-1-Imperative</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Why Bangladesh&#039;s failure is architectural, and what its remedy actually requires ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202606/image_870x580_6a2f8fa3b0f7b.jpg" length="94058" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 Jun 2026 11:45:54 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Shah Yunus and Zunaid Kazi</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>South Korea, Dubai, Corruption</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Green Blueprint</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Green-Blueprint%3A-Why-Climate-Resilience-Must-Anchor-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Future-Development</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Green-Blueprint%3A-Why-Climate-Resilience-Must-Anchor-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Future-Development</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Let us move beyond the annual rhetoric of a single calendar day. Let us embed environmental resilience into the DNA of our national growth, ensuring a safe, prosperous, and liveable homeland for generations to come. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202606/image_870x580_6a253ad70255c.jpg" length="235044" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:34:06 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Faysal Kabir Shuvo</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Padma Barrage Project, Ganges-Padma basin</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Distance Between the Page and the Street</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/the-distance-between-the-page-and-the-street</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/the-distance-between-the-page-and-the-street</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh’s future depends not just on dismantling authoritarian systems, but on building institutions resilient enough to safeguard rights, mediate conflict, and hold power, whoever holds it, accountable. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202506/image_870x580_683c0bf856801.jpg" length="64272" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2026 18:02:07 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mohammad A. Rab</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Human rights, Mob</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Time to Add Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity to the List</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Time-to-Add</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Time-to-Add</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ If a hostile landlord evicts us from our rented housing, or if an institution terminates our employment based on proven discrimination, we will be able look toward our Constitution with hope for reassurance and justice. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202606/image_870x580_6a2537c5466bc.jpg" length="67826" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2026 15:20:12 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Riaz Osmani</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>July Charter, Constitution, LGBTQ</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Border Still Bleeds</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/the-border-still-bleeds</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/the-border-still-bleeds</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ 56 previous conferences have produced 56 joint records. The 57th record will be written in New Delhi over four days beginning June 8. It will either mark the beginning of a different kind of diplomacy, one in which Bangladesh’s written commitments mean something and India’s violations carry consequences, or it will confirm that the pattern has been accepted as permanent. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202606/image_870x580_6a252fbf8ff5a.jpg" length="65164" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2026 14:46:04 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jannatul Naym Pieal</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>BGB, BSF, India, BJP, West Bengal</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Republic vs State</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Republic-vs-State</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Republic-vs-State</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ If South Asia wants its uprisings to mean more than a change of management, it has to stop mistaking collapse for transformation. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202606/image_870x580_6a2551a5e15ff.jpg" length="39624" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 14:56:43 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Apurba Jahangir</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>July Charter, Referendum</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Mnemonicide of a Crocodile</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Mnemonicide-of-a-Crocodile</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Mnemonicide-of-a-Crocodile</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ When a person dies at a railway crossing, we do not abolish the railways. When a pilgrim is trampled at a religious gathering, we do not demolish the shrine. We install gates. We create safety protocols. We manage risk. In Bagerhat, none of this was attempted. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202606/image_870x580_6a2149e642fef.jpg" length="74208" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:49:32 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Zakir Kibria</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Khan Jahan Ali shrine, Sufi mazar</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Justice That Can Produce a Judicially Sound Precedent</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Justice-That-Can-Produce-a-Judicially-Sound-Precedent</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Justice-That-Can-Produce-a-Judicially-Sound-Precedent</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The legal proceedings unfolding after Ramisa Akhter’s rape, beheading, and murder should be anchored in a fundamental jurisprudential principle and not be designed to appease public emotion: Even in a high-profile case where guilt appears certain, due process is not a concession to the accused, but a guardrail protecting the integrity of the criminal justice system. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202606/image_870x580_6a1d8b92e6997.jpg" length="63435" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2026 19:40:14 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mir Aftabuddin Ahmed</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Ramisa Akhter, Child Sexual Abuse, Bangladesh Legal System, Criminal Justice</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Twenty Priorities, One Reality</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Twenty-Priorities%2C-One-Reality</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Twenty-Priorities%2C-One-Reality</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The most important reforms, including tax modernization, banking-sector restructuring, and stronger central bank independence, remain incomplete. The coming budget will therefore be more than a financial document. It will be the first serious indication of whether the government intends to match cautious rhetoric with sustained reform. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202605/image_870x580_6a0eacbb7e93f.jpg" length="89495" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 16:58:01 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mohammad A. Rab</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>VAT, IMF, Exports</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Why Bangladesh Needs a Layered Approach to Truth, Justice, and Healing</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Beyond-One-Event%3A-Why-Bangladesh-Needs-a-Layered-Approach-to-Truth%2C-Justice%2C-and-Healing</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Beyond-One-Event%3A-Why-Bangladesh-Needs-a-Layered-Approach-to-Truth%2C-Justice%2C-and-Healing</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ When institutions operate without transparency or accountability, they forfeit their legitimacy and become the very source of the wounds they were meant to heal. For the post-uprising state to heal the nation, it must first heal itself, by dismantling these deeply rooted practices of exception and institutionalized violence. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202605/image_870x580_6a0428eb056df.jpg" length="52583" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 17 May 2026 13:32:05 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Md. Zarif Rahman and Durdana Chowdhury</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>July 2024, Liberation War, RAB</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Rooppur Meter is Running. The Electricity is Not.</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/the-rooppur-meter-is-running-the-electricity-is-not</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/the-rooppur-meter-is-running-the-electricity-is-not</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ After the 2024 uprising, there was a genuine window to order a forensic audit of Rooppur&#039;s finances. That window was not used. The interim government moved on. The contracting architecture remained intact. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202605/image_870x580_69fedc3de54eb.jpg" length="95499" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 11 May 2026 17:59:34 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mahtab Mashuq Tonmoy</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Russia, India, Rooppur</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>An Open Letter to the Hon’ble Foreign Minister</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/An-Open-Letter-to-the-Hon%E2%80%99ble-Foreign-Minister-of-Bangladesh</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/An-Open-Letter-to-the-Hon%E2%80%99ble-Foreign-Minister-of-Bangladesh</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The compact’s energy architecture amplifies rather than mitigates geopolitical shock exposure. A rational energy-security doctrine would diversify suppliers, transit routes, and contract structures; this agreement funnels us toward a single, unbuilt source over which we possess zero strategic control. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202605/image_870x580_6a00480764bea.jpg" length="60469" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 11 May 2026 14:56:10 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Zakir Kibria</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>US, Vietnam, India, Energy, Exports</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Can Bangladesh Build a People&#45;Centric Bureaucracy?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Can-Bangladesh-Build-a-People-Centric-Bureaucracy</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Can-Bangladesh-Build-a-People-Centric-Bureaucracy</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The path ahead is neither simple nor short. Decades of accumulated practices cannot be undone overnight. Yet the absence of immediate transformation should not become a justification for inaction. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202605/image_870x580_69f6f09ed9b9c.jpg" length="52756" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 05 May 2026 17:00:38 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>H.M. Nazmul Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Bureaucracy, Administration</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Is the US&#45;Bangladesh Trade Deal the Best We Can Do?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/is-the-us-bangladesh-trade-deal-the-best-we-can-do</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/is-the-us-bangladesh-trade-deal-the-best-we-can-do</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ US remains Bangladesh’s single-most important export market, major source of FDI and a key development partner. US is also a market with substantive export potentials as far as Bangladesh was concerned. Remaining engaged with the US should be the way to go forward. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69e47b69d7b16.jpg" length="105556" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 12:52:35 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mustafizur Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>US, Trade, Trade Deal, Tariffs</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Time Is Now Ripe For Reform</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/the-time-is-now-ripe-for-reform</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/the-time-is-now-ripe-for-reform</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ I am hoping against hope that the issue of LGBT rights in Bangladesh can be viewed by most people in the country through the lenses of anti-discrimination and not through that of any special rights, and certainly not through any notions of promotion. There is nothing to promote here. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69d78402614c7.jpg" length="207360" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:33:47 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Riaz Osmani</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>LGBT Rights, Constitutional Reform, Penal Code</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>10 Questions for Bobby Hajjaj</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/10-questions-for-bobby-hajjaj</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/10-questions-for-bobby-hajjaj</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The education system of Bangladesh is not merely a ministry. It is one of the largest social systems in the world. Running such a system is not simply a policy challenge. It is an administrative challenge of almost unimaginable scale. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69b650a7af1fb.jpg" length="85078" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 19 Mar 2026 12:25:20 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Omar Shehab</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>National Education Policy, Ministry of Education, Bobby Hajjaj</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Myth of Rohingya Aid Dependency</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Myth-of-Rohingya-%E2%80%9CAid-Dependency%E2%80%9D</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Myth-of-Rohingya-%E2%80%9CAid-Dependency%E2%80%9D</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The Rohingya are not “fully dependent” on anyone. They are dependent only to the extent that they have been made dependent -- by design, by policy, and by a system that manages dependency rather than ending it. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69b64b21a18dc.jpg" length="109525" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 17 Mar 2026 12:01:46 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Shafiur Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Rohingya, Myanmar, Cox&#039;s Bazar</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Judicial Reform Scheme &#45;&#45; From Plan to Practice</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Judicial-Reform-Scheme</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Judicial-Reform-Scheme</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Comprehensive reform of the judicial system has emerged as a major national demand. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_69366fcd9ef14.jpg" length="94615" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 15:36:16 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Millat Hossain</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Independence Day, Liberation War</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Grameen University and the Global Future of Social Business Education</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Grameen-University-and-the-Global-Future</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Grameen-University-and-the-Global-Future</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ While the university’s roots lie in Bangladesh, its ambitions are unmistakably global. The challenges that social businesses seek to address -- poverty, environmental sustainability, access to healthcare, and economic inclusion -- are universal. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69afabdfd548e.jpg" length="116766" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:00:22 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Serajul I. Bhuiyan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Grameen University</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Women’s Empowerment: Time to Implement the Promises in the Manifesto</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Women%E2%80%99s-Empowerment</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Women%E2%80%99s-Empowerment</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ As the BNP is now the ruling party in Bangladesh, there is a growing expectation that it will implement the commitments it made in its platform. While women represent 50.83% of Bangladesh&#039;s population, their rights continue to be threatened by violence, limited political participation, and social restrictions. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69ad06b8a1034.jpg" length="80915" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 08 Mar 2026 12:10:26 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Subail Bin Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Ziaur Rahman, Khaleda Zia, BNP, Manifesto, Women&#039;s Day</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Can BNP Deliver a Bangladesh&#45;First Foreign Policy?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/can-bnp-deliver-a-bangladesh-first-foreign-policy</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/can-bnp-deliver-a-bangladesh-first-foreign-policy</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh is a small fish in a big pond. Mr. Rahman must show enough courage to defend the country’s sovereignty while recognizing Bangladesh’s limits and acting rationally as a national statesman: That requires him not to design foreign policy based on whatever the prevalent mood is on social media. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69a67f66f1015.jpg" length="77643" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 03 Mar 2026 12:28:05 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mir Aftabuddin Ahmed</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Bangladesh, USA, China, Tarique Rahman, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Foreign Policy, Khalil</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Other Side of the Remittance Story</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-other-side</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-other-side</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Remittance inflows are not merely a function of diaspora goodwill or seasonal rituals; they are the mirror image of confidence in the domestic market’s fairness and functionality. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_698823db68fa3.jpg" length="56197" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 25 Feb 2026 11:49:29 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Tashzid Reza</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Remittance, Hundi</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The House That Divides Us: Building a Nation from the Rubble of Victory</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-House-That-Divides-Us</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-House-That-Divides-Us</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ BNP has to govern not merely as the winner of an election but as the steward of a divided nation. Jamaat-e-Islami has to act as a parliamentary opposition, not as a liberation war revision society. The international community has to support democratic consolidation, not strategic alignment. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_698fffc5abebc.jpg" length="30737" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sat, 14 Feb 2026 10:53:44 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Zakir Kibria</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>BNP, Awami League, July Charter</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Why Minority Safety Is Essential for Fair Elections and Democratic Bangladesh</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/When-Transitions-Become-Moments-of-Fear</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/When-Transitions-Become-Moments-of-Fear</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ With the election scheduled to take place in the coming days, the need to heighten and strengthen protective measures is now immediate and critical. Preventive security, early warning, and community engagement efforts must be intensified not only on polling day but throughout the pre-election and post-election period, particularly over the next month, when risks of retaliation and intimidation have historically been highest. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_698b0e67968e9.jpg" length="65958" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 11 Feb 2026 16:55:09 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Opshora Islam Tondra, MD. Zarif Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Elections, Minorities</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Problem with the Referendum</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/problem-with-referendum</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/problem-with-referendum</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ What we have here is selective presentation designed to secure approval through incomplete information. The ballot emphasizes what is popular; the fine print includes what is contentious. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_698777b6e6d9c.jpg" length="35291" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sat, 07 Feb 2026 17:44:39 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Ryan Kabir</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Referendum, July Charter</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Teesta Without Tripwires</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Teesta-Without-Tripwires</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Teesta-Without-Tripwires</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Whatever the causes, Bangladesh cannot wait indefinitely. It must build damage-reducing infrastructure without delay. This does not replace a water-sharing settlement; it reduces damage while politics drags on, and it must be designed with geo-politics in mind. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_697f444c024af.jpg" length="115909" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 11:00:30 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Nazrul Islam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Teesta, Bangladesh</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Will Turning Korail Into a High&#45;Rise Solve the Problem? Not So Fast.</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-Bangladesh-Cannot-%E2%80%98Solve%E2%80%99-Slums-with-High-Rises%3A-The-Korail-Test</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-Bangladesh-Cannot-%E2%80%98Solve%E2%80%99-Slums-with-High-Rises%3A-The-Korail-Test</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The Korail high-rise promise is not just a construction project. It is a governance challenge shaped by misaligned incentives, fragmented land control, extreme density, contested beneficiary selection, weak tenure enforcement, and post move-in affordability. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_697ee09a3b538.jpg" length="529577" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2026 12:17:28 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mariha Tahsin</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Korail, Slum, Dhaka</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Ganges Treaty and the End of Discretionary Diplomacy</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Hydrological-Realism</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Hydrological-Realism</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Turning water into a nationalist symbol may mobilize sentiment, but it has never produced water -- and it has often delayed the reordering of ties that scarcity now makes unavoidable. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_696cca9b30b6e.jpg" length="91680" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:51:35 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Nazrul Islam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Ganges, India, Indo-Bangladesh Relations, Water</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Time to Put Urban Planning Front and Centre</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Urban-Governance</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Urban-Governance</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh’s current urban planning, development, and management systems are so fragmented, multi- layered, and institutionally weak that administrative restructuring alone will not be sufficient at the moment.  ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_694810f761c80.jpg" length="102842" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 04 Jan 2026 10:24:20 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Md Hasibul Kabir and Dr. Faysal Kabir Shuvo</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Urbanization, Economy, Administration</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>What Made America Great</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/What-Made-America-Great-and-Is-Populism-Now-Crushing-It</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/What-Made-America-Great-and-Is-Populism-Now-Crushing-It</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ America rises not when it restricts, but when it welcomes. So will America again evolve as the land of many voices? Its future, and perhaps much of the world’s, depends on this answer. For America is not merely a country. It is a covenant. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202511/image_870x580_69242f07686d2.jpg" length="217687" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 25 Nov 2025 12:44:54 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Alisha Pradhan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>USA, Immigration, Donald Trump, Mamdani</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Subaltern Women and the Islamic Feminist Turn</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Subaltern-Women-and-the-Islamic-Feminist-Turn%3A-Rethinking-Representation-and-Rights-of-women-in-Bangladesh</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Subaltern-Women-and-the-Islamic-Feminist-Turn%3A-Rethinking-Representation-and-Rights-of-women-in-Bangladesh</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ It&#039;s time to rethink the representation and rights of women in Bangladesh. Should elite secular feminism neglect to recognize and engage with Islamic feminist frameworks, it risks irrelevance or worse. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202510/image_870x580_68ea6cb640326.jpg" length="28829" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 12 Oct 2025 12:04:29 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sharin Shajahan Naomi</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Women&#039;s Rights, Feminism, Islam</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Road to Net&#45;Zero</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/the-road-to-net-zero</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/the-road-to-net-zero</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The important global choice is whether to focus first on the most efficient policies to tackle the world’s most urgent problems of disease, hunger, and poverty, or on the climate concerns of the world’s rich. The world’s poor need billions for health, nutrition and growth, not trillions for inefficient gestures. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202509/image_870x580_68d25ec17d8d8.jpg" length="124502" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 Sep 2025 07:01:13 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Bjorn Lomborg</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Climate Change</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Rethinking Bangladesh’s Rohingya Response</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Rethinking-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Rohingya-Response</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Rethinking-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Rohingya-Response</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh’s model of Rohingya containment is not a temporary holding pattern -- it is politically and economically rewarding for the state. International actors must stop sustaining it. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202509/image_870x580_68c26141de0a7.jpg" length="41779" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Sep 2025 09:16:42 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Shafiur Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Rohingya</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Is the Bangladesh Public Service Commission Dead?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Is-the-Bangladesh-Public-Service-Commission-Dead</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Is-the-Bangladesh-Public-Service-Commission-Dead</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ An institution can perish through through abdication and silence while the house burns. By every meaningful measure -- the ability to reassure the public, to clarify recruitment, to protect fairness -- the PSC has ceased to function. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202509/image_870x580_68b7e90107195.jpg" length="76246" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 03 Sep 2025 06:34:51 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Omar Shehab</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>PSC</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Stairs to Justice</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/THE-STAIRS-TO-JUSTICE</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/THE-STAIRS-TO-JUSTICE</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ When the trial process itself becomes a form of punishment it undermines the very foundation of a just legal system ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202508/image_870x580_689048fedf529.jpg" length="63557" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 03 Aug 2025 10:21:18 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Ehteshamul Haque</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>An Updated Playbook for Trump&amp;apos;s America</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/UBUI-Updated-Playbook%3A-Turning-Tariff-Threat-into-Strategic-Opportunity-Through-A-Bold-U.S.%E2%80%93Bangladesh-Partnership-Agenda</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/UBUI-Updated-Playbook%3A-Turning-Tariff-Threat-into-Strategic-Opportunity-Through-A-Bold-U.S.%E2%80%93Bangladesh-Partnership-Agenda</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ How to turn the tariff threat into a strategic opportunity through a bold US-Bangladesh partnership agenda ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202507/image_870x580_686e0ce74b8aa.jpg" length="716996" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jul 2025 06:30:41 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Asif Ahmed, Shah Chowdhury and Mohammed Mia</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>United States, President Trump, Tariffs, Trade</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Opening Doors, Unlocking Potential</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Opening-Doors-Unlocking-Potential-Overcoming-Hurdles-to-Boost-Bangladeshi-Student-Intake-in-the-US</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Opening-Doors-Unlocking-Potential-Overcoming-Hurdles-to-Boost-Bangladeshi-Student-Intake-in-the-US</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh has a large, talented youth population eager to study and contribute abroad. The US should double its student intake from Bangladesh to tap into this potential, boost its economy, and strengthen long-term partnerships. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202507/image_870x580_686a069d0380b.jpg" length="58939" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 06 Jul 2025 04:35:25 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Kawsar Chowdhury</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>USA, Education</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>How To Reach Consensus On Reform</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/how-to-reach-consensus-in-reform</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/how-to-reach-consensus-in-reform</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The only meaningful item remaining on the reform agenda is whether an Upper House should be based on PR or not. Everything else can be sorted out without difficulty. We are closer to consensus than you think. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202505/image_870x580_68399e6f00afe.jpg" length="41221" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Fri, 30 May 2025 12:03:15 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Zia Hassan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Reform, Election, Upper House, Proportional Representation</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Many Faces of the Digital Divide: Why Access Alone Is Not Enough</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/many-faces-of-the-digital-divide-why-access-alone-is-not-enough</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/many-faces-of-the-digital-divide-why-access-alone-is-not-enough</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Edtech and e-learning are not a silver bullet. They are just one piece of a complex and many-layered puzzle that we need to solve to deliver education to the masses. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202505/image_870x580_683302481da0e.jpg" length="58539" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 25 May 2025 11:43:36 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Md. Zarif Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Digital Divide, Internet, Education, Edtech</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>I have got a job, but …</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/i-have-got-a-job-but</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/i-have-got-a-job-but</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Unlocking opportunity by tackling Bangladesh’s employment challenges ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202505/image_870x580_681b2daaba9cd.jpg" length="228672" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 07 May 2025 09:55:49 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Syed Akhtar Mahmood</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Jobs, Employment</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The reform options</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/the-reform-options</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/the-reform-options</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Assessing various reform ideas that have been floated ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202505/image_870x580_68199874383da.jpg" length="209237" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 May 2025 05:05:06 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jyoti Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Reforms</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The fundamental problem</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/the-fundamental-problem</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/the-fundamental-problem</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Extreme centralization of power made Bangladesh vulnerable to despotism ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202505/image_870x580_6818a66e34fa9.jpg" length="67484" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 May 2025 11:36:40 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jyoti Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Centralization, Power</media:keywords>
</item>

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