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<title>Counterpoint &#45; : Politics</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/rss/category/politics-11</link>
<description>Counterpoint &#45; : Politics</description>
<dc:language>en</dc:language>
<dc:rights>Copyright 2025 counterpoint&#45; All Rights Reserved.</dc:rights>

<item>
<title>The Energy Crisis and the Imminent Rise of the Multipolar World Order</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Multipolar-World-Order</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Multipolar-World-Order</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The final irony of our current moment is that while the world watches the dramatic surface conflicts and the crises that dominate headlines and social media feeds, the deeper system is already adjusting, already adapting, already moving towards a different configuration. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69d4e32e8d3b4.jpg" length="80159" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 14:54:35 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sohel Nadeem Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Iran, USA, Russia</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Two Wings and a Prayer</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Two-Wings-and-a-Prayer</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Two-Wings-and-a-Prayer</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ 55 years ago today, Pakistan as it existed then came to end as the Mujibnagar Government was formally formed. Two generations on, the peoples of the two countries share a common yearning for democracy. On both wings of the erstwhile Pakistan then, a prayer for democracy. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69e138e60dec0.jpg" length="81939" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:35:03 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jyoti Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Bhutto, Ayub Khan, Hasina, Mujibnagar Government</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Iran War and Beyond: Three Exiles, Three Threats, Three Ideas</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Iran-War-and-Beyond%3A-Three-Exiles%2C-Three-Threats%2C-Three-Ideas</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Iran-War-and-Beyond%3A-Three-Exiles%2C-Three-Threats%2C-Three-Ideas</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The economic man treated nature as a storehouse. The social man must learn to treat it as a home -- and eventually, as an authority. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69db7085d991d.jpg" length="163786" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:00:04 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sujaul Khan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Iran War, Gaza, International Order, US Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, Colonialism, Global Governance</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>A User&amp;apos;s Guide to the Un&#45;Governed: The Bangladesh Lexicon</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/A-Users-Guide-to-the-Un-Governed%3A-The-Bangladesh-Lexicon</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/A-Users-Guide-to-the-Un-Governed%3A-The-Bangladesh-Lexicon</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ In 840, the mayor always wins. The machine keeps humming. The tenders keep flowing. But the film exists. Someone made it. Someone watched it. Someone wrote about it. And that, perhaps, is where the next story begins. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69db35bc6ca62.jpg" length="57896" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:07:48 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Zakir Kibria</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Loans, Corruption, Rana Plaza</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Ceasefire That Solves Nothing</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Ceasefire-That-Solves-Nothing</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Ceasefire-That-Solves-Nothing</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ For civilians, of course, the distinction between pause and resolution may seem academic. The absence of immediate violence is a tangible relief. But from a structural perspective, the conditions that produced the war remain unchanged. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69db2c11db5b2.jpg" length="102256" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:22:36 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>H.M. Nazmul Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Iran, Israel, USA, Ceasefire</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Final Nail in the Coffin</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Final-Nail-in-the-Coffin</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Final-Nail-in-the-Coffin</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Former American Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s phrase “unknown unknowns” best captures the near impossibility of predicting what comes next. That said, the ongoing Iran-United States ceasefire,  offers a brief window of opportunity to take stock: A highly precarious, at best partial, cooling-off period in a region that remains very much in turmoil. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69db25edcfe51.jpg" length="73048" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 22:20:29 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mir Aftabuddin Ahmed</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Iran, USA, Pakistan, Tel Aviv, Netanyahu</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Metaphysics of Bangladeshi Democracy</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Metaphysics-of-Bangladeshi-Democracy</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Metaphysics-of-Bangladeshi-Democracy</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ BNP must ensure that the caretaker government system, now revived, is built to last, not as a tool of partisan advantage but as the institutional guarantee that, now and going forward, no government, can close the door on the voters&#039; right to choose their leaders. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69d623f52fbee.jpg" length="86980" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sat, 11 Apr 2026 15:46:37 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Ehteshamul Haque</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>BNP, Democracy, Caretaker Government, Presidency</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Iran Was Never the Target</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Iran-Was-Never-the-Target</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Iran-Was-Never-the-Target</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ From the Strait of Hormuz to the Bay of Bengal, the United States is fighting a war it has never fully declared -- one waged not against Tehran or Caracas, but against the architecture of a Chinese-led economic order. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69d2175c16da1.jpg" length="80092" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 14:05:01 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Muhaimen Siddiquee</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Iran, USA, Strait of Hormuz</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>How Iran is Winning the War</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/how-iran-is-winning-the-war</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/how-iran-is-winning-the-war</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Iran is delivering a master class in asymmetric warfare with real life military, geographic, and economic consequences. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69d355367b308.jpg" length="308200" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 14:00:20 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sohel Nadeem Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Iran, War, US-Israel, Tel-Aviv, Russia, Oil, Strait of Hormuz, Occupied Palestine</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Is Bangladesh the First Collateral Damage?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Is-Bangladesh-the-First</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Is-Bangladesh-the-First</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Already, there are signs of classic crisis behaviour. Panic buying, hoarding, informal resale of fuel at inflated prices, and rising tensions at petrol pumps. These are not the symptoms of a stable system. They are the early tremors of a breakdown in trust. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69d2100e6e019.jpg" length="154495" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 10:40:00 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>H.M. Nazmul Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Iran, USA, Strait of Hormuz, Fuel Crisis</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Democracy Feels Alive Again. But What if We Look Closer?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Democracy-Feels-Alive</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Democracy-Feels-Alive</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ A dual crisis of legitimacy in the opposition and civil society is creating a “twin vacuum” that weakens democratic accountability in Bangladesh ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69c8e4a27ad35.jpg" length="104187" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:37:04 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Md. Zarif Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Bangladesh, Democracy, Opposition</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>How to Tackle the Energy Crisis? Hint: Not Like This.</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Energy-Crisis</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Energy-Crisis</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ A month into the conflict, we have yet to see any meaningful adjustment in fuel prices. Even as international crude prices have skyrocketed, the domestic market remains insulated, standing in stark contrast to almost all other Asian nations, including our neighbors, which have already implemented price hikes. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202604/image_870x580_69ce500c3e192.jpg" length="35023" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 01 Apr 2026 13:29:55 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Rushad Faridi</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Iran-Israel, Hormuz, Oil crisis</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>An Exciting New Start</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/An-Exciting-New-Start</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/An-Exciting-New-Start</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladeshis need to understand who they are and develop the self-confidence necessary to chart their future destiny. Bangladesh is the eighth-largest country in the world by population, it is the 26th-largest economy by GDP-PPP at approximately $1.9 trillion, and one of South Asia&#039;s fastest-growing economies -- with GDP per capita projected to reach $10,850 by the end of 2026. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69c8d6896440a.jpg" length="147135" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:36:55 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Imran Shauket and Jon Danilowicz</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>July 2024, Democracy</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Wait. We Don’t Have a Strategic Petroleum Reserve?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/strategic-petroleum-reserve</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/strategic-petroleum-reserve</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ If Bangladesh builds an SPR, it must not repeat either failure mode: Not scarcity through neglect, and not expansion without scrutiny. That, finally, is the real argument for a Bangladeshi reserve. Not a monument. Not another expensive ribbon-cutting exercise. A shield. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69ca2109635f2.jpg" length="139747" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:55:57 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Omar Shehab</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Oil, Fuel, Iran War, Strait of Hormuz</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The State and the Deep State in Bangladesh</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-State-and-the-Deep-State-in-Bangladesh</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-State-and-the-Deep-State-in-Bangladesh</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Even if we develop our state institutions, there is no guarantee that a ‘Legal Autocrat’ or ‘Constitutional Autocrat’ will not appear in future. The stronger the State, the stronger a Constitutional Autocrat is and the more it may exercise power to prey the public. State becomes a Constitutional handle to a Constitutional Dictator or Fascist. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69bfbb59bf2e6.jpg" length="62921" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 25 Mar 2026 15:50:29 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jalal Mirza</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Deep State, USA, July Revolution</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Why Nepal’s Youth Won and Bangladesh’s Faltered</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-Nepal%E2%80%99s-Youth-Won-and-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Faltered</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-Nepal%E2%80%99s-Youth-Won-and-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Faltered</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh’s political terrain is considerably more rigid. Dynastic narratives continue to exert powerful influence over voter perceptions. The Awami League remains closely associated with the legacy of Sheikh Mujib, while the BNP continues to revolve around the Zia family. In such an environment, new political movements must not only compete with established organizations but also confront deeply embedded historical loyalties. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69c22e2484786.jpg" length="117821" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:50:46 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>H.M. Nazmul Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Balendra Shah, Nepal, Awami League, NCP, Zia</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Elephant in the Room</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-elephant-in-the-room</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-elephant-in-the-room</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ That the stability and sustainability of Bangladesh’s renewed tryst with democracy will depend on how maturely Tarique Rahman deals with the thorny issue of Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69bf9a33791f6.jpg" length="105933" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 22 Mar 2026 10:44:44 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Rehman Sobhan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Awami League, Sheikh Hasina, Modi, Jamaat, BNP, Tarique Rahman, Interim</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Iran War and Resilience of Bangladesh</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Iran-War-and-Resilience-of-Bangladesh</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Iran-War-and-Resilience-of-Bangladesh</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Both the USA and Israel have adopted evasive strategies influenced by various factors, such as diverting attention from the Epstein scandal, preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon despite Iran repeatedly denying its intent through negotiations in Geneva, the potential failure of Trump’s MAGA project, and notably, projecting a false sense of control over Iran before Trump’s visit to China to gain bargaining leverage. The length of the conflict will depend on the conflicting attitudes of the USA and Iran’s determination to withstand the war. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69b65583d271c.jpg" length="69620" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 15:41:06 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jaglul Ahmed</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Iran, Israel, America</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Nepal Elections Aftermath: Schadenfreude, Hopes and Apprehensions</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Nepal-Elections-Aftermath</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Nepal-Elections-Aftermath</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ As the new representatives go about setting up a government (which, the way the cumbersome Nepali system is structured, might be two weeks away in mid-March), it is now time for reflections, analyses and speculation. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69b26c5bd9995.jpg" length="87149" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sat, 14 Mar 2026 13:34:09 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Dipak Gyawali</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Kangress, Gen Z, New Delhi, RSP, RPP</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Coups, Countercoups, and the Politics of Power</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Coups%2C-Countercoups%2C-and-the-Politics-of-Power</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Coups%2C-Countercoups%2C-and-the-Politics-of-Power</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Coups are not accidents. They are outcomes of institutional design shaped by fear, mistrust, and the imperative of survival. Bangladesh’s history, from 1975’s cascading coups to 2007’s indirect intervention, shows how the struggle to control the guardians of the state can redefine politics itself. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69b1443229e3e.jpg" length="91839" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2026 15:00:26 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Nafew Sajed Joy</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Military, Coups, Countercoups</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>When Elephants Fight, It is the Grass that Suffers</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/When-Elephants-Fight</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/When-Elephants-Fight</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ It is often said that there is no personal loss to the architects of war. That statement may be rhetorically exaggerated, yet it captures an essential imbalance. Decision-makers operate at a distance from the battlefield. Their families are rarely in the line of fire. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202603/image_870x580_69a7df5a2f6de.jpg" length="116297" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 04 Mar 2026 13:16:11 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>H.M. Nazmul Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>USA, Israel, Iran</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Nine Reasons Jamaat Missed Its Moment</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Between-Hype-and-Reality</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Between-Hype-and-Reality</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ On the question of 1971 and apology, Jamaat’s tone was arrogant. Had they shown even minimal reconciliation, people might have celebrated August 5’s victory with them on the election day, specially given their alliance with the student movement. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_6992b26cea3e6.jpg" length="122850" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 16 Feb 2026 12:00:48 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mashrur Arefin</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Jamaat, NCP, 1971</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Where the Anti&#45;India Current Runs Strong</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/BNP-Wins%2C-But-Anti-India-Currents-Run-Strong</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/BNP-Wins%2C-But-Anti-India-Currents-Run-Strong</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The fact that Jamaat has won so many seats for the first time ever -- most of them along Indian borders -- should be a cause for concern for India. While Bangladeshis may not have embraced Islamic fundamentalism this time, anti-Indian sentiment is clearly gaining ground. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_695237abd25b4.jpg" length="128434" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 15 Feb 2026 12:44:54 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jannatul Naym Pieal</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Jamaat, Elections, India, BNP</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Can We Critically Look at People’s Movements?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Can-We-Critically-Look-at-People%E2%80%99s-Movements-596</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Can-We-Critically-Look-at-People%E2%80%99s-Movements-596</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ If states tighten control over digital spaces to prevent manipulation, how do democracies function? How do we distinguish between organic, bottom-up people’s movements and those that are partially orchestrated or externally influenced? ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_698844be288d2.jpg" length="100238" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2026 14:11:13 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Muhaimen Siddiquee</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Gen Z, July Movement, Revolutions</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>What Should Be the Foreign Policy Priorities of the Next Government</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Foreign-Policy-Priorities</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Foreign-Policy-Priorities</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ A Bangladesh that wants diplomatic space to grow must first secure strategic space. If it wants autonomy, it must first make coercion unprofitable. That is the hard, unromantic truth of the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_69886eb58008e.jpg" length="67537" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 08 Feb 2026 16:12:06 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Nazmus Sakib and Muhib Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Bangladesh, India, Hasina</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>What Dr Yunus Got Right, and What He Didn&amp;apos;t</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/what-dr-yunus-got-right-and-what-he-didnt</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/what-dr-yunus-got-right-and-what-he-didnt</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh will remember the outgoing Chief Adviser with respect for stepping up when the country desperately needed him. His record in government is, predictably, mixed. Was it fair to have expected more? ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_69859494ca1dc.jpg" length="60945" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 13:13:55 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mir Aftabuddin Ahmed</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Dr Yunus, Interim Government</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Jamaat&#45;e&#45;Islami and Growing Islamism in Post&#45;Hasina Bangladesh</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Jamaat-e-Islami-and-Growing-Islamism-in-Post-Hasina-Bangladesh</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Jamaat-e-Islami-and-Growing-Islamism-in-Post-Hasina-Bangladesh</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ While it would be presumptuous to predict a Jamaat victory in the upcoming elections on February 12, the BNP and other secular and liberal democratic parties must acknowledge the emergence of a Third Party with a moderate Islamic agenda that could gain power in the next round of elections in 2031. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202602/image_870x580_697eeb12a2797.jpg" length="341025" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 02 Feb 2026 16:55:19 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Taj Hashmi</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Jamaat-e-Islami, BNP, Sheikh Hasina</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Is Jamaat Coming?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/is-jamaat-coming</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/is-jamaat-coming</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Arithmetic still points to a BNP-led alliance winning, with a Jamaat-led alliance more likely to land as the principal opposition. The caveat is that Bangladesh has not had credible elections since 2008, so any confident prediction about voting behaviour is just that: An informed forecast, not a guarantee. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_6975f644768bf.jpg" length="95140" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2026 16:54:21 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mir Aftabuddin Ahmed</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Jamaat, Elections</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Ali Riaz’s Big Bet</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Ali-Riaz%E2%80%99s-Big-Bet</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Ali-Riaz%E2%80%99s-Big-Bet</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Is tinkering with the formal rules of the game the triumph of hope over experience (this time politics will be different)? Or a more technocratic faith in the power of institutional architecture to push back against the potent political imperatives of rents and control (we can design our way to democracy)? Either way, fixing the rules seems a misplaced focus when history has shown that the amassing of political power rapidly renders such niceties ornamental. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_696dda44ae06d.jpg" length="80164" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 19 Jan 2026 15:00:19 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Naomi Hossain</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>BNP, Interim, Ali Riaz</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Begum Khaleda Zia&amp;apos;s Quiet Battle for the Girl Child</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Remarkable-Character-Who</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Remarkable-Character-Who</guid>
<description><![CDATA[  ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_6967375eeeb17.jpg" length="41437" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 18 Jan 2026 11:54:38 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mir Aftabuddin Ahmed</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Begum Khaleda Zia, Khaleda Zia, Death, Legacy</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Why New Delhi is Losing the Bangladeshi Heart</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Psychological-Divide</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Psychological-Divide</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ India has not merely provoked a cyclical wave of anti-India sentiment; it has actively contributed to giving it a permanent, structural form. The alienation is no longer just about borders -- it is about sovereignty. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_696489c63ef31.jpg" length="82933" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2026 11:43:25 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Muhammad Asiful Basar</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>India, Indo-Bangladesh Relations</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>2026 Bangladeshi Elections and Information Bombs</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/2026-Bangladeshi-Elections</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/2026-Bangladeshi-Elections</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Rumour is part of politics and society but now it can be magnified and curated at speed in the age of the (un)smart phone. Compared to the digital control of the previous regime what we have now is the information bomb. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_696355230e513.jpg" length="96843" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 12 Jan 2026 10:45:51 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Nayanika Mookherjee</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Information, Scaffolding, Rumour</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Legacy of Osman Hadi and Reclaiming 71 in a Post&#45;July Bangladesh</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/the-legacy-of-osman-hadi</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/the-legacy-of-osman-hadi</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Given how rapidly an emerging narrative hardens in current discourse, we must start our critical evaluations of Hadi’s legacy as soon as possible: Hadi’s image must be snatched away from those who want to worship him. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_69510779ee076.jpg" length="85821" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2026 14:17:15 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Hassan uz-Zaman Shamol</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Osman Hadi, Populism, legacy</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Of Moral Authority and Convenient Amnesia</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Of-Moral-Authority</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Of-Moral-Authority</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Concern about minority safety in Bangladesh is not illegitimate. But when that concern is amplified selectively, weaponized by domestic political actors, and accompanied by conspicuous silence on India’s own minority challenges, it acquires the flavour of moral exhibitionism. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_695237abd25b4.jpg" length="128434" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jan 2026 14:14:45 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>H.M. Nazmul Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Democracy, Coercion, Credibility</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>We Have Already Lost</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/we-have-already-lost</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/we-have-already-lost</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Now, at any moment, a mob can be summoned and the state paralyzed. The potential that emerged after Hasina’s fall is now impossible. This country will become a playground for fallen Indians and Chinese. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202601/image_870x580_695e34f3087cd.jpg" length="73824" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 28 Dec 2025 11:45:10 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Zia Hassan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Interim Government, Transitional justice, Reform</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Who Owns 1971?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/History-as-Resistance</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/History-as-Resistance</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ If 1971 is to remain meaningful, it cannot be owned. It must be debated, carried with care, and opened to complexity. Otherwise, the Liberation War risks becoming either a party banner or a demolition tool. In both cases, the injury is the same: a past turned into a weapon rather than a shared ground on which a plural future might be negotiated. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_693f73ddebb55.jpg" length="55034" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 2025 05:00:00 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mohammed Abdul Baten</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>History, 1971</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>What the Polls are Telling Us (and What They are Not)</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/what-the-polls-are-telling-us-and-what-they-are-not</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/what-the-polls-are-telling-us-and-what-they-are-not</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Do not read these polls as a scoreboard. Read them as a map of the public&#039;s fears, confusion, and silent hopes. The party that understands what the polls are not saying -- the doubts of the undecided, the nuances in the responses on reform, expectations on law and order, corruption, employment will be the one that truly wins the mandate of Bangladesh. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_693fd2f7886c1.jpg" length="59517" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2025 06:55:18 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Md. Rubaiyath Sarwar</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Elections, Polls</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>A Promise Kept</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Election-2026</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Election-2026</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Prof Yunus had pledged to hold elections before Ramadan in 2026 and looks to have delivered. There is many a slip twixt cup and lip, but we are on course for our free, fair and festive elections on February 12. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202512/image_870x580_693e6a5e38188.jpg" length="45182" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 14 Dec 2025 04:44:43 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Ashraf Ud Doula</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Neighborhood First? Hardly.</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/India%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98Neighborhood-First%E2%80%99-Policy</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/India%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98Neighborhood-First%E2%80%99-Policy</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ A functional India-Bangladesh relationship -- built on mutual respect and interests -- is an economic and geo-strategic imperative. Otherwise, India’s fears of “strategic encirclement” risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202511/image_870x580_6922e830ab5f2.jpg" length="146056" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2025 11:13:17 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Atif Ahmed Choudhury</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>India, South Asia, Trade</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Future of Islamic Politics in Bangladesh</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Future-of-Islamic-Politics-in-Bangladesh</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Future-of-Islamic-Politics-in-Bangladesh</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The truth is: the only path by which Islamists can succeed is exactly the path the League had chased them down. But will it be enough now that the League is history? Only time and the wisdom -- or lack thereof -- of the other political parties will tell. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202511/image_870x580_6909aaffb87b0.jpg" length="69612" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 11 Nov 2025 19:48:53 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Faham Abdus Salam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Islam, Islamism, Islamist</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Reform Reality Check</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/nov-9-the-reform-reality-check</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/nov-9-the-reform-reality-check</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ It is all very well to chart out a pathway to reform, but it is in the implementation that the wheels hit the road, and it is here that the process lacks clarity and cohesion. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202511/image_870x580_69079cb7e039e.jpg" length="83014" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2025 23:32:28 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Rehman Sobhan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Reform, Interim Government</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Khaleda Zia and the Hardest Revolution of All</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Hardest-Revolution-of-All</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Hardest-Revolution-of-All</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Not the overthrow of dictators, but the revolution of humility, compassion, and forgiveness. A lesson Bangladesh has never practiced, but one leader showed us how it is done. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202510/image_870x580_68f9e9064910e.jpg" length="51068" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 23 Oct 2025 10:32:01 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mirza R. Ahmad</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Khaleda Zia, BNP</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Clutching at Straws: Who Should be Deemed Electable in the New Bangladesh?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Clutching-at-straws%3A-Who-should-be-deemed-electable-in-the-%E2%80%98New-Bangladesh%E2%80%99</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Clutching-at-straws%3A-Who-should-be-deemed-electable-in-the-%E2%80%98New-Bangladesh%E2%80%99</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ At the very least, the people of Bangladesh should be able to keep the criminal, the corrupt, and the compromised from running in the upcoming elections ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202510/image_870x580_68e78b2e8f9d5.jpg" length="81167" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 09 Oct 2025 15:59:37 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Shahed Iqbal</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Election</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>What the Innovision Poll Says and What It Doesn&amp;apos;t</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Does-the-Innovision-Poll-Challenge-Popular-Narratives</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Does-the-Innovision-Poll-Challenge-Popular-Narratives</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Everything you wanted to know about the PEPS survey. A closer reading of the survey&#039;s findings unearths a treasure trove of information for the political parties and the general public. Too many commentators have only looked at the surface, hence they are missing the true insights. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202510/image_870x580_68e3a85a28509.jpg" length="86412" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2025 10:57:06 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Md. Rubaiyath Sarwar</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Innovision, PEPS, Election, Polling</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and Everything in Between</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Good%2C-the-Bad%2C-the-Ugly-and-Everything-in-Between%3A-The-State-of-Affairs-in-Bangladesh-under-the-Post-July-Revolution-Interim-Government</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Good%2C-the-Bad%2C-the-Ugly-and-Everything-in-Between%3A-The-State-of-Affairs-in-Bangladesh-under-the-Post-July-Revolution-Interim-Government</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh’s interim government under Muhammad Yunus is driving bold reforms and prosecuting Sheikh Hasina in exile, but rising violence and political rifts threaten stability. The 2026 election will decide whether this upheaval delivers real democratic change or deeper turmoil. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202509/image_870x580_68da57c98b56b.jpg" length="83933" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 29 Sep 2025 06:00:00 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Junayed Chowdhury</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Interim Government</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Collapse of Authority in an Age of Broken Trust</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Collapse-of-Authority</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Collapse-of-Authority</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The greatest danger of our age is not simply that authority will be rejected, but that authority itself will lose all legitimacy, leaving nothing in its place but the law of the jungle ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202509/image_870x580_68d8e5422662d.jpg" length="222726" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 28 Sep 2025 06:29:29 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>H.M. Nazmul Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Society, Authoritarianism</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The High Stakes of Tarique Rahman’s Political Absence</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-High-Stakes-of-Tarique-Rahman%E2%80%99s-Political-Absence</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-High-Stakes-of-Tarique-Rahman%E2%80%99s-Political-Absence</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ His prolonged stay in the UK is now the defining issue for the country’s opposition politics. His potential return could reshape public perception, reinvigorate the BNP, and alter the national political equilibrium. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202509/image_870x580_68d78e0580ed9.jpg" length="90392" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2025 07:11:43 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>H.M. Nazmul Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>BNP, Tarique Rahman</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Political Landscape Facing BNP</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Political-Landscape-facing-BNP</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Political-Landscape-facing-BNP</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The BNP has an opportunity now to define itself and set the direction of the country for years to come. But it must present itself as the party of the ordinary Bangladeshi, and especially those from 35-60 who will shape the country&#039;s immediate future. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202509/image_870x580_68d136b12a0c6.jpg" length="127072" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 Sep 2025 11:31:02 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Faham Abdus Salam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>BNP</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Who was Charlie Kirk?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Charlie-Kirk%2C-%E2%80%98A-Voice-for-the-Voiceless%2C%E2%80%99-Leaves-a-Legacy-of-Ideas-Over-Bullets</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Charlie-Kirk%2C-%E2%80%98A-Voice-for-the-Voiceless%2C%E2%80%99-Leaves-a-Legacy-of-Ideas-Over-Bullets</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ And what lesson is there for Bangladesh about the culture of political violence and trying to find common ground instead of using bullets and brickbats to resolve our differences? ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202509/image_870x580_68cf88f32cf5e.jpg" length="62108" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 21 Sep 2025 05:12:02 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Zahid F. Sarder</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Charlie Kirk</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>When the State Becomes a Party and the Party Becomes the State</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/When-the-State-Becomes-a-Party-and-the-Party-Becomes-the-State</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/When-the-State-Becomes-a-Party-and-the-Party-Becomes-the-State</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Whoever sits in power today must imagine themselves out of power tomorrow. If they cannot accept that thought, then their governance is not democracy but monarchy in disguise. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202508/image_870x580_68b3f853eece6.jpg" length="77776" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 31 Aug 2025 06:38:23 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>H.M. Nazmul Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Nur and the Grammar of State Violence</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Nur-State-Violence</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Nur-State-Violence</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The roots of this violence lie in the lame-duck interim government’s refusal to do the hard thing first: clean the stables. More than a year into its tenure, we have endured announcements in place of reform and committees in place of consequences. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202508/image_870x580_68b3f5dce4b37.jpg" length="53798" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 31 Aug 2025 06:36:14 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Bobby Hajjaj</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Nurul Haque Nur, Jatiya Party, Police Brutality</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Reluctant President</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Zia%3A-The-Reluctant-President</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Zia%3A-The-Reluctant-President</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ History does not present Ziaur Rahman as a schemer, clawing for power. It confronted him with moments when silence or paralysis threatened to suffocate the Bangladeshi people. Each time, he stepped forward because no one else would. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202508/image_870x580_68b3f3b5a1e1d.jpg" length="129151" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 28 Aug 2025 09:45:00 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Kawsar Chowdhury</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Student Politics in Engineering Universities: Can BNP Think Differently?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Student-Politics-in-Engineering-Universities%3A-Can-BNP-Think-Differently</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Student-Politics-in-Engineering-Universities%3A-Can-BNP-Think-Differently</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The time has come to reimagine student politics and free the nation&#039;s campuses from violence and criminality. Is the BNP up to the challenge? ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202508/image_870x580_688f161d2be68.jpg" length="97432" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 17 Aug 2025 07:41:19 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Faysal Kabir Shuvo and Subail Bin Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>BNP, Student Politics</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Post&#45;July Bangladesh: Between the Fall of Fascism and the Struggle for Genuine Reform</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Post-July-Bangladesh%3A-Between-the-Fall-of-Fascism-and-the-Struggle-for-Genuine-Reform</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Post-July-Bangladesh%3A-Between-the-Fall-of-Fascism-and-the-Struggle-for-Genuine-Reform</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The AL may be gone (for now) but that doesn&#039;t mean that fascism has been eradicated from the body politic ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202508/image_870x580_689d5f7fec41a.jpg" length="54224" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 14 Aug 2025 04:01:00 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mizan Rehman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Blood, Bureaucracy, and Transition</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/BLOOD%2C-BUREAUCRACY-%26-TRANSITION--One-Year-of-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Caretaker-Government-%E2%80%94-An-Evidence-Led-Appraisal</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/BLOOD%2C-BUREAUCRACY-%26-TRANSITION--One-Year-of-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Caretaker-Government-%E2%80%94-An-Evidence-Led-Appraisal</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ An evidence-led appraisal of one year of Bangladesh’s interim government ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202508/image_870x580_689c69ab144c7.jpg" length="121447" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 13 Aug 2025 10:33:16 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Alisha Pradhan</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>From the Wiretap to the Torture Cell</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/From-the-Wiretap-to-the-Torture-Cell%3A-How-the-Awami-League-Built-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Surveillance-to-Detention-Pipeline-%E2%80%94-and-the-Question-We-Still-Need-Answered</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/From-the-Wiretap-to-the-Torture-Cell%3A-How-the-Awami-League-Built-Bangladesh%E2%80%99s-Surveillance-to-Detention-Pipeline-%E2%80%94-and-the-Question-We-Still-Need-Answered</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ How the AL Built Bangladesh’s Surveillance-to-Detention Pipeline -- and the Question We Still Need Answered ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202508/image_870x580_689acdd0261f6.jpg" length="44226" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 12 Aug 2025 05:15:07 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Kawsar Chowdhury</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Awami League, Surveillance</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Why Politicians Keep Lying</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-Politicians-Keep-Lying</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Why-Politicians-Keep-Lying</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The question is not whether politicians will lie. They will. The question is whether and why we, the people, will continue to believe them. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202508/image_870x580_689983b48c746.jpg" length="43318" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 11 Aug 2025 05:21:29 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>H.M. Nazmul Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Betrayal of the Community: How Rushanara Ali and Tulip Siddiq Failed British&#45;Bangladeshis</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Betrayal-of-the-Community%3A-How-Rushanara-Ali-and-Tulip-Siddiq-Failed-British-Bangladeshis</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Betrayal-of-the-Community%3A-How-Rushanara-Ali-and-Tulip-Siddiq-Failed-British-Bangladeshis</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Once celebrated as trailblazers, the two Labour MPs now stand accused of hypocrisy, moral cowardice, and silence in the face of dictatorship, leaving the British-Bangladeshi community wounded and ashamed ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202508/image_870x580_68982ebd8b77a.jpg" length="75164" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 10 Aug 2025 05:14:47 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Sage al-Basher</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Rushanara Ali, Tulip Siddiq, British-Bangladeshis</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Disputed Status of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Post&#45;Uprising Bangladesh</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Disputed-Status-of-Sheikh-Mujibur-Rahman-in-Post-Uprising-Bangladesh</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Disputed-Status-of-Sheikh-Mujibur-Rahman-in-Post-Uprising-Bangladesh</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ This August 15 , the country must seek closure by coming to terms with the five chapters of its founding President’s legacy –- reckoning with them collectively, not selectively ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202508/image_870x580_6894607a6c007.jpg" length="85816" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 07 Aug 2025 08:08:54 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mir Aftabuddin Ahmed</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Sheikh Mujib</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Ghost in the Machine</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Truth-on-Trial%2C-Justice-in-Exile</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Truth-on-Trial%2C-Justice-in-Exile</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Jinns were once blamed for missing utensils and mysterious fevers. In today’s statecraft, they seem to be responsible for everything from election fraud to economic collapse. No one ever is to blame. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202507/image_870x580_6885e5cb6aecb.jpg" length="66135" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 06 Aug 2025 07:10:53 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>H.M. Nazmul Alam</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>From Exile to Awakening</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/From-Exile-to-Awakening</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/From-Exile-to-Awakening</guid>
<description><![CDATA[  ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202508/image_870x580_688f1053d99ec.jpg" length="748197" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 05 Aug 2025 11:11:31 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Rumi Ahmed</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>July Uprising, July Revolution</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Rising Tide of Right&#45;Wing Politics in Bangladesh: Why Mirza Fakhrul’s Warning Matters</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Rising-Tide-of-Right-Wing-Politics-in-Bangladesh%3A-Why-Mirza-Fakhrul%E2%80%99s-Warning-Matters</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Rising-Tide-of-Right-Wing-Politics-in-Bangladesh%3A-Why-Mirza-Fakhrul%E2%80%99s-Warning-Matters</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The AL exaggerated the threat of extremism for political theatrics. The current government is doing the opposite -- denying its existence while catering to populist sentiments. In the process, national security is being compromised. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202507/image_870x580_6889e635f41a0.jpg" length="300599" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jul 2025 05:41:01 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Asif Bin Ali</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Spectre of Mujibism</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Spectre-of-Mujibism</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Spectre-of-Mujibism</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Fighting against so-called &#039;Mujibism&#039; is tilting at windmills. No such thing exists. We need to be vigilant about the authoritarian narratives and language practices that have begun anew in society centred around July. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202507/image_870x580_68871b86aeeea.jpg" length="88763" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 28 Jul 2025 06:34:19 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Murshid Shalin</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>How India’s Deep State Exploits Both Sides of Bengal for Its Political Gain</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/How-India%E2%80%99s-Deep-State-Exploits-Both-Sides-of-Bengal-for-Its-Political-Gain</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/How-India%E2%80%99s-Deep-State-Exploits-Both-Sides-of-Bengal-for-Its-Political-Gain</guid>
<description><![CDATA[  ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202507/image_870x580_68870b272453e.jpg" length="31969" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 27 Jul 2025 10:15:28 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Arif Hafiz</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>India, West Bengal, Foreign Policy</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>NCP Marching with Maximum Visibility to Gopalganj Was an Unnecessary and Counterproductive Strategic Blunder</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/NCP-Marching-with-Maximum-Visibility-to-Gopalganj-Was-an-Unnecessary-and-Counterproductive-Strategic-Blunder</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/NCP-Marching-with-Maximum-Visibility-to-Gopalganj-Was-an-Unnecessary-and-Counterproductive-Strategic-Blunder</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Provoking what was an entirely predictable response from AL activists and supporters in the stronghold of the deposed political regime amounted to a de facto open invitation for confrontation ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202507/image_870x580_6878a10612dc1.jpg" length="74413" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Thu, 17 Jul 2025 06:50:13 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mir Aftabuddin Ahmed</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Gopalganj, NCP, AL, Interim Government</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Political Storms That Await BNP</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Political-Storms-that-await-BNP</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Political-Storms-that-await-BNP</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ BNP is almost certainly coming to power sooner rather than later. But that may just be the beginning of its real problems. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202507/image_870x580_686e58bf8c5f2.jpg" length="67099" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 09 Jul 2025 11:30:00 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Asif Bin Ali</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>BNP</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Mr. Trump&amp;apos;s Big Beautiful Bill</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Mr.-Trumps-Big-Beautiful-Bill-BBB</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Mr.-Trumps-Big-Beautiful-Bill-BBB</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The Trump-backed BBB law increases debt, helps the rich, and cuts healthcare, food aid, and clean energy support for millions of poor Americans. It also raises military and deportation spending, weakening the US economy and risking global financial stability. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202507/image_870x580_686cb1d6e96e3.jpg" length="138620" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 08 Jul 2025 05:42:23 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Forrest Cookson</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>United States, President Trump</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Ziaur Rahman, a Global Pioneer in Economic Liberalization</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Ziaur-Rahman%2C-a-Global-Pioneer-in-Economic-Liberalization</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Ziaur-Rahman%2C-a-Global-Pioneer-in-Economic-Liberalization</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Zia does not get enough recognition for just how ground-breaking his private sector-led growth strategy was for a country in the Global South in the 1970s ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202507/image_870x580_686b7b7f6126e.jpg" length="48348" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 07 Jul 2025 06:44:02 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Shafiqur Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Ziaur Rahman, BNP, Privatization</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Civil society must reassess its role in facilitating reform and this is why</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-civil-society-must-reassess-its-role-in-facilitating-reform-and-these-are-the-reasons-why</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-civil-society-must-reassess-its-role-in-facilitating-reform-and-these-are-the-reasons-why</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ If reforms are to pass, then all the political parties need to own them and feel that they have taken the lead and not that it was something forced upon them. Reforms the parties believe are imposed on them are destined to fail. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202506/image_870x580_6857ec9431ecd.jpg" length="73200" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 22 Jun 2025 11:48:00 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Md. Rubaiyath Sarwar</dc:creator>
<media:keywords></media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Delaying the Announcement of an Election Roadmap is No Longer Tenable</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/Delaying-the-Announcement-of-an-Election-Roadmap-Is-No-Longer-Tenable</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/Delaying-the-Announcement-of-an-Election-Roadmap-Is-No-Longer-Tenable</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Bangladesh now stands at the threshold between gridlock and reconstruction — the Chief Adviser must set a specific month for the upcoming elections and do so without hesitation. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202506/image_870x580_683eda563122d.jpg" length="103008" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 03 Jun 2025 11:20:28 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Mir Aftabuddin Ahmed</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Elections</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The Weaponization of History</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Weaponization-of-History</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/The-Weaponization-of-History</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ What happens when history is turned into an instrument not of understanding, but of coercion,  sanctification, and political legitimacy? Across continents and ideologies, regimes and ruling  parties have wielded history not just to remember, but to silence, not to teach, but to control. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202506/image_870x580_683c420b2b1e0.jpg" length="64438" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Sun, 01 Jun 2025 12:10:23 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>M.K.Aaref</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>History, Historiography, Bangladesh</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Childhood’s End</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/childhoods-end</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/childhoods-end</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Soon we will no longer be able to rely on Prof Yunus&#039;s global reputation to smooth things over with allies and adversaries alike. It is time for Bangladesh to invest in its diplomatic capacity. The future belongs to those who can skillfully maneuver on the world stage. ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202505/image_870x580_68397849a0d71.jpg" length="73855" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Fri, 30 May 2025 09:21:31 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Shafiqur Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Diplomacy, Foreign Policy, Bangladesh, Geopolitics</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Kaladan Smokescreen: India’s Response to Yunus’s Northeast Vision</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/kaladan-smokescreen-indias-response-to-yunuss-northeast-vision</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/kaladan-smokescreen-indias-response-to-yunuss-northeast-vision</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ The Kaladan Corridor is India&#039;s supposed masterstroke to protect its interests on its eastern flank. Unfortunately for them, there&#039;s many slip twixt cup and lip ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202505/image_870x580_682d2918badf8.jpg" length="61676" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Wed, 21 May 2025 01:16:20 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Arif Hafiz</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Kaladan, Northeast, Arakan Army, Rakhine State, Myanmar</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>The kids are alright, how about you?</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/the-kids-are-alright-how-about-you</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/the-kids-are-alright-how-about-you</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ An appeal to fellow 40-plus folks to wake up from selfish slumber and join our kids ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202505/image_870x580_68199b5938d8b.jpg" length="81817" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 May 2025 05:17:46 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jyoti Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>July Uprising, Youth, Students</media:keywords>
</item>

<item>
<title>Papye et fe</title>
<link>https://counterpointbd.com/papye-et-fe</link>
<guid>https://counterpointbd.com/papye-et-fe</guid>
<description><![CDATA[ Three months on from the onset of the Monsoon Revolution, time to reset expectations about politics, and remain hopeful ]]></description>
<enclosure url="https://counterpointbd.com/uploads/images/202505/image_870x580_6818979fafebe.jpg" length="97620" type="image/jpeg"/>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 May 2025 10:53:29 +0600</pubDate>
<dc:creator>Jyoti Rahman</dc:creator>
<media:keywords>Monsoon Revolution</media:keywords>
</item>

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