World

Bangladesh asks OIC to keep pressure on Myanmar for Rohingya return

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir told the OIC's foreign ministers in Baghdad that member states must stay engaged on the Rohingya crisis and press for a safe, dignified return.

ScrollBeat DeskPublished: 18 Oct 2026, 08:25

Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, in a 2018 file photo. Tauheed, Wikimedia Commons

Bangladesh has asked the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the wider international community to keep up sustained pressure on Myanmar so that Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh can return home safely and with dignity.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir made the call while leading Bangladesh's delegation at the 52nd session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, being held in Baghdad, Iraq, on Saturday.

Kobir said the Rohingya crisis must be resolved by the Muslim Ummah acting collectively and proactively, and urged member states and other international partners to stay actively engaged.

He also pressed for a stronger, more modern and dynamic OIC, saying the organisation needed to strengthen its institutional capacity and respond more effectively to regional and global crises.

On the Middle East, the state minister called for continued dialogue to bring down tensions, an end to Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians, including women and children, and a sovereign Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.

Expressing concern at a rise in Islamophobia, he asked OIC member states to take a coordinated approach, involving relevant international stakeholders, to counter it.

Bangladesh has hosted Rohingya refugees in the Cox's Bazar area since a 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine State drove more than 700,000 people across the border. Repatriation attempts have stalled for years, and Dhaka has repeatedly called for international pressure on Myanmar to create conditions for a safe, voluntary and dignified return.

The 52nd CFM is meeting as the conflict in the Middle East continues to undermine global stability and disrupt supply chains, Bangladesh's foreign ministry said.

Sources & further reading

Spotted an error? Read our corrections policy

Keep reading

NEXT STORY Business

NBR extends e-VAT return deadline to 25 October

Businesses that have not yet filed value-added tax returns for July-September get ten more days, with no interest or penalty, as the revenue board adjusts its online system.

ScrollBeat Desk18 Oct 2026, 09:42Open this article

File photo of the commercial district at Motijheel in Dhaka, where many businesses registered for VAT operate. Photo: ASaber91 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. ASaber91 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

The National Board of Revenue has extended the deadline for businesses to submit their online value-added tax (VAT) returns for the July-September 2026 tax periods to 25 October, without interest or penalties.

The first-quarter deadline had been 15 October. In a notice, the revenue authority said the extension was granted in the public interest to give it time to make the changes needed in its electronic VAT system after amendments to the VAT law in the national budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

The budget changes mean returns must again be filed within 15 days of the end of each tax period, replacing a provision that had allowed businesses to file and pay every three tax periods. The NBR said the switch required administrative adjustments to the eVAT platform, where most businesses file.

On 1 October, the NBR had already extended the July and August returns to 15 October under Section 64(3) of the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012, also without penalty, because many businesses had deferred filing while the quarterly rule was in force. Under the reinstated monthly system, the returns for July, August and September are now due together.

Taxpayers who have not yet filed can complete their returns for all three tax periods through the eVAT system by 25 October, the notice said.

NEXT STORY World

Pakistan's PM Shehbaz Sharif defends emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The prime minister and his brother Nawaz Sharif say the Centre was left with no choice but to act over security in the province, as parliament endorses the move and PTI challenges it in court.

ScrollBeat Desk18 Oct 2026, 09:42Open this article

Official portrait of Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (2017). Photo: Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, CC BY 2.0. Wikimedia Commons / Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has defended the federal government's decision to impose emergency and governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying the Centre had been "compelled" to act over security concerns after talks with the opposition failed.

Speaking in Gujranwala on Saturday, the prime minister said the government had made a "last attempt" to avoid the step, pointing to two rounds of talks between a joint government and Pakistan Peoples Party delegation and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. The second round, on 3 October, ended without a breakthrough, although he said a draft agreement had been prepared under which PTI would call off its protest march.

"They had talks with them day and night, for 48 hours," Shehbaz Sharif said, adding that he had met Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and his predecessor, Ali Amin Gandapur, several times to offer the province support in fighting militancy.

The federal government imposed emergency and governor's rule in the northwestern province on 11 October, citing what it called the provincial administration's deliberate disengagement from the fight against terrorism. Parliament endorsed the measures this week at a joint sitting, where opposition lawmakers protested with placards reading "Emergency na manzoor" (emergency is unacceptable).

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president Nawaz Sharif, a former prime minister, backed the move and said the intervention should have come much earlier. "This intervention was necessary to restore peace, improve governance and protect the interests of the people," he was quoted as saying, accusing PTI of using provincial resources for political confrontation with the federation.

Under the new arrangement, Governor Faisal Karim Kundi is running the province with the help of an 11-member advisory council, while Parliament exercises the powers of the provincial assembly. The federal law minister has said the arrangement will initially remain in place for six months. Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Mehmood Khan Achakzai blamed what he called faulty decisions by the country's rulers for the situation.

The measures followed weeks of tension after PTI announced a long march to Islamabad demanding the release of its jailed founder, Imran Khan, and access to his personal doctors. PTI has challenged the emergency and governor's rule in the Peshawar High Court, calling them unconstitutional and discriminatory, and says the province's elected government should be restored.

Amnesty International has raised concerns about reports of arbitrary detentions of political leaders and internet disruptions in the province, warning that emergency measures must not be used to suppress dissent and calling for independent oversight. Under Pakistan's Constitution, an emergency declared without a resolution from a provincial assembly must be approved by both houses of Parliament within 10 days, and governor's rule can be extended in two-month periods up to a maximum of six months.