Bangladesh

Bangladesh MPs question consular handling of two citizens' executions in Saudi Arabia

Lawmakers ask whether consular failures occurred and seek a report on any negligence and steps to prevent a recurrence.

ScrollBeat DeskPublished: 25 Oct 2026, 22:42Updated: 25 Oct 2026, 22:42

Illustration: an anonymous migrant worker seen from behind. Not either executed citizen. ScrollBeat / AI-generated illustration

Bangladesh's parliamentary committee on foreign affairs has asked whether failures at the country's consulate in Jeddah preceded the execution of two Bangladeshi citizens in Saudi Arabia, and requested a report on any negligence and the action taken in response.

The questions were raised at a meeting at the National Parliament building in Dhaka on Sunday, 25 October. Both Prothom Alo and Bangla Tribune reported that the committee sought fuller information from the foreign ministry, including measures to prevent a similar incident.

According to Prothom Alo's account, the ministry told lawmakers that Saudi Arabia had sent a list of about 2,500 prisoners 14 days before the executions. The two Bangladeshis' names were on that list, but their cases were not properly identified by officials handling it.

Committee chairman Jaharat Adib Chowdhury told Prothom Alo that lawmakers wanted to know why consular officials had not understood the situation earlier and whether weakness or negligence was involved. The reports do not establish a final finding of misconduct against particular officials.

The ministry's explanation, as reported by Prothom Alo, was that the categories shown on the list led officials to expect prison sentences ranging from six months to 15 years. They did not understand that the two citizens faced execution. This is the ministry's account to the committee, rather than an independently established account of the Saudi notification process.

Bangla Tribune reported that the ministry has asked Saudi authorities for detailed information. Lawmakers recommended that the full account be shared with the committee once it arrives. They also asked to be informed of action against consular officials if negligence is found, alongside steps intended to prevent a recurrence.

The discussion extended beyond these cases to the quality of Bangladesh's services for its citizens in Saudi Arabia. Bangla Tribune said the committee requested a detailed modernisation plan for the missions and discussed their staffing and operations, employment, remittances, labour welfare and labour-market challenges.

Protection of women workers was another focus. Prothom Alo reported that the ministry put the number of Bangladeshi women workers in Saudi Arabia at about 169,000 and told the committee that one to two per cent experience abuse. The chairman said a small percentage still represented an unacceptable number of people. The committee called for measures to bring abuse down to zero.

The next steps depend on the Saudi response and the ministry's report to lawmakers. Neither outlet's account provides a completed investigation into consular responsibility, identifies a disciplinary decision or resolves all questions about how the two cases were handled. For now, the committee has sought answers and a prevention plan.

Sources & further reading

Prothom Alo Bangla Tribune

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NEXT STORY Politics

Home Minister says Bangladesh will prevent unrest over rumours of Sheikh Hasina's return

Salahuddin Ahmed says Dhaka has repeatedly sought her extradition from India. His remarks do not confirm a December return.

ScrollBeat Desk25 Oct 2026, 19:35Open this article

File photo of Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed speaking at a Dhaka press briefing on 22 June 2026. — File photo: Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed briefs journalists at the Ministry of Home Affairs in Dhaka on 22 June 2026. This is not the 25 October briefing. Press Information Department, Bangladesh / Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said on Sunday that the government would not allow unrest over social-media rumours that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina could return to Bangladesh in December. Speaking to journalists at the Secretariat in Dhaka on 25 October, he said the authorities were aware of the discussion online.

Dhaka Post and Dhaka Tribune reported his response to questions about the rumours and the government's preparations. The minister's remarks were a response to those claims, rather than an announcement of a return date. Neither report established that a December return had been arranged.

Salahuddin said Bangladesh had sent several requests to India through the foreign ministry seeking Hasina's extradition under the extradition treaty. He described the government's position on bringing her back as clear. The reports did not announce a new extradition agreement, an Indian decision or a timetable for a transfer.

The minister accused forces associated with the previous government of trying to spread misinformation and create instability. Those allegations are his account. He said people who had fled after the mass uprising would not be allowed to carry out activities intended to destabilise Bangladesh.

His response came during a briefing that also addressed policing during Durga Puja and security incidents elsewhere in the country. According to Dhaka Tribune's report, he credited preventive monitoring and cooperation among security agencies and communities for what he described as peaceful celebrations.

Salahuddin said authorities had monitored local conditions through digital systems and mobile apps, with information passing from grassroots areas to the central level. He said one or two plans to cause incidents had been detected in advance and law-enforcement agencies had acted. The report did not provide details that would independently establish those particular plans.

Asked about an attack on police in Gopalganj, the minister said it took place in the Kheyaghat area of a union in Sadar upazila. He alleged that Awami League activists and members of associated organisations tried to hold a procession and attacked an outnumbered police patrol. He said action was being taken against those involved.

He also said the situation in Sajek, Rangamati, was under control. He linked tensions in the hills to rivalries among local groups and attempts to control areas during the tourism season. According to his account, the government and army had taken steps to maintain normal conditions while discussions continued with local headmen and community leaders.

For readers following the December discussion, the distinction remains important: the minister confirmed that the government had heard the rumours and had sought extradition. He did not confirm that Hasina would return in December. Any future announcement on a transfer or a confirmed travel plan would be a separate development.

Sources & further reading

Dhaka Post Dhaka Tribune / UNB

NEXT STORY Bangladesh

HSC and equivalent exam results to be published on 29 October

The Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee says the date is final. It will release details on how students can check their results on Monday, 26 October.

ScrollBeat Desk25 Oct 2026, 09:01Open this article

Education Adviser Mahdi Amin visits an SSC examination centre in Dhaka on 21 April 2026, as public examinations began. This file photo is from the SSC exams, not the HSC. Press Information Department (PID), Government of Bangladesh, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

The results of the 2026 Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations will be published on Thursday, 29 October, the Bangladesh Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee has said. In a press release issued on Saturday, the committee said the decision had been finalised.

The committee said detailed information about the publication, including how students will be able to check their results, would be provided in a separate press release on Monday, 26 October. Until then, students and parents have the date but not the procedure or the timing of the announcement.

This year's HSC, Alim and HSC (vocational) examinations began on 2 July. A total of 1,270,583 candidates registered, regular and irregular, 14,316 more than the 1,256,267 who took part in 2025, according to Dhaka Tribune. The candidates sat the exams at 2,697 centres in 9,439 institutions under the nine general education boards, the Bangladesh Madrasah Education Board and the Bangladesh Technical Education Board.

The written exams were due to finish on 8 August. Several papers under the Chattogram Education Board were postponed because of natural disasters and were held later, Prothom Alo reported. That means the results cover papers written over a longer period than the original routine allowed, although the boards have not said whether the delay affected the evaluation timetable.

This year the nine general education boards used a single set of question papers for the first time, instead of separate papers prepared by each board. Dhaka Tribune reported that CCTV cameras were mandatory at every centre and that the Ministry of Education ran a monitoring cell able to watch any centre in real time. Police officers on duty at centres wore body-worn cameras. Authorities also dropped venues previously linked to cheating, while keeping some remote centres in haor, hill and char areas so candidates would not have to travel far. Candidates from the Seventh-day Adventist community were allowed to sit Saturday papers after sunset.

The HSC is the main gateway to university and to many public-sector jobs, and results day is one of the most closely watched dates in Bangladesh's academic calendar. For families, the result also decides whether a student can apply for honours courses in the coming admission season, and which subjects and institutions are open to them.

What the results will show is not yet known. The pass rate, the number of GPA-5 achievers and the performance of each board will be announced with the results. The boards have also not said how many of the registered candidates actually sat the exams. Registration figures usually overstate attendance because some candidates drop out or skip papers.

Also still unannounced are the timetable for re-scrutiny applications and the schedule for college admissions. Both are normally published around the results, and Monday's briefing is expected to cover the practical details.

The committee did not give a reason for choosing 29 October in its release, which gave only the date and the plan for Monday's briefing. For now that is the only confirmed detail. Students will get the checking procedure on Monday, and the results themselves on Thursday.

Sources & further reading

Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS)Prothom Alo Dhaka Tribune