Open Discussions
in association with
Gulf Cultural Club
invites you to a seminar
Bangladesh: Reform is the key to stability
Speakers
*Murad Qureshi (ex counsellor community worker)
**Nisar Ali Shah (author, journalist)
6.30 pm, Tuesday 27th August, 2024
Venue: Abrar House, 45 Crawford Place, W1H 4LP
Weeks of anti-government protests have toppled Bangladesh’s long-serving prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and an interim government has been formed. Led by the Nobel Prize Winner Mohammed Yunus, the new government is tasked with overseeing a smooth transition to a working democracy to satisfy those who led what is considered to be the first popular revolution since independence in 1971. The country is in a race to achieve stability through the ballot boxes and contain the political role of the armed forces. It is also a competition for power between the traditional forces and Islamist parties some of which may resort to violence to impose their agendas
Will the ousting of Sheikh Hasina herald a new dawn for democracy in Bangladesh where the rule of law and human rights are respected? or will the cycle of violence and repression continue?
The meeting will be held in person, followed by dinner
You can also participate on Zoom using this link
Meeting ID: 856 8088 8416 Password: 000000
Or on Youtube:
*Murad Qureshi grew up in Northwest and Central London where he attended his local comprehensive school in Westminster called Quintin Kynaston. He holds a degree from the University of East Anglia and MSc in Environmental Economics from University College London. Before becoming an Assembly Member, Murad worked in Housing and Regeneration for 15 years.He was an Executive Committee member of SERA (1994-2000) campaigning on green issues throughout the 1990s. Murad is a former member of the City of Westminster Council (1998-2006) and entered local politics through his family involvement in order to represent the neighbourhoods he grew up in on issues such as transport and the environment. Murad is a Board Member of BRAC UK, an International NGO that is part of the BRAC family. The organisation seeks to alleviate poverty and empower the poor in the UK and abroad. It is currently raising funds for relief and rehabilitation work in the cyclone affected areas of Bangladesh.
** Nisar Ali Shah is an author, a journalist, columnist and a researcher, who worked in Fleet Street newspapers and several ethnic media outlets for more than 30 years. He wrote on topics such as Palestine, Kashmir, Guantanamo camp and other topics. Recently he published a book: Journalism in Retrospection – Thirty years of Reportage. Nisar took his first steps into the world of journalism at the Civil and Military Gazette in Pakistan. He later joined the Times of Karachi before leaving for England. He studied at the London College of Communication. Nisar worked as a Reader at The Times and The Sunday Times and later progressed to sub-editor. He has been a member of the NUJ since 1987. His articles have been published in three continents.
