Hasina arrest warning tops South Asia day of BRICS, violence and court action

Thursday's developments spanned a possible arrest for Sheikh Hasina, China's BRICS messaging and deadly violence in Pakistan. Together, they underscored a region grappling with political uncertainty, security strains and hardening legal action.Image used for representational purposes onlyA series of developments on Thursday across South Asia and beyond covered politics, diplomacy, security and the courts, with major updates from Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, Nepal, the UK and the US.In the key developments, Bangladesh's law minister said deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina was likely to be arrested as soon as she returned from India, while China said it backed India in making this year's BRICS summit a "full success" but did not clarify whether President Xi Jinping would attend. Pakistan also reported a deadly building collapse in Lahore and a militant attack on a security checkpost in the northwest.In Dhaka, Law Minister M Asaduzzaman said Hasina was likely to be arrested instantly on her return from India, before she got an opportunity to surrender directly before a court.In Beijing, China said it supports India to make this year's BRICS summit a "full success" but remained evasive about Xi's attendance. In another development, China said it had set up a drone research and development centre near Mount Everest in Tibet to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles for high-altitude operations covering border patrols, security, logistics and transport. In Pakistan, at least 11 members of a family, including three children, were buried alive when a three-storey building collapsed after heavy rain in Lahore while they were celebrating a birthday, an official said. In northwest Pakistan, militants attacked a security checkpost, killing at least nine policemen, including a senior officer, and injuring 28 others, police said.Tensions also continued in Rawalkot in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where clashes persisted between security forces and the banned Joint Awami Action Committee during the election period. Separately, Pakistan's Foreign Office said it was "doing its utmost" to bring the US and Iran back to the negotiating table under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding signed last month, amid rising tensions in the region. In Lahore, a Pakistani court granted one week of protective bail to Noreen Niazi, sister of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. The relief came two days after Pakistan's anti-cybercrime body registered a case against her for allegedly "belittling the country's armed forces" in remarks on last year's four-day armed conflict with India.In Nepal, authorities imposed a curfew in parts of Madhesh province amid growing security concerns after communal violence in Sunsari district of neighbouring Koshi province, which borders India, earlier this week left one person dead and several others injured. In the UK, health authorities said heatwave-related deaths had nearly doubled in two months compared with the previous year and were on course to reach record highs this summer.In the US, a court convicted an American national on federal terrorism charges in the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie in New York. In another case, a federal court sentenced an Indian national to one day in prison, imposed a USD 1,000 fine and ordered his removal from the country after he pleaded guilty to visa fraud and staging armed robberies. Separately, the US and Iran traded missile barrages on Thursday, as the pattern of back-and-forth strikes continued and hopes of a quick resolution faded.Overall, the day saw a mix of legal action, diplomatic messaging, security tensions and deadly incidents, from Bangladesh's warning on Hasina's return and China's position on the BRICS summit to unrest in Pakistan and Nepal, heat concerns in the UK, and fresh developments involving the US and Iran.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Jul 30, 2026 20:34 IST