Bangladesh’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed Hasan Mahmud speaks during the press conference at Press club of India, in New Delhi on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Men run past a shopping center which was set on fire by protesters during a rally against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government demanding justice for the victims killed in the recent countrywide deadly clashes, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

A report by the UN Human Rights Office has held the deposed Awami League government of Bangladesh carried out largescale repression that led to human rights violations and abuses during July-August 2024 in Bangladesh. The report prepared by a fact finding team also observed that violence against minority Hindus and indigenous communities of Bangladesh took place after the fall of the Hasina government when the interim government was in charge. The interim government of Prof. Mohammad Yunus has welcomed the report and termed it a “thorough independent investigation”.

“Based on direct testimony from senior officials involved and other inside sources, the OHCHR was able to establish that the integrated and systematic effort using the entire range of police, paramilitary, military and intelligence actors, as well as violent elements linked to the Awami League, to commit serious violations and abuses occurred with the full knowledge, coordination and direction of the political leadership,” the report has stated.

The report also pointed out that violence against minority Hindu community and the indigenous communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) took place soon after the fall of the Hasina government. “Violent mobs engaged in serious acts of revenge violence, including killings, targeting police and Awami League officials, especially early August onwards. Some Hindus, Ahmadiya Muslims and indigenous people from the Chittagong Hill Tracts were also subjected to human rights abuses, including the burning of homes, and attacks on places of worship, “ the report noted.

The Yunus government in Dhaka that welcomed the report, however, pointed out that the attacks by mobs against the Hindu community and the Ahmadiya Muslims resulted from “intersecting motives”. “Different and often intersecting motives drove these attacks, ranging from religious and ethnic discrimination to perceived opportunities for revenge against Awami League supporters among minorities, local communal disputes, including about land and interpersonal issues.”

Human rights activist and Director of Rights and Risks Analysis Group Suhas Chakma has criticised the UN report for saying “While accountability for human rights violations by Sheikh Hasina’s regime must be established, the UN Inquiry Report has failed because of the restrictions imposed by the interim government headed by Dr. Mohammad Yunus to investigate human rights violations only from 5 to 15 August 2024.”

Fazlul Haque, a 63-year-old businessman from Narayanganj, travelled to Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka on the morning of February 6 to witness the demolition of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s residence at Dhanmondhi-32, which began the previous night.

Recalling the moment he heard the news, he said, “When I saw the demolition of Dhanmondi-32 on Facebook on Wednesday (February 5) , I couldn’t stay back. I immediately decided to come to Dhaka. I have seen the wrongdoings of the Awami League for years, and I wanted to witness their downfall with the demolition of this house.”

Not only Mr. Haque, but thousands of people gathered at Dhanmondi-32 — the iconic residence where the father of ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the leader of Bangladesh’s liberation war lived and was assassinated. The building, which also housed the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, became the focal point of a historic moment as crowds gathered to witness its demolition. Many came simply to watch, while others arrived with the intent of taking part in the vandalisation.

Abrar Hamim, a student activist, said: “Shortly after I saw a Facebook post calling for the demolition of Dhanmondi-32 residence, I left my house for Shahbagh and joined the student march. We walked nearly four kilometres in protest, but by the time we arrived, people had already begun vandalising the house in anger. I returned home at dawn when a significant section of the building had already been destroyed. Everyone, including the protesting students of the July uprising, agreed to demolish it — because, to us, it is the pilgrimage site of fascism.”

February 5 marked six months since the mass uprising that toppled the 16-year regime of Ms. Hasina in Bangladesh. The ousted leader had announced a speech to be broadcast on the Facebook page of banned student outfit Bangladesh Chhatra League that night. In response, protesters, including students from the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and online activists, announced an event titled “Bulldozer March”, scheduled to coincide with the online programme of Ms. Hasina, calling for a demonstration against the speech broadcast.

They planned to gather at Shahbagh before marching to Dhanmondi-32. However, by 8:00 p.m., enraged students and people from different walks of live had already started assembling at the site, chanting slogans. At one point, protesters forcefully broke the gates of Sheikh Mujibur’s residence and stormed inside, vandalising the property. Demonstrators began tearing down the boundary walls of the residence using sticks and crowbars when a military team arrived at the residence but withdrew after a brief presence. By 10:30 p.m., the protest escalated further as Ms. Hasina’s residence, Sudha Sadan, was set on fire. The Fire Service was informed of the fire at Sudha Sadan but did not intervene, citing security concerns. Meanwhile, by 11:00 p.m., protesters brought a crane to Dhanmondi-32, soon followed by an excavator. Around midnight, the protesters began to use heavy machinery to demolish large sections of the building, with the destruction continuing until around 2:00 in the morning. Protesters remained on-site throughout the night. Law enforcers were also seen nearby since the beginning.

More people began to gather at Dhanmondi-32 in the morning of February 6, cheering as they saw most of the building reduced to rubble. The excavators left the scene by 10:30 a.m., leaving the house of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to be torn apart by hands. A large crowd remained in front of the site, while some individuals entered the building to take books, steel, iron, tin, and wood.

The enraged crowd had also attacked two individuals, a woman among them, in front of the residence in the morning. The attack occurred after the individuals chanted Joy Bangla slogans and spoke in favour of the Awami League.

At around 11:00 a.m., fires were still burning on the second floor of Sudha Sadan. Household items such as refrigerators, beds, wardrobes, and sofas were scattered outside. Signs of fire and vandalism were visible throughout the building, from the ground floor to the fourth floor, with tiles removed in several places. Thousands of people were seen coming to visit the site but the actual demolition work was being done by a smaller group of people. Parts of the building were razed to the ground by 2:00 p. m. on Thursday.

An enraged crowd had earlier stormed, vandalised, and set fire to Sheikh Rahman’s residence at Dhanmondi-32 on August 5 last year during the mass uprising which resulted in Ms. Hasina’s government being overthrown. Since then, the house had remained largely abandoned.

However, vandalism was not confined to Dhanmondi-32 residence. Similar incidents have since erupted across various districts outside the capital, where murals of Sheikh Rahman and his family members have been defaced, and homes of Awami League leaders, along with party offices, have been attacked and set on fire.

Acts of vandalism and arson erupted across multiple districts in Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Rangpur, Mymensingh, Barishal, and Sylhet divisions. The destruction outside Dhaka started in Khulna with the demolition of the ‘Sheikh Bari’ — the residence of Sheikh Hasina’s uncle. The ancestral home of Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader was attacked, ransacked, torched, and looted by enraged students and protesters in Noakhali.

Shafiul Alam Chowdhury Nadel, organising secretary of Bangladesh Awami League, said to The Hindu: “History does not fade with time and under bullets. From House No. 32, history of Bangladesh was written. House No. 32 will stand unshaken, because it is built not just with bricks, but with the indomitable spirit of the Bengali nation. The defeated forces may still try to rewrite history, to silence the truth, to erase our struggle. But they will fail. Because House No. 32 is not just a house — it is Bangladesh itself.”

Ahsanul Mahbub Jubair, a central committee member of The Jatiya Nagorik Committee, a political platform that has been formed by youth who were at the forefront of the student-led uprising said: “Through vandalising the pilgrimage site of fascism, protesters sent a clear message that the people of this country will never tolerate a fascist and a mass murderer like Sheikh Hasina. We, the youth, pledge to dismantle all elements of fascism, reform the state, and build our nation anew.”

Awami League’s response

The Awami League has strongly condemned the demolition of Sheikh Rahman’s historic residence, calling it an attack on Bangladesh’s history and independence.

AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Joint Secretary of the Awami League, told The Hindu: “We are deeply startled and disappointed by the vandalism and demolition of the Dhanmondi-32 residence and houses of Awami League leaders across the country. Dhanmondi-32 residence is not just a building; it holds immense historical significance. The government-backed protesters cannot erase Bangladesh’s history by demolishing it. It is naive to think that by vandalising a house, they can erase the contributions of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Awami League in achieving an independent Bangladesh.”

“This demolition was carried out under the instructions of the unelected, Yunus-led interim government. The protesters had announced their vandalism programme in advance, and the bulldozer was sent by the government itself. Thus, it is clear that the government orchestrated this attack under the guise of public protest. The people will not forget these actions, and one day, this government will be held accountable.”, Mr. Nasim added.

However, the interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus  on February 6 blamed Ms. Hasina for her provocative statements for the attacks on the Dhanmondhi-32 residence.

“The vandalism at House No. 32 in Dhanmondi is unfortunate and unexpected. For the past six months, House No. 32 has not been subjected to any attacks or destruction. The deep public outrage that led to this incident was triggered by Sheikh Hasina’s provocative statements against the July Uprising while she remains in hiding in India. The interim government remains fully committed to protecting the lives and property of the people. Law enforcement agencies are making every effort to restore order and maintain stability”, the interim government said in a statement.

“The government expects that India will not allow its territory to be used for actions that incite instability in Bangladesh and will prevent Sheikh Hasina from making such statements. The interim government does not want a repeat of such incidents,” it added.

Protest note

Bangladesh handed over a protest note to the Indian acting high commissioner calling him to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Foreign Affairs Adviser Mohammed Touhid Hossain.

“We asked (summon) Indian deputy High Commissioner, as the high commissioner was not here, and handed over him our protest note. Dhaka had previously urged New Delhi to prevent Hasina from engaging in such activities, but we did not receive any response. We will observe what actions India takes,”

When asked why Dhanmondi-32 was targeted, Nazmul Islam, a political analyst and Head of Türkiye, Asia, and Indo-Pacific Studies at Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, told The Hindu: “For the student-led masses, this house symbolises ‘fascism,’ particularly due to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s rule from 1972 to 1975. Beyond that, it serves as an opportunity for student-led protesters to unite and demonstrate their collective opposition to the previous regime.”

“Whatever things happened, the incident has created a strong unity with the students-led masses for the short time, however, in the long run, if the current interim government fails to address the situation effectively, then the unrest could escalate into widespread chaos.”, he added.

Dhaka:

Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League would not be allowed to participate in elections, a key adviser of Muhammad Yunus’s interim government said on Saturday.

“The elections will be contested among pro-Bangladesh groups only,” said Mahfuz Alam, a top leader of the Anti-Discrimination Movement, which spearheaded the mass uprising that toppled Hasina’s Awami League regime and forced her to flee the country on August 5 last year.

Addressing a street rally at central Chandpur district, Alam said only former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islam and other “pro-Bangladesh” groups would carry on their politics in the country. He added that either of these “will establish future governance through a fair electoral process”.

“But Awami League’s rehabilitation will not be allowed in this country,” said Alam, a de facto minister without portfolio in Chief Adviser Yunus’s administration.

Mahfuz Alam stated that no election would take place until “minimum reforms” were implemented and institutions, allegedly destroyed by the “fascist Hasina government,” were restructured.

Initially appointed by Yunus as a special assistant in his government, Alam later served as an adviser in his interim cabinet. At a function on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last year, Yunus introduced Alam as the “main brain” behind the “meticulously” designed student-led movement that toppled the past regime.

The Awami League has been virtually out of the open political landscape since August 5, 2024, with most of its leaders and Hasina’s cabinet members either in jail on murder and other criminal charges or on the run at home and abroad.

Earlier, the BNP said it was against banning any political party, visibly weighing its support for archrival Awami League’s existence in the political field. It demanded elections in the quickest possible time after minimal reforms, calling it a continued process.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir recently said the reform agenda undertaken by the interim government could take 10 years and an unelected government must not continue for a longer period.

Amid speculations about the formation of a youth-led new political party by the student leaders, BNP said the interim government would lose its credibility if figures of the government formed a party staying in power.

Meanwhile, Local Government and Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan, another leader of the Anti-Discrimination Movement, in a Facebook post on Saturday, said “There will be efforts or debates about who is more advanced in doing people’s welfare”.

Information Affairs adviser Nahid Islam, another student leader said if required the advisers of the government would resign from their posts to form the party and contest the future election.

Last month, Yunus said the next general election in the country could take place by the end of 2025 or the first half of 2026. He had, however, said the timing of the election would largely depend upon the political consensus and the extent of the reforms that must be carried out before it.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Students from anti-discrimination movements and Bangladesh Nationalist Party activists attack an Awami League supporter in Dhaka, Bangladesh recently. File photo
| Photo Credit: AP

Bangladesh’s Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin has said that ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League may participate in elections unless the government or the judiciary issues a ban against the party.

Also read:Yunus consults political parties on India-Bangladesh relation, excludes Awami League and allies

The chief election commissioner (CEC) said this during a meeting with election officials at the Chittagong Circuit House on Monday, The Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

Mr. Nasir Uddin also assured that the Election Commission runs with complete independence and faces no external pressure.

“We are committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure a fair and transparent election,” he added.

The CEC also acknowledged the issue of fake voters in previous elections and attributed a decline in voter registration to mistrust in the voting process. He announced plans to initiate a voter list update soon to address these concerns.

“The voter list will be updated within the next six months. This time, elections will not follow previous patterns. Since August 5, there has been significant progress in fostering national consensus on electoral matters,” he added.

During the meeting, the CEC provided detailed guidelines on voter list updates and preparations for the upcoming national election.

A few days ago, former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party said that Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’ suggestion to set the minimum voting age at 17 would put pressure on the Election Commission and could delay the election process.

Mr. Yunus, 84, who was sworn-in to lead the interim government after the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August, had suggested that the minimum voter age should be lowered to 17 years.

During his Victory Day speech on December 16, Yunus indicated that elections might be held by early 2026.

“Broadly speaking, the election can be scheduled between the end of 2025 and the first half of 2026,” he said.

Mr. Yunus said that the elections would be held after updating the voters’ list.

Bangladesh’s Supreme Court has put a hold on a High Court verdict that declared “Joy Bangla” as the country’s national slogan. This phrase, popularised by Bangbandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, has been a significant part of Bangladesh’s history and identity.

“Joy Bangla” or “Victory to Bangla” was the symbol of patriotism and unity especially during the birth of Bangladesh. “Joy Bangla” was more than a political slogan – it was a war cry.

On March 2nd 2022, it was made the national slogan by the Awami League government and it became mandatory at all government offices to voice the two words during national celebrations.

The recent development comes after Sheikh Hasina, Rahman’s daughter and the former Prime Minister, was ousted from power on August 5. Since then, the new government has taken steps to remove symbols associated with Hasina and her father, including the removal of Rahman’s image from currency notes.

After the change of government, the state made a move to the High Court to hold the ruling and filed the leave to appeal petition with the SC on December 2nd seeking a stay on the High Court verdict of March 10, 2020.

The Supreme Court’s decision was made on the grounds that the national slogan is a matter of government policy, and the judiciary should not interfere.

Additional Attorney General Aneek R Haque stated that “‘Joy Bangla’ will not be considered as the national slogan following this Appellate Division order”.

This move is part of a broader effort by the new government to distance itself from the previous administration. The government has also decided not to observe August 15 as a national mourning day and public holiday, despite a High Court verdict justifying the observance.

Earlier this year, on August 13th, the advisory council of the interim government made a decision to not even have a national holiday on August 15th.

The Bangladesh Bank is also printing new currency notes that feature the July uprising, which refers to the student-led protests that forced Hasina to flee to India. Notably, these new notes will not include the image of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
 

You have finished 100 days as the chief advisor of the interim government in Bangladesh. How would you grade your government on two major issues- law and order and the economy? 

Well, we are still improving on law and order, but I wouldn’t say we have got an ‘A’ yet. On the other issue- I’ll say it’s A-plus because we inherited a shattered economy. All financial institutions and banking systems nearly collapsed. It was a crazy banking system. Bad loans, 60% non-repayment. A large number of banks don’t know how to deal with each other, how to deal with the customers, and so on. So we had an almost dysfunctional financial system. So from there, we built it up, making the banking system function again. It’s not perfect yet, but they’re moving forward. Our foreign exchange reserves went down as we took over responsibility, but now have been growing month on month for the past 100 days. We were able to make our debt payments and that has improved our international image. We are trying to tame inflation down to a level where it’s tolerable. Best of all, we have gotten a tremendous amount of global support— the international community is doing business with us, assuring us of further collaboration opening the door for investments and so on. When I was in the United Nations, at the General Assembly meeting, I met so many heads of government, including President Biden and the head of the President of the European Union, and many more, who promised us financial support and also political support. We have officials who are ready to solve the problems for investors quickly so that they are not caught up in the bureaucratic process of Bangladesh, a one-stop service where you can get things done. So I would say the country is moving in a very positive way.

You’ve certainly drawn a very, positive picture. But are you worried about the future— the election of Donald Trump in the U.S., for example, who issued a very strong statement criticising Bangladesh? How confident are you that international support will continue with the new U.S. administration?

I don’t think President Trump has made any statement about Bangladesh.  

He has, on the state of minorities…

Well, that is now about Bangladesh, and on minorities, he is probably not well informed. It’s a propaganda that’s going on around the world. But when he comes to the reality of dealing with Bangladesh, Mr. Trump will be surprised at how different Bangladesh is from the impression he has been given. I don’t think just because there’s a new president in the U.S. means that everything will change. Foreign policies and country-by-country relationships don’t usually change because of a change in the President. Also, if there is a change in Trump 2.0, let us remember there is also a Bangladesh 2.0 now, what we call new Bangladesh. So we will wait, and if U.S. representatives come and check with us, and if our economy is doing well, they’ll be very much interested. They are the largest government buyers from Bangladesh, so from our side, it’s a very good relationship that we’ve built over years. Our hope is that it will be strengthened.

You referred to what Mr. Trump said as propaganda- but it’s not just him. The Indian government has put out a number of statements expressing concern about how Hindus are being targeted, homes burnt, killings in certain cases, even suspected rape. How do you respond to that? 

In my first phone call with Prime Minister Modi [On August 16], that’s precisely what he said, that minorities are being treated badly in Bangladesh and so on. I told him, very clearly, that it’s propaganda. After many reporters came here, there were some reports about some tensions, but not in the way that’s been built up in the media.

Who do you think is behind it then?

I don’t know, but this propaganda doesn’t fit into the reality. A very serious group of people have gone into all the cases, one by one…

I have spoken to members of the minority community. They do feel scared. They do feel targeted. There are videos out on Facebook, on social media talking about the fact that Bangladesh will be a Muslim country. We do hear about people in positions of power now talking about changing the constitution to take secularism out of it. There is a sense that what is coming to Bangladesh next, and through your own government, is a much more radical form of Islam than we have seen in Bangladesh in the last 16 years. Is there something that your government can do to reassure these communities ? 

Does this [image] fit me? Every single member of the cabinet either is a human rights activist who has suffered themselves, or an environmental activist, or a gender activist or other activist. So these are all activist people. If you say the words that you said in front of them, they will be shouting at you. Go through the lives of each one of the Cabinet members. 

So you’re saying no one in your cabinet would push for an Islamist agenda. 

Look at the life stories of each one of them. These are very dedicated people. There are women activists. If you think they are the ones who will be championing the kind of rule that you’re describing.

There are other concerns— According to figures released by Human Rights Group Adhikar— 841 people were injured in political violence, and eight died in extra-judicial killings just in September. We hear many journalists have had their accreditations cancelled…some would say your government is continuing the behaviour of the past.

Let people judge, and compare what this government has done, and what the other government has done. I’m not going to debate. We have ensured press freedom. There’s no doubt about it. The accreditation law was not made by us. We just applied it, and you can debate about it, whether it is a correct application. I would like to change that law. That was a law which belonged to some other kind of regime. 

Another worry is that people associated with the previous government will be targeted for political revenge. Are there mechanisms you can put in place to ensure that doesn’t happen?

I would say let the rule of law prevail. That’s it.

You have set up so many commissions for reform— why not a commission on minority rights? 

We do have a commission on human rights— and why should minorities go separately? I said [to the minority groups], you are a citizen of the country. You have every right guaranteed by the Constitution. We all want human rights to be established and all the rights that the Constitution gives us. See who is on our Constitution commission, and who heads it (U.S.-based academic Ali Riaz) and then try to reconcile with what you are saying…otherwise this is allpropaganda.

If it is believed in a country like India, that’s right next door, or in the United States, has your government then failed to convince people it is propaganda ?

Maybe we don’t have that kind of clout or money power to convince the world otherwise.  

You have not so far met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, although you have spoken on the telephone…

Yes, that’s something that hasn’t happened yet. when I came to the UN General Assembly, Mr. Modi had left. I attended the CoP in Baku, but he wasn’t there, BIMSTEC [in Thailand] was cancelled, and neither of us travelled for the Commonwealth CHOGM meet. But that doesn’t mean that we are not going to meet. We are not only neighbours, history has brought us together. Geography has brought us together. Linguistic relationships have brought us together. Cultural links bring us together. From day one, I have proposed to PM Modi to revive the SAARC. Why should it be a dead body? I even suggested that all SAARC leaders could meet in New York, just for five minutes to send out the message that we are still there.

India and Bangladesh now cooperate on BIMSTEC, BBIN. So why SAARC? . 

Why not SAARC? The more friends and relationships we can make, the better.

Because with SAARC, India and Pakistan have what seems to be irreconcilable differences…

SAARC must go on… It shouldn’t be that the whole group disappears only because of one relationship between two countries. We can pass a resolution, suspend any India-Pakistan issues from the agenda, but we can’t end SAARC.

Was it then a mistake for Bangladesh in 2016 to support India in suspending SAARC until terrorism ends? 

If we put such conditions, no relationship will ever exist. Why should all other South Asian countries suffer because of the relationship between two member countries? 

When it comes to the bilateral relationship between India and Bangladesh, how was it affected by the events of August 5? Was it a blow? 

Why should it be? India should be celebrating as a friendly country that Bangladesh was liberated from a rule where people suffered, so many were killed, so many disappeared, and so many institutions were destroyed. It should join our young people and celebrate together, like many other nations do.

You have said that Ms. Hasina’s presence in India since August 5 poses difficulties for ties…

[Former PM Hasina’s] living in India, at least for the time being, is not a problem. Talking to Bangladesh is the problem. She is talking to Bangladeshi people, and it is political. She is continuing her political activities, which is the problem.

In what way?

She is asking for them to come out and demonstrate on the streets of Dhaka and other cities, and her audio is being circulated, telling them to hold pictures of [U.S. President-elect] Donald Trump [as shields], so that if the police stop them, they will say the Bangladesh government is against the U.S. This is interfering with the internal and external matters of another country.

Your government has approached Interpol with a request to bring her back- why not request India directly? There are bilateral mechanisms to invoke.

We will use all legal means to get her back.

And yet, your government has not actually asked for an extradition. There’s an extradition treaty. 

I think there are legal steps which we are taking towards that, but we have not come to that stage yet. 

What if India does not accept the request, invoking clauses on political prosecutions?

Are you saying India would violate the treaty? Yes, there are such clauses, but if the Indian government were to use them to keep [Ms. Hasina] there, that will not make a very happy relationship between us. Our interim government is very short-lived, so it may not be able to settle everything between Bangladesh and India. But this will not be forgiven by any government that comes after us.

Do you foresee India-Bangladesh ties moving smoothly on other issues? Recently we have seen some initiatives on energy connectivity, trade connectivity etc.

Our dream is imagining a relationship like the European Union [with freedom of movement and trade]. That’s the direction we want to go. What you mentioned are good signs and the direction we would like to move in, but far away from what we want to achieve, which is union of very close ties. We are born to be together. We are twins.

How “short lived” is your government? When do you foresee elections?

When we were given the responsibility, it was made clear to us, that we wouldn’t just be a caretaker government, that comes in, holds an election and hands over. We were told that our major responsibility is reform for Bangladesh, 2.0. We didn’t want to stay for long, so we came up with this formulation. The election process began right from day one, as a separate process, and the other process of reforms will move in parallel. Now, first of all, we have created the Election Commission, which is a long, drawn process, and we expect to announce in the coming weeks, the chief election commissioners who will form an independent entity to hold elections. But they cannot hold an election until some other reforms happen- the Commission for constitutional reform will need to decide on whether we will have a bicameral parliament, whether will Bangladesh have proportional representation, terms and term limits and so on.
I would say the train for elections has left the station, but along the way, we have to put the rail down in which direction it will go and that’s why we have to go back to the reform commissions.

Could this take a few years?

I have no idea. People would like to see an elected government, so we will be in a hurry to make the consensus as fast as possible.

Will the Awami League be allowed to contest elections? 

This is already announced. We didn’t want to take decisions about the political party, and the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) has done that, saying that all political parties must contest elections. So they already made the verdict, and we cannot defy the opinion of a major party of the country. 

So you have no objection to the Awami League contesting? 

I’m not a politician to choose one party or another party. I am facilitating the politicians’ wishes. 

You did try to start your own party several years ago (in 2007)…

That was just for 10 weeks, and then I held a press conference and shut it down. Many people put pressure on me, saying that people need a change. We even named the party but that was about it. Even so for the rest of my life I have accused of wanting a political party. 

You don’t see yourself as a politician?

I don’t see myself as a politician ever.

Guwahati:

The body of Awami League leader Ishaque Ali Khan Panna was handed over to Bangladesh officials this afternoon by the Meghalaya government at the Dawki Land Port after completion of all paperwork and formalities.

At 5 am, Panna’s body was handed over to an associate approved by the Bangladesh High Commission at Khliehriat Civil Hospital in East Jaintia Hills district.

The body will be taken to his home in Pirojpur district in Bangladesh through the Dawki Land Port in West Jaintia Hills.

Panna was a former general secretary of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and a key member of the Awami League and closely associated with former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The Ministry of External Affairs and its Bangladesh counterpart had been working closely ever since the body of Panna was found in a betel nut plantation in Dona Bhoi village in East Jaintia Hills on August 26. The body was identified through a Bangladesh passport.

Guwahati:

A top leader of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party, Ishaque Ali Khan Panna, who had reportedly fled the country after her government collapsed, was found dead in Meghalaya, not far from the Bangladesh border, Meghalaya police said in a press release today. Police sources added that his postmortem report suggests that he had been strangled.

Meghalaya police said the semi-decomposed body was found inside a betel-nut plantation in East Jaintia Hills’ Dona Bhoi village on August 26. The area is 1.5 km from the India- Bangladesh border.

The body was identified by the passport he was carrying, sources said.

Police sources added that the postmortem report said he died because of strangulation — “the cause of the death is asphyxia caused by throttling”. The body has been sent for forensic analysis, sources said.

There were also multiple lacerations on the body. There were abrasions and bruises on the forehead, “which could indicate a struggle by the victim,” the report added, said police sources.

Panna was a former general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League affiliated to the Awami League.

BSF personnel keep vigil at the India-Bangladesh international Border on the eve of the Independence Day, at Chatrahati in South Dinajpur district of West Bengal .
| Photo Credit: ANI

A retired judge of Bangladesh’s Supreme Court was detained from the northeastern frontier with India in Sylhet while he was allegedly attempting to flee the country, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) said late on Friday (August 23, 2024).

The report came hours after the arrest of Awami League leader ASM Firoz from his residence.

Watch: The story of Sheikh Hasina

The BGB headquarters, in an SMS, informed reporters that they have detained former apex appellate division judge of the Supreme Court Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik as he was trying to cross over to India through Sylhet’s Kanaighat border.

Newspaper Prothom Alo said Manik was kept at a BGB outpost till midnight citing the camp’s in-charge.

Bangladesh descended into chaos after ousted premier Sheikh Hasina’s government collapsed and she fled to India on August 5 amid violent protests over quota for government jobs, while the Army stepped in to fill the power vacuum.

Before that, anti-government protests had killed more than 500 people since mid-July. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took oath as the Chief Adviser of the interim government on August 8.

Since August 5, a number of leaders of the deposed regime, including senior ministers, have been arrested — many of them on murder charges.

The Bangladesh Army has earlier said that several hundred leaders of Hasina’s Awami League and others have been sheltered in cantonments as their lives were at risk.

Former law minister Anisul Huq and the ex-premier’s private sector affairs adviser Salman F Rahman were the first to be arrested from Dhaka’s main river port Sadarghat terminal area as they were allegedly trying to leave Dhaka on a boat.

A number of members of Hasina’s cabinet, including former foreign minister Hassan Mahmud and former social welfare minister Dipu Moni, several lawmakers and leaders of Awami League and its allies, including pro-left Workers Party chairman Rashed Khan Menon, and a number of recently sacked military and civil officials have been arrested.

This included sacked major general Ziaul Hassan, who was serving as the head of the government’s telecommunications system, and Chittagong Port Authority chairman rear admiral Mohammad Sohail, who once was the spokesman of the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion.

A TV journalist couple Farzana Rupa and her husband Shakil Ahmed have also been arrested.