Bangladesh: Yunus to Stay
NEW DELHI, May 25: Amidst the buzz of his submitting his resignation, official sources on Saturday confirmed that Muhammad Yunus would remain as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government.
“He (Yunus) didn’t say he will leave. He said while we face many obstacles in carrying out the work and responsibilities assigned to us, we are overcoming them,” Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud told reporters after an unscheduled meeting of the advisory council on Saturday. “He (Yunus) is definitely staying,” Mahmud added.
The planning adviser also added that none of the advisers in the interim government were going anywhere, as the responsibility entrusted to them was significant and they cannot abandon their duty.
The surprise meeting of the advisory council was held hours before Yunus was scheduled to meet leaders of top political parties in Bangladesh and days after Yunus reportedly threatened to quit.
His press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, said Yunus would meet leaders of the powerful Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami. No agenda for the talks has been released. Yunus, who assumed office following a mass uprising in Bangladesh last year, has reportedly threatened to resign if political parties fail to support him.
Bangladesh’s political crisis escalated this week, with rival parties protesting on the streets of the capital Dhaka, with a string of competing demands. Thousands of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) supporters marched in Dhaka on Thursday, demanding a firm election date.
Yunus has promised that polls will be held in Bangladesh by June 2026 at the latest, but BNP supporters have been demanding that he fix a date. Yunus’s relationship with the military has also reportedly deteriorated, with the Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman saying that elections should be held by December.
(Manas Dasgupta)
