Bangladesh: Yunus Threatens To Resign, Before That Sacks FS
Bangladesh interim government in turmoil as Chief Advisor Md Yunus threatens to quit under poll pressure; rift with Army and diplomats deepens political uncertainty.
By : Vineeta Pandey
Update: 2025-05-23 14:15 GMT
New Delhi: Under pressure to hold elections by December this year and hand over the charge to an elected government, the Chief Advisor of the country’s interim government Professor Mohammad Yunus has threatened to resign. Many see this as theatrics by Yunus to trigger a fresh wave of massive protests in order to hide his failure to carry out promised reforms and political stability in the country and postpone elections.
Md Yunus is in loggerheads with his Army chief and also the Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin, who refused to toe his line on the argument that he is pursuing the agenda of the West and cosying up with Pakistan. He had asked Pakistan to apologise for 1971 genocide and pay $4.52 billion as its share of undivided assets and foreign aid funds. Finding Jashim Uddin out of sync with his functioning, Md Yunus, late on Thursday sacked the FS, temporarily giving his charge to another senior diplomat M. Ruhul Alam Siddique till another FS is announced. Jashim Uddin was appointed by Yunus government in September last year.
India is closely monitoring the developments in Bangladesh and has called for inclusive and participatory elections in the country.
Md Yunus has been dragging feet on the polls on the pretext the promised reforms are yet to be done. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP) has been giving ultimatum to Yunus to hold elections at earliest and in a latest Bangladesh Army chief Gen Waker-uz-Zaman put him on toice to hold polls by December 2025. This triggered Prof Yunus to call a meeting of his advisors on Thursday during which he expressed that the situation was still volatile in the country and in the present circumstances chances of holding fair elections was slim and polls will be either controlled, rigged or ill-managed for which he will be blamed later. During the meeting Md Yunus wondered if the police and administration would be in a position to prevent incidents such as ballot snatching if the election were to be held in present volatile conditions.
Despite having full control and free hand, he blamed political parties for not supporting him and mentioned obstacles from stakeholders that prevented him from functioning properly. At least four of his advisors are learnt to have agreed with his line of thought saying they too did not want to be blamed if things go wrong at any point of time. Sources said that at one stage of the meeting, a draft of a speech to the nation was also prepared for the chief advisor and he told his advisors to form another interim government.
However, a couple of his advisors hold him to hold on to his post for some more time and let the promised reforms take place. These advisers reportedly said that since the interim government came to power following an uprising, it has a responsibility to sail the nation through the turbulent time. They added that if Yunus steps down at this volatile moment, the situation in Bangladesh may further deteriorate and the blame will be on Prof Yunus as the head of the government.
After meeting Md Yunus, Nahid Islam, the convener of the National Citizens Party (NCP) told BBC Bangla that Yunus feels that the situation has become such that he will not be able to carry out his responsibilities under present circumstances.
“Sir said, ‘You brought me in after a mass uprising, hoping for change and reform in the country. But the way things are unfolding—the protests, and the way I am being held hostage—I cannot function like this’” Islam told the media about his conversation with Md Yunus.
Meanwhile, the BNP has asked Md Yunus to downsize his advisory council, confine itself to routine works, and unveil a plan for elections by December. With Awami League banned, the BNP is hopeful of coming to power. It has been holding protests and sit in dharnas for the last ten days demanding a specific roadmap for elections. The BNP has also questioned the neutrality of some of the advisors and demanded sacking of three of them -- Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, Mahfuj Alam, and national security adviser Khalilur Rahman. The BNP has alleged that some recent activities of the interim government headed by Md Yunus have cast doubt on its neutrality and made it clear that it will be difficult for them to keep supporting the interim government if it fails to hold the election by December 2025.