Bangladesh’s interim government in crisis: Not the army, Yunus is embroiled in a war between his close student leader and BNP, surrounded by promises

Bangladesh interim government chief Muhammad Yunus. – File- Photo

What is the reason behind the sudden tension in Bangladesh? Why has Mohammad Yunus said that he will not be able to work in the current political situation in Bangladesh? What is the real reason behind the internal conflict between political parties in Bangladesh? Let us find out…

Political turmoil continues in Bangladesh. In fact, questions are being raised continuously about the interim government led by Mohammad Yunus in the country. Especially on the reforms done by him and the promises of writing a new chapter of democracy in the country. After the way the pace of reforms in Bangladesh, from economy to reforms, has come to a halt in the last 10 months, not only the common people, but also the people close to Yunus have changed their tune.

Now the latest tension in Bangladesh has arisen from the statement of Mohammad Yunus. In an interview given to BBC Bangla, student leader Nahid Islam, who was close to Yunus, has said that the head of the interim government is considering leaving his post. According to Nahik, the convener of the student party National Citizen Party (NCP), who was once an advisor to Yunus, Yunus expressed apprehension that he would not be able to work in the current situation of the country. He clarified that until the political parties do not reach a consensus.

I will not be able to work. This statement of Yunus is being linked to the statements of Bangladesh Army Chief Waqar Uz-Zaman, who had talked about ensuring early elections in Bangladesh during a meeting of military officers a few days ago. Not only this, he had raised his voice against the corridor coming from Myanmar’s Rakhine to Bangladesh for Rohingyas and termed it unacceptable. He never talked about removing Yunus from his side, despite this, news of the conflict between Waqar and Mohammad Yunus started appearing in the Bangladeshi media itself.

Meanwhile, it is important to know what is the reason behind the sudden tension that has emerged in Bangladesh? Why has Mohammad Yunus said that he will not be able to work in the current political circumstances in Bangladesh? What is the real reason behind the internal conflict between political parties in Bangladesh? Let’s know…

1. Controversy over Rakhine Corridor
   The entire controversy in Bangladesh is political. In fact, some time ago, Nahid Islam, who was an advisor to Mohammad Yunus, broke away from him and formed his own National Citizen Party (NCP). During this time, the interim government intended to build a corridor to help the Rohingyas who were forced to flee from Rakhine in Myanmar. Nahid’s NCP supported this plan of the interim government, although the general public of Bangladesh and the main political party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) were not informed about it.

BNP started cornering the Yunus government and Nahid’s NCP over this. BNP questioned the intention of the humanitarian corridor and said that are we going to join the kind of war that is going on in Myanmar. Not only this, BNP alleged that Yunus’ interim government kept it in the dark about the corridor and such decisions can push Bangladesh into darkness.

In this entire matter, Bangladesh Nationalist Party started opposing the interim government and Mohammad Yunus as well as Nahid Islam. The party alleged that the government’s foreign affairs advisor and Yunus’s press secretary gave different statements in this matter.

2. On handing over the responsibility of operating the Chittagong port to a foreign firm

Another controversy in Bangladesh started after the responsibility of operating the Chittagong port was handed over to DP World, a company of United Arab Emirates (UAE). In this matter, BNP raised the issue of foreign interference in the affairs of Bangladesh and said that Yunus’ interim government should take back the responsibility of Chittagong’s New Mooring Container Terminal from the UAE company. BNP says that the interim government cannot call foreign companies like this and this work can be done only by the elected government. Bangladesh Nationalist Party has also held many demonstrations amid this controversy. Due to this, Yunus’ interim government is under heavy pressure.

Md. Yunus may resign soon: Was the displeasure of the Bangladesh Army the reason, on which issues did the conflict take place, what next?

3. Dispute over elections
   The third issue on which the interim government of Bangladesh is surrounded by controversies is the issue of elections. The Yunus government has announced that parliamentary elections can be held in Bangladesh between December 2025 and June 2026. However, due to the interim government not being elected, the mainstream party and the army are opposing many important decisions regarding Bangladesh. Due to this, the economy of Bangladesh is stagnating. Apart from this, the interim government has also faced difficulties in taking other decisions related to police, security system and reform.

As a result, the political parties and the army have directly told Mohammad Yunus that elections should be held in Bangladesh as soon as possible so that a regular government can come to power.

4. Yunus government surrounded by breaking promises
   When Sheikh Hasina was forced to leave the country after the student movement in July 2024, Mohammad Yunus, who was exiled from Bangladesh, returned from France. Yunus, who came to Bangladesh on the call of the students, then appealed to his supporters that he would take charge of Bangladesh only if the incidents of mob violence in the country were curbed. Otherwise he should be allowed to return. In fact, after Hasina came to India, the workers of her party Awami League were persecuted on a large scale in Bangladesh. Along with this, Islamic fundamentalists also targeted Hindus, their homes and places of worship.

Due to the continuously deteriorating image of Bangladesh at the international level amid the student movement and demonstrations of fundamentalists, Yunus had promised that he would take the country back on the path of reform and elections would be held after establishing peace. Yunus had promised that no retaliatory action would be taken against anyone in Bangladesh.

However, even after 10 months, the situation in Bangladesh has not improved. On the contrary, there have been reports of harassment of Awami League leaders in Bangladesh. A few days ago, after an appeal by the NCP, Mohammad Yunus’ government decided to ban Sheikh Hasina’s party Awami League, due to which two factions have been formed in Bangladesh.

5. Political parties themselves have started demanding resignation of Yunus government officials

There are tensions between political parties in Bangladesh on some other issues as well, in which even Mohammad Yunus’ officials have been cornered.