Muhammad Yunus, interim leader of Bangladesh, says the damage done by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was monumental. He believes she has devastated the country like another Gaza, but in Bangladesh’s case destroying its institutions, policies, people and international relations.
Since coming to power six months ago through the demand of student protesters, the Yunus-led interim government has prosecuted senior police officers for extrajudicial killings. It has emptied secret detention centers where the former prime minister’s critics were allegedly tortured, and human rights commissions have been established.
Yunus has promised to hold free and fair elections in Bangladesh sometime between December 2025 and March 2026. However, the interim government has a difficult road ahead. Fingers are being pointed at the Nobel laureate over the pace of promised reform and his governance capabilities. It should be noted that Hasina had seen Yunus as her biggest political threat and even persecuted him. From accusing him of sucking blood from poor people, she also convicted the economist of violating Bangladesh’s labor law.
In December 2024, Hasina in a virtual address at an event in New York accused Yunus, 81, of perpetrating genocide and failing to protect minorities, mainly Hindus. She alleged there was a plot to assassinate her and her sister Sheikh Rehana.
Bangladesh’s Independence and Sovereignty at Stake
The interim government is also facing internal turmoil. Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman, Bangladesh’s army chief, in an address last week said the country was in a state of anarchy. He said if the divisions fueling unrest continued, the independence and sovereignty of Bangladesh will be at stake.
However, Yunus has downplayed the army chief’s comments saying he has a very good relationship with the military. He said there was no pressure from the army chief who had played a significant role in getting Sheikh Hasina out of the country.
Moreover, he has been accused of being soft on hardline Islamic religious right groups like the banned Jamaat-e-Islami. Several banned Islamist militant groups, including Hizb-ut-Tahrir, have become active in Bangladesh since the interim government rose to power.
Volley of words continue between Sheikh Hasina and Yunus, with the former leader calling him a mobster who was unleashing terrorists on the country, and the Nobel laureate saying Hasina’s government was a family of bandits.
