DM Monitoring
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s interim leader will meet multiple parties on Sunday in marathon talks as he seeks to build unity and calm intense political power struggles, party leaders and officials said.
Muhammad Yunus, the 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner who leads the caretaker government as its chief adviser until elections are held, has called for rival parties to give him their full support.
The South Asian nation of around 170 million people has been in political turmoil since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted after a student-led revolt in August 2024, ending her iron-fisted rule of 15 years. The talks come after meetings that stretched late into Saturday evening with major political parties, including those who have protested against the government this month. “Chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus will meet the leaders of several parties on Sunday,” his press secretary Shafiqul Alam told media.
There are 54 registered political parties in Bangladesh — not including the now-banned Awami League of former leader Hasina.
Alam did not specify how many parties were invited to this round of talks.
Mamunul Haque, leader of the Islamist Khelafat-e-Majlish party, said he was attending discussions expected to focus on “the ongoing crisis”. Zonayed Saki of the liberal Ganosamhati Andolon party said he was also attending. After a week of escalation during which rival parties protested on the streets of the capital Dhaka, the government led by Yunus warned on Saturday that political power struggles risked jeopardising gains that have been made. “Broader unity is essential to maintain national stability, organise free and fair elections, justice, and reform, and permanently prevent the return of authoritarianism in the country,” it said in a statement.
Microfinance pioneer Yunus, who returned from exile at the behest of protesters in August 2024, says he has a duty to implement democratic reforms before elections he has vowed will take place by June 2026 at the latest.
