'For the sake of Bangladesh ...': Muhammad Yunus 'is not going to decline,' says Minister | Today news

Bangladesh Cabinet member and a special adviser to Muhammad Yunus said on Friday that the main advisor should “stay in office” as an interim leader. His statement came when Muhammad Yunus threatened to retire if he did not get the support of parties after a massive rally from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (GNP) in Dhaka. The cabinet leader said Yunus must remain in power to ensure a peaceful transition. The South Asian nation has been in political turmoil since the student-led rebellion that overthrew the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, with parties protesting on the streets over a series of demands. “For the sake of Bangladesh and a peaceful democratic transition, Professor Yunus must remain in office,” said Faiz Ahmad Taeyeb in a Facebook post, adding: ‘The main advisor is not going to decline. He is not to the power. ‘ He later deleted the post. For the past few days, Bangladesh has been witnessing unrest. While Muhammad gave Yunus the assurance that the election will take place no later than June 2026, the GNP supporters insist that a specific election date be announced. Read also | Will Muhammad Yunus call it in the midst of political turmoil? Important challenges Bangladesh’s main advisor is also facing Yunus’s relationship with the army, also reported that he had deteriorated. According to local media and military sources, Army General Waker-Uz-Zaman said on Wednesday that elections should be held by December, warning that Bangladesh was in a ‘chaotic phase’ and that the ‘situation worsened throughout the day’. Taeyb issued a warning to the army on Friday. “The army cannot interfere in politics. The army does not do so in any civilized country. By saying that the election must be held by December, the military chief failed to maintain his jurisdictional correctness,” he said. (With AFP inputs)