Muhammad Yunus not resigning or leaving country amid unrest: 'Greater unity needed to keep country stable'

Muhammad Yunus, the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh's interim government, will not resign, nor is he leaving the country amid political unrest. Quashing all such rumours, an unscheduled meeting of the Advisory Council was held today, after the National Economic Council meeting.

The meeting discussed the three primary responsibilities--elections, reforms, and justice--assigned to the interim government. "The interim government will listen to the statements of political parties in this regard and clarify the government's position," the Advisory Council said in a statement after the meeting.

The meeting was held at the Planning Commission in the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area of the capital under the chairmanship of Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus. The meeting discussed in detail how the normal working environment is being disrupted and doubts and suspicions are being created in the public mind by making various unreasonable demands, motivated and extra-judicial statements and programs in the discharge of these responsibilities, the statement said.

"The Advisory Council believes that greater unity is needed to keep the country stable, advance the election, justice and reform work and permanently prevent the arrival of dictatorship in this country," it added. The statement said that the interim government will listen to the statements of political parties in this regard and clarify the government's position.

"Despite hundreds of obstacles, the interim government is fulfilling its responsibilities, ignoring group interests. If the government is made unable to fulfill its responsibilities due to the influence of defeated forces and as part of a foreign conspiracy, the government will raise all the reasons in public and take the next decision", the statement said.

Amid ongoing political unrest and the interim government's failure to announce a clear roadmap for the next parliamentary elections, Bangladesh Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman has expressed desire that national elections should be held by December this year, local media reported on Thursday.

"Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman believes that national elections should be held by December. Regarding the elections, he said that his position on the matter is the same as before. An elected government has the right to determine the future course of the country", the daily Prothom Alo reported.

The Army Chief mentioned some other issues in his officers' address at the army premises of Dhaka Cantonment on Wednesday. Officers of various levels of the army stationed in Dhaka participated in it, and many other officers joined virtually, the report said.

Several political parties, including Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), have been demanding parliamentary elections by December. However, the National Citizens Party (NCP), a new party led by students who led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, wants fundamental reforms before the elections.

The interim government, led Muhammad Yunus, is allegedly supporting the NCP. The BNP activists have taken up a protest in front of Jamuna, the residence of the Chief Adviser, in Dhaka, demanding the removal of two student advisers from the interim government's cabinet.General Waqar-uz-Zaman also spoke about the discussions on the humanitarian corridor in Myanmar's Rakhine State. Responding to a question on the issue, he said, 'The decision on the humanitarian corridor in Rakhine State must come from an elected government and it must be taken following a legitimate process. National interest must be considered here", the report said.

General Waqar-uz-Zaman also gave a strong message against "mob violence" or organised chaos or attacks by unruly crowds. He said that the army is now taking a stricter stance on the law and order situation. Chaos or violence in the name of organised crowds will no longer be tolerated, the report said.

Sheikh Hasina was ousted as Prime Minister in a student-led uprising in August last year. Hasina fled to India and an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus was formed.

Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI