Yunus to hold meetings with BNP, Jamaat tonight amid political uncertainty

Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus is set to meet leaders of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami amid rising political tensions and question marks over his future as head of the interim government.

Yunus has invited the BNP delegation to the State Guest House Jamuna, his official residence, at 7:30pm on Saturday, followed by a meeting with Jamaat leaders at 8:30pm.

BNP Standing Committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain will lead his party’s delegation, while Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman will head his party’s team.

Confirming the meeting with the chief advisor, BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed said: “We’ve been informed of a 7:30pm slot for our meeting.”

Jamaat’s deputy chief Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher also provided confirmation, saying: “In light of the current situation, our Ameer (party chief) had called on the chief advisor to convene an all-party dialogue. We had requested an appointment to discuss the broader national context, and his office scheduled a meeting with us for tonight.”

In the wake of a student-led mass uprising, deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India on Aug 5 last year. Three days later, Nobel laureate Yunus was sworn in to lead the interim government on Aug 8.

Almost 10 months on, political tensions have reignited, this time over the timing of the upcoming election and swearing-in of BNP leader Ishraque Hossain as mayor of Dhaka South. A rift between the BNP and the leadership of the NCP, led by the leaders of the July Uprising, sparked further disagreement, leading to calls for resignations of several government advisors.

Amid the tensions, reports emerged that Army chief Gen Waker-uz-Zaman had spoken internally about holding elections by December.

Against this backdrop, former advisor Nahid Islam, who had resigned from the interim government in February to lead the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP), visited Yunus on Thursday. Later, two current student advisors, Mahfuj Alam and Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, also met the chief advisor.

Earlier on Thursday, the BNP held an urgent press conference to reiterate its stance that the parliamentary election must be held by December.

Jamaat also convened a high-level meeting that day to discuss the prevailing situation. Following the meeting, Shafiqur publicly urged Yunus to call an all-party dialogue.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Yunus’s special aide Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb posted on Facebook expressing hope that the chief advisor would not resign as speculation over his future gained traction. He also raised questions about the recent remarks made by the army chief regarding elections.

Taiyeb, however, later deleted the post.