NN Online:
Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus is scheduled to hold separate meetings with top leaders of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami on Saturday night, as political tensions continue to mount and uncertainty surrounds his role at the helm of the interim government.
The BNP delegation has been invited to the State Guest House Jamuna, Yunus’s official residence, at 7:30pm, with Jamaat leaders expected at 8:30pm.
BNP Standing Committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain will lead his party’s delegation, while Jamaat’s team will be headed by its Ameer, Shafiqur Rahman.
Confirming the meeting, BNP leader Salahuddin Ahmed stated, “We’ve been given a 7:30pm time slot for our discussion with the chief advisor.”
Jamaat deputy chief Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher also confirmed their meeting, saying, “Given the current situation, our Ameer urged the chief advisor to initiate an all-party dialogue. We sought an appointment to discuss the national crisis, and his office has scheduled us for tonight.”
The meetings come nearly 10 months after Yunus, a Nobel laureate, was sworn in as head of the interim government on August 8, following the ousting of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India on August 5 in the wake of a student-led mass uprising.
Tensions have resurfaced over the timeline of the next general election and the controversial swearing-in of BNP leader Ishraque Hossain as mayor of Dhaka South. A growing rift between the BNP and the National Citizen Party (NCP), led by leaders of the July Uprising, has intensified the political divide and prompted calls for the resignation of several government advisors.
Amid this backdrop, speculation is growing over Yunus’s political future. On Thursday, former advisor Nahid Islam—who stepped down in February to lead the NCP—met with Yunus. Later that day, two current student advisors, Mahfuj Alam and Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, also held talks with the chief advisor.
Earlier on Thursday, the BNP held an urgent press conference, insisting the parliamentary election be held no later than December. Jamaat, too, convened a high-level meeting to address the unfolding crisis, after which Shafiqur Rahman publicly called on Yunus to initiate an inclusive political dialogue.
On Friday, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, special aide to the chief advisor, took to Facebook to express hope that Yunus would stay on despite mounting speculation of his resignation. Taiyeb also questioned recent comments made by Army Chief Gen Waker-uz-Zaman, who reportedly hinted at holding elections by year-end.
