Protesters demand Islami Bank Chairman’s resignation for second day, clash with police
Demonstrators under the banner of the “Sacheton Grahok Forum” continued their sit-in protest outside Islami Bank’s head office in Motijheel’s Dilkusha for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of newly appointed chairman Md Khurshid Alam and pressing a seven-point set of demands that also calls for the ouster of Bangladesh Bank Governor Md Mostaqur Rahman.
Similar demonstrations were held across Islami Bank branches nationwide. The programme began outside Islami Bank Tower at around 9am, with protesters raising slogans against the bank’s new leadership.
At a press conference held in front of the bank at noon, the forum laid out its demands formally: Khurshid Alam’s removal; reinstatement of Managing Director Omar Faruk Khan; barring anyone linked to alleged looting from the bank’s board; cancellation of Section 18(a) of the Bank Resolution Act; liquidation of S Alam Group’s seized assets in Bangladesh to recover looted funds; a permanent ban on S Alam Group’s return to any bank – not just Islami Bank; and exemplary legal punishment for those responsible for plundering the banking sector.
Protesters labelled Khurshid Alam as a figure linked to S Alam Group and demanded his removal from the post.
They also called for the reinstatement of former chairman Zubaidur Rahman and MD Omar Faruk Khan, and insisted that board membership should revert to those who served before S Alam Group’s alleged takeover in 2017.
Monday’s protests turned tense as police deployed water cannons, sound grenades, tear gas and baton charges to disperse the crowd outside the bank’s headquarters, with chases and counter-chases reported across the Motijheel area.
Bangladesh Bank Defends Appointment
The central bank has pushed back against demands for Khurshid Alam’s removal, insisting his appointment is legally sound.
Bangladesh Bank spokesperson and Executive Director Arief Hossain Khan told reporters that while a company jointly owned by Khurshid Alam’s wife had defaulted on a Tk 3 crore loan from First Security Islami Bank, the chairman himself is not a borrower and therefore cannot be classified as a loan defaulter – meaning there is no legal obstacle to him holding the post.
The forum, however, condemned what it described as “political statements” by the Bangladesh Bank spokesperson, calling for a retraction.
The controversy stems from the abrupt leadership change at Islami Bank on 24 May – the last working day before the Eid vacation. Professor M Zubaidur Rahman, who had been appointed chairman by Bangladesh Bank in July last year under then-governor Ahsan H Mansur, resigned that afternoon, reportedly under pressure from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
Hours later, the same day and after office hours, the central bank under new governor Md Mostaqur Rahman swiftly appointed Khurshid Alam as his replacement. Khurshid Alam had previously served as deputy governor during the government of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Following the political changeover on 5 August 2024, he was among four senior central bank officials who were forced to resign in the face of protests by over a hundred Bangladesh Bank staff.
The unrest has renewed concerns about depositor confidence in the country’s largest private lender at a time when the banking sector remains under significant stress.
