Amid the growing expectation for an election roadmap, Bangladesh Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on Monday said the next national election can be arranged at a time between the end of 2025 and the first half of 2026.
Retired Supreme Court judge Mainul Islam Chowdhury, chairman of the commission, told Yunus that while undertaking investigations, the commission came across a "systematic design" that allowed incidents of enforced disappearances to go undetected.
White House has said President Joe Biden is closely monitoring the situation in Bangladesh. The statement added that Washington will hold the Bangladeshi interim government accountable for ensuring the protection of religious and ethnic minorities in the country.
A four-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, issued the order, stating that the national slogan falls under the purview of government policy decisions, making it beyond the judiciary's jurisdiction to intervene.
Bangladesh violence: Hasina was speaking to supporters of her Awami League party at the event organised on Sunday to mark "Bijoy Dibos" or Victory Day that falls on December 16. In her nearly an hour-long address, Hasina said the current dispensation in Dhaka failed to protect the minorities.
Sheikh Hasina lashed out at the interim Bangladeshi govt and accused Muhammad Yunus while speaking virtually at an Awami League event in New York. She fled the country on August 5 this year after the days of violence.
Bangladesh police arrested Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, a leader of the Hindu group Sammilita Sanatani Jote, from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport area in Dhaka while travelling to Chattogram, drawing a sharp reaction from MEA and the Hindu community from both nations.
As police attempted to transport the Hindu leader to jail, hundreds of his supporters surrounded the van carrying him, forcing it to stop for over an hour before security officials fired teargas to disperse the crowd.
Bangladesh interim govt head Muhammad Yunus addressed the nation on the completion of 100 days of his administration. He said that the govt is also investigating incidents of violence against minorities.
The tribunal has filed over 60 complaints against Hasina, her Awami League party, and several of its leaders, as well as former senior officials of law enforcement. The charges include allegations of forced disappearances, murders, and genocide.
Mohammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of the Interim Government of Bangladesh, sidestepped questions from Indian media at a New York hotel on Monday night. A video from ANI shows Yunus avoiding inquiries from a group of Indian journalists covering Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US.
In a televised address, Yunus mentioned that following his swearing-in as the head of the administration, he received congratulatory calls and messages from various world leaders who expressed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with Bangladesh.
Yunus described the attacks as primarily political rather than communal and questioned how India is "propagating" them. He stated, "These attacks are politically motivated, not communal. Yet, India is heavily publicising these incidents".
Yunus, 84, referred to Sheikh Hasina's remarks of 'justice' over the recent protests in Bangladesh as an "unfriendly gesture" and said she should remain silent. He also said Bangladesh values ties with India but the latter should move beyond the narrative that every other party is Islamist.
The scheduled time frame for these talks to be held in Delhi is for September-October but the meeting may also be postponed if top-level changes take place in the BGB and the home ministry of Bangladesh, said an official.
BNP Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Alamgir said Hasina's return will be a 'new leaf' in India-Bangladesh bilateral relations, otherwise the relationship will decline. India has so far not given a clear answer on how long it intends to shelter Hasina after her ouster during student-led protests.
BNP leader Amir Khasru Chowdhury said Bangladesh wants strong ties with India and the latter has to leave the baggage of the past to relook at bilateral relations. He also called the attacks on Hindus an "internal matter" of Bangladesh and refuted rumours of a fallout between New Delhi and Dhaka.
Munshi, 74, was detained by the Rapid Action Battalion in Gulshan, Dhaka, on Wednesday night in connection with a murder case filed in Rangpur, according to the Dhaka Tribune.
Several Bangladesh Awami League leaders have been on the run since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5. Bangladesh police registered several serious cases against Awami leaders, prompting them to flee the country.
Sheikh Hasina had banned the Jamaat-e-Islami party last month for stoking violence through the student-led protests that culminated in her ouster. Jamaat was effectively banned from contesting elections by a 2013 court decision that revoked its registration as a political party.
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