‘He does not hanker after power’: Muhammad Yunus not stepping down, says Bangladesh minister

The country’s political crisis intensified this week with rival parties taking to the streets, escalating tensions in the capita

Amid mounting political unrest and pressure from both political parties and the military, Bangladesh’s interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus “needs to remain” in office to ensure a peaceful democratic transition, a senior cabinet member and aide said on Friday, according to AFP.

The comments come in response to reports that Yunus, who took over as interim leader following last year’s mass uprising, has threatened to resign if political parties fail to support his transitional administration.

“For the sake of Bangladesh and a peaceful democratic transition, Professor Yunus needs to remain in office,” said Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, a special assistant to Yunus and head of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology. In a Facebook post quoted by AFP, Taiyeb added, “The chief adviser is not going to step down. He does not hanker after power.”

Yunus has pledged that national elections will be held by June 2026, but the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is demanding a fixed poll date. On Thursday, thousands of BNP supporters marched through Dhaka calling for a concrete election timeline.

The country’s political crisis intensified this week with rival parties taking to the streets, escalating tensions in the capital, AFP reported.

Military Tensions Surface

Adding to the turmoil, Yunus’s relationship with the military appears to be under strain. On Wednesday, Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman publicly urged that elections be held by December, asserting that political stability must be restored through an elected government.

“Bangladesh needs political stability. This is only possible through an elected government, not by unelected decision-makers,” General Zaman said, according to The Daily Star. “The army is meant for defending the nation, not for policing... We must return to barracks after elections,” he added.

In response to the Army Chief’s comments, Taiyeb pushed back strongly, warning against military interference in politics. “The army can't meddle in politics,” Taiyeb wrote in his post, as quoted by AFP. “The army doesn't do that in any civilised country.”

He further criticised General Zaman’s statement, saying, “By saying that the election has to be held by December, the military chief failed to maintain his jurisdictional correctness.”

The escalating rhetoric between the civilian leadership and military brass has raised fresh concerns about the fragility of Bangladesh’s democratic transition, just months after the interim government came to power on the back of widespread political upheaval.