Strikes and shutdowns in Bangladesh, no money to pay salaries! Elections postponed, Yunus said – the country is going through a war-like situation!

New Delhi: The situation in Bangladesh remains tense. Protests are going on in the civil administration and business sector against the policies of the interim government led by Mohammad Yunus. There is a restless situation in Dhaka city and people are apprehensive of something untoward happening.

Meanwhile, a prominent business community leader Shaukat Aziz Russell said that businessmen in the country are being killed in the same way as intellectuals were killed in the 1971 Liberation War. He warned of a famine-like situation as more people are becoming unemployed. Russell, president of the Bangladesh Textiles Mills Association, said in a joint press conference of trade chambers, “We do not know how we will pay bonuses and salaries to workers before Eid-ul-Azha.”

Shaukat Aziz Russell has said that the government is calling investors, but foreigners know that the option of investing in Bangladesh is not right, they know that Vietnam is more profitable than Bangladesh. Protest at Bangladesh Secretariat, revenue employees strike work

Meanwhile, government employees on Sunday protested inside the Bangladesh Secretariat, the centre of administration, for the second consecutive day against the proposed Government Service (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025.

The protesters are demanding its withdrawal. They have described it as a black law, which has made it easier for officials to take punitive action and sack government employees.

The Yunus government is also in trouble because revenue employees have not been working for two days. Officials of the National Board of Revenue also stayed away from work for the second consecutive day demanding the repeal of a separate new ordinance and on Sunday they announced an indefinite halt to almost all import-export activities from Monday.

Government teachers will also strike work from today
Meanwhile, government primary school teachers said they would stay away from work for the whole day from Monday indefinitely over their three-point demands, including fixing their starting salary at par with the 11th grade of the National Pay Scale.

Yunus’ government has faced many other challenges in the last two days.

Amid these difficulties, the head of the interim government of Bangladesh, Mohammad Yunus, has said that Bangladesh is currently going through a war-like situation. Mohammad Yunus said yesterday that the country is in a state of war since the ban on the activities of the Awami League.

The country is going through a war-like situation
Chief Advisor’s press secretary Shafiqul Alam released Yunus’ statement and said, “A war-like situation has arisen both inside and outside the country, due to which we are not able to move forward, everything has collapsed and we have been pushed towards slavery again.”

Prof. Yunus met 20 leaders of various political parties and organizations in two separate sessions at the State Guest House Jamuna.

This conversation took place after reports that Yunus had expressed disappointment over some recent developments on Thursday and expressed his desire to step down. Leaders of BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and National Citizen Party met Yunus separately on Saturday.

Yunus said, “Ever since the activities of Awami League have been banned, continuous efforts are being made to destabilize the situation. We have to save ourselves from this.”

Elections postponed further
Meanwhile, Mohammad Yunus has sought 6 months more time to hold elections. He said that the elections will be held between December this year and June next year. It is worth noting that Yunus was earlier talking about holding elections by December 25.

Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus on Sunday again confirmed that he will not remain in his post beyond June 30 next year and national elections will be held before that deadline.

I will not be in office even for a day after June 30
“Professor Yunus made it clear that the elections will be held between December and June 30. He said that he will not be in office even for a day after June 30 next year,” Chief Advisor’s press secretary Shafiqul Alam told reporters during a press conference outside the state guest house Jamuna after a meeting between Professor Yunus and leaders of several political parties on Sunday night.

There are reports of differences between the army and the interim government over the possible timeline for holding general elections in Bangladesh and other policy issues related to Bangladesh’s security matters, especially the proposed corridor in Myanmar’s rebel-occupied Rakhine state.

Army Chief General Walker-uz-Zaman, along with the Navy and Air Force chiefs, met Yunus last week and reportedly reiterated their demand for holding elections by December this year so that the elected government can take charge. He also expressed his objection to the corridor issue. But Yunus has now sought time till June 2026 to hold elections.