Politics in Bangladesh remains volatile as domestic and international pressure mounts for accountability over the actions of the Muhammad Yunus regime and for the restoration of the Awami League’s political rights. United Nations rapporteurs’ queries, sent to the Yunus government at the end of December 2025 and recently made public, along with a detailed letter from UK law firm Kingsley Napley LLP to the country’s International Crimes Tribunal, have intensified calls for legal redress and clearer steps toward democratic normalisation. The onus now falls on the new BNP government to respond politically and legally to these developments.
Support for the Awami League has surged at home and across Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States, driven by party branches, pressure groups and media outlets. Activists abroad are demanding both the lifting of restrictions imposed on the Awami League and prosecution of those they hold responsible for alleged crimes during the Yunus regime’s 18 months in power. Supporters framing their case around Bangladesh’s 1971 War of Liberation have amplified those calls.
Reports allege that the Yunus administration suppressed the UN rapporteurs’ questions about party restrictions and persecution of activists after the queries were dispatched in late December 2025. The failure to respond or allow the questions into the public domain has been presented by critics as further evidence of the regime’s obstruction. Now that the queries are public, observers say the BNP must decide whether to use the opening to help restore democratic processes. International reaction remains a key variable.
Domestically, the BNP government faces limited room for a honeymoon. Ministers have publicly criticised what they call the Yunus regime’s unconstitutional moves, including attempts to sideline the 1972 constitution. Prime Minister Tariq Rahman’s statement rejecting efforts to undermine the 1971 foundations of the state has been well received, but citizens and commentators say more concrete action is needed to dismantle the legacy of the previous administration.
The Kingsley Napley letter to the International Crimes Tribunal — which the source describes as having been commandeered by Yunus supporters after the forced removal of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August 2024 — challenges the tribunal’s procedures and demands a response within 14 days, claiming serious legal violations in the trial and conviction of the former prime minister. How the BNP-led government will handle these legal and political claims remains unclear.
Public sentiment on social media and in broadcast debate has hardened. Netizens and talk-show guests have urged that Yunus’s advisers and officials accused of targeting the Awami League, the judiciary, journalists and educators should be prevented from leaving the country and that Yunus himself should face trial for alleged killings of policemen and the destruction of historical symbols. Previously suppressed newspapers have begun reporting on alleged abuses by the Yunus administration.
Analysts say restoring political and social stability will require rebuilding trust between the BNP and the Awami League. The source argues that a de facto two-party understanding between those two forces is the only realistic path toward pluralistic politics, noting that the February election was widely seen as hollow in the absence of the Awami League. The BNP, despite returning to office, is therefore urged to reach out to the Awami League to restore credibility and avert further crisis. The Awami League, for its part, appears to be consolidating support while waiting for conditions to be favourable for a formal political return.
Original Source: https://nenews.in/opinion/in-bangladesh-the-awami-league-looms-large-over-politics/46775/
Category: Opinion,Bangladesh,Muhammad Yunus regime
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Publish Date: 2026-04-03 11:12:00
