Bangladesh interim govt bans former PM Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League

Dhaka: Mohammad Yunus led interim Bangladesh government announced that the Awami League was being banned under an anti-terrorism law and said, “The official gazette notification will be issued in this regard on the next working day.”

A statement of the council of advisers or the cabinet decided that the ban would remain effective until the completion of the “trial of the Awami League and its leaders in Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal in the interest of protecting the country’s security and sovereignty”.

The need for the security of the leaders and activists of the July 2024 uprising was also cited as a reason for the ban. The initial protests against a reservation system snowballed into an anti-Hasina movement as her government launched a severe crackdown on demonstrating students.

The meeting that decided on the ban, chaired by Yunus, also amended the ICT law to allow the tribunal to try any political party, its front organisations, and affiliated bodies.