Bangladesh Information: Muhammad Yunus aides are on the lookout for a protected exit? This is the reality

Simply over a day after the outcomes of the Bangladesh election trickled in, Dhaka-based newspaper The Every day Star reported that Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, a particular assistant to Muhammad Yunus on the Worldwide Crimes Tribunal (ICT) and telecommunications, had booked a flight ticket and departed the nation for Germany. The newspaper known as Taiyeb’s flight out of Bangladesh a “shock departure”.

Nevertheless, it won’t have been a complete shock, if specialists have been to be believed. Months in the past, there have been murmurs of Yunus’ officers on the lookout for protected exits from Bangladesh. After the report in The Every day Star, many on social media platform X speculated that there can be a flurry of hasty departures of Yunus’s aides from Bangladesh.

On Monday night, a day earlier than the swearing-in of newly elected MPs and ministers, NCP chief Nasiruddin Patwari additionally raised the problem of “protected exits”.

“We’re listening to that many advisers are eager about securing a protected exit. We enchantment to the individuals of the nation, and to the advisers themselves: earlier than in search of a protected exit, current a full account of your belongings. Inform the general public what you might have accomplished all this time and place your efficiency transparently earlier than the nation… And Dr Yunus, Bangladesh will keep in mind the form of engineering and assist you prolonged on this election,” Patwari stated.

Nevertheless, sources in Dhaka stated that whereas Taiyeb might need left Bangladesh, different aides of Yunus and officers of his regime weren’t in search of to depart instantly. It was earlier believed that a number of of Yunus’s aides and officers would go away Bangladesh after the polls. The supply stated that since these officers have now been absolutely “mainstreamed” and a easy energy switch is happening in Dhaka, the advisors within the interim set-up are all selecting to remain put in Bangladesh.

Yunus’s tenure as Chief Adviser of Bangladesh’s interim regime will finish on Tuesday, February 17. The handover of energy to the newly elected BNP-led authorities may also happen on the identical day. Bangladesh Nationalist Get together (BNP) chief Tarique Rahman will likely be taking the oath of workplace because the prime minister on Tuesday night.

WHY YUNUS’S AIDE’S DHAKA EXIT TIMING MATTERS

The report of Taiyeb’s Dhaka departure comes at a politically delicate second. Bangladesh, after being administered by an interim arrange led by Muhammad Yunus, is now set to be ruled by a democratically elected authorities, albeit with the Awami League—one of many nation’s important political events—barred from taking part.

Following months of turmoil, when anti-Sheikh Hasina protests dislodged her authorities, Yunus was made head of a caretaker-style administration by sections of the coed management that spearheaded the motion. Nevertheless, Bangladesh’s Structure comprises no express provision for putting in such an association within the method it was accomplished. Critics due to this fact described the regime as “extra-legal” and “extra-constitutional”.

Furthermore, throughout its roughly 18 months in workplace, the Yunus administration signed a number of high-profile agreements, together with with overseas governments. Constitutional specialists argued that main long-term coverage and strategic commitments ought to ideally have been undertaken by an elected authorities with a transparent democratic mandate, moderately than by a nominal or transitional setup.

The identical criticism was levelled on the referendum on the July Constitution, which the Yunus regime performed together with the polls. The referendum spearheaded by Yunus and his regime secured a “Sure” vote.

Authorized commentators described the transfer as an overreach of the interim administration’s mandate. The BNP, which has now come to energy, had earlier cautioned that such far-reaching constitutional modifications must be carried out by an elected authorities moderately than by the Yunus-led regime.

Nevertheless, the Yunus regime went forward with one main overhaul after one other.

WHAT SPARKED TALKS ON SAFE EXIT OF YUNUS’S AIDES?

The chatter on “protected exit” of Yunus’s aides began in October 2025. NCP convenor Nahid Islam claimed that some advisers have been negotiating with political events to safe an escape route from the federal government.

“It was a giant mistake to belief many members of the advisory council. We have been betrayed after inserting our confidence in them. Many advisers have liaised with totally different political events; they’re now considering of their very own protected exit,” Nahid Islam stated.

One other NCP chief, Sarjis Alam, stated “the one exit that is still open for advisers is dying”.

Although the NCP leaders did not identify anybody, an adviser in Yunu’s interim set-up junked the claims.

“I’m not in search of any exit in any respect,” stated Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser for setting and local weather change affairs, stated.

Rizwana Hasan stated she would “spend the remainder of my life in Bangladesh”, demanding the NCP leaders make clear their remarks.

Observers in Bangladesh stated that the time period “protected exit” had more and more entered conversations round members of the interim dispensation and people politically aligned with it given the questions of legitimacy surrounding Yunus’s interim association.

Consultants instructed that there aren’t any provisions in Bangladesh’s Structure for such an interim administration.

Bangladesh’s Structure doesn’t at the moment enable indemnity provisions of the sort beforehand enacted throughout navy regimes, a number of of which have been invalidated by the judiciary. Authorized specialists level out that any try and bypass constitutional procedures may face speedy judicial scrutiny.

Nevertheless, because the state of affairs stands as we speak, the election performed by Yunus on February 12 has obtained broad approval, regardless of individuals questioning its validity because the Awami League was saved out. It is usually being perceived that the advisers and officers have been profitable in handing over energy from a chaotic state of affairs in August 2024 to the incoming BNP-led authorities.

For now, it does not appear Yunus’s aides are on the lookout for a “protected exit”. The supply we spoke to indicated that the interim set-up and the individuals related to it had been sufficiently “mainstreamed”, and there have been no political dangers to them. Whereas Taiyeb’s departure might need been branded as a “shock departure”, there isn’t any proof that others related to the Yunus regime plan to depart Bangladesh at this stage.

– Ends

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