Jatiya Party (JaPa) Chairman Golam Mohammad Quader has emerged as a vocal critic of Bangladesh’s interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, accusing it of fostering unrest, economic collapse, and deliberate sabotage of democratic processes.
In speeches and press conferences on October 15 and 23, Quader warned of an impending civil war, condemned the exclusion of major parties like the Awami League (AL) from political dialogues, and demanded immediate elections under a neutral caretaker system. These remarks come amid escalating turmoil following the August 2024 ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, where student-led protests morphed into widespread violence, economic stagnation, and institutional paralysis.
As of October 24, 2025, Bangladesh grapples with hyperinflation, factory shutdowns, and a deteriorating law-and-order, with reports of over 1,000 deaths since the unrest beganโfar exceeding previous monthly averagesโpushing the nation toward famine-like conditions, including long queues for subsidised essentials from the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
Quader’s rhetoric paints a picture of a government “patronised by army-jihadist alliances,” lacking constitutional legitimacy and reliant on mob violence to cling to power. He alleges conspiracies to sideline AL and JaPa, paving the way for jihadist militias to destabilise the military and block elections altogether. Below is a synthesised compilation of his key statements, drawn from events at JaPa’s Kakrail central office, interwoven with the broader context of Bangladesh’s election crisis.
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On October 23, JaPa General Secretary Shameem Haider Patwary said: โThe popular movement on August 5, 2024, which aimed to create an equitable society, has now been buried in dust. Out of Bangladeshโs 55 registered political parties, only 25 were invited by the Election Commission. More than half of the remaining registered parties (which face no bans) have been excluded, casting doubt on the governmentโs impartiality.โ
He added: โSince there is no provision for a referendum in our constitution, holding one at this moment would be unconstitutional. If a referendum is needed for the nationโs interest, it must be passed through parliament first.โ
Nation Steering Toward Civil War and Unrest
On October 23, during a discussion marking Upazila Dayโcommemorating the late President H.M. Ershad’s decentralisation reformsโQuader declared that the Yunus-led interim administration is “leading the country towards civil war.” He lamented the irony of installing a Nobel laureate to restore peace, only for the government to ignite chaos: “We brought a Nobel Prize winner to establish peace… But the way he is now leading the country towards unrest, disappointing everyone, I think that if there is a Nobel Prize or such a prize for unrest, the current government is now going to compete for it or has become worthy of it.”
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Echoing this on October 15 at a press conference on the political landscape, Quader described an “environment of extreme uncertainty and unrest,” where Bangladeshis face visa denials abroad and global travel advisories against visiting the country.
“In a word, if there is a Nobel or international award for unrest, Bangladesh can be considered suitable for it,” he stated, linking this to biased policing that disrupted a peaceful JaPa rally on October 11 with water cannons, rubber bullets, and lathi chargesโactions he called a “reflection of the will of the interim government.”
This rhetoric aligns with the post-Hasina vacuum, where the Yunus governmentโformed without parliamentary mandate and propped up by student mobs and military acquiescenceโhas failed to stabilize the nation. Violence persists, with monthly killings surpassing historical peaks, and economic indicators signal disaster: garment factories, Bangladesh’s export backbone, are shuttering en masse, foreign investment has evaporated, and famine warnings loom as food insecurity bites. Quader’s civil war fears are substantiated by rising vigilante groups and reports of Islamist extremists exploiting the chaos to recruit and arm militias, allegedly with tacit army support to prevent AL’s return.
Quader repeatedly slammed the government’s National Consensus Commission as a “disunity commission,” engineered to exclude “half the people of the country” by banning AL without due process. On October 23, he fumed: “They have excluded the Awami League. I donโt see any point in this. You cannot exclude the Awami League as a party. If you want to exclude the Awami League, then you will have to file a case and prove them guilty.
It has been banned without trial, by administrative order (executive order), without trial. If we speak against it, we are being intimidated in various ways.” He extended this to JaPa, accusing the regime of obstructing its activities to deny a “level playing field” for registered parties.
He warned of a “big conspiracy against the country… to destroy the country,” where the Yunus administrationโlacking constitutional legitimacy and dependent on street mobsโpatronises jihadist factions to form militias. These groups, Quader implied, aim to destabilise the army from within and derail elections, allowing unelected powers to cling to control. “The people of the country will not forgive them,” he cautioned.
On October 15, Quader reiterated: “This government is not neutral… Such biased behaviour does not ensure a level playing field… The obstruction of normal peaceful activities of registered parties like us proves this.” He demanded trials for AL’s crimes rather than blanket exclusion, blasting the irony of labelling Hasina’s votes “fascist” while plotting even more rigged polls.
The AL ban, enacted via executive fiat, has deepened divisions in a polarised polity, fueling underground resistance and mob-orchestrated attacks on AL and JaPa offices. Conspiracies abound: leaked intelligence suggests jihadist networks, dormant under Hasina, are rearming with army complicity to counter AL loyalists, forming militias that terrorise polling preparations. This aligns with Quader’s narrative of a “conspiracy to keep Awami League and Jatiya Party away from polls,” as the Yunus regimeโbereft of electoral legitimacyโdelays polls indefinitely, citing “reforms” while economic freefall accelerates.
Economic Ruin, Lawlessness, and the Urgency for Elections
Quader tied political sabotage to tangible suffering. On October 23, he painted a dire portrait: “The law and order in the country has never been so bad. People are being killed every month; never before have so many people been killed. Mill factories are being closed. All economic activities are at a standstill; no investment is coming. The country is heading towards famine. Some think that famine has already started. You will see a long line behind the TCB truck.”
He contrasted this with Hasina’s tenure: “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina… had thrown the country to the edge of the canal. And the current government has thrown it from the edge of the canal into the canal.” Delays in elections, he argued, compound the damage: “The longer it is delayed, the more the country will suffer… An attempt is being made to destroy the country.”
On October 15, Quader prescribed a remedy: “The country’s current decline is protected by a free, fair, impartial and participatory election under a neutral government… I believe it is necessary to reintroduce the caretaker government system and arrange for a free, fair, and participatory election under that government within the next three months. The sooner this government leaves, the better for the country.”
Bangladesh’s GDP growth has stalled at under 2% for 2025 projections, with remittances plummeting and inflation hitting 12%โexacerbated by militia disruptions in rural areas. Jihadist plans to “destabilise the army,” as Quader alleges, manifest in targeted attacks on military outposts and recruitment drives in refugee camps, all under the shadow of a Yunus government accused of outsourcing security to mob enforcers.
Quader’s call for caretaker polls resonates amid boycott threats from AL and JaPa, risking a legitimacy crisis that could invite foreign intervention.
In a defiant tone on October 23, Quader rejected electoral manipulation: “A rigged election will not be allowed. If necessary, we will have to take our own path… People like Sheikh Hasina could not survive; you will not survive either.” He invoked Ershad’s legacy, pledging to revive the Upazila Parishad system upon gaining power: “Ershad was a very far-sighted leader… He broke the colonial system of governance… We will never implement a full-fledged upazila in power.” (Note: This appears to be a rhetorical flourish emphasising restoration.)
With polls tentatively slated for late 2025 but mired in controversy, JaPa’s resistance signals a broader anti-Yunus front. Reports of jihadist-backed militias patrolling election hotspots underscore Quader’s warnings, as army fatigue from suppressing riots leaves room for power grabs.
The government’s mob relianceโevident in unchecked vigilante justiceโhighlights its fragility, potentially culminating in the very civil war Quader foresees.
Quader’s statements, delivered to gatherings including JaPa presidium members like Mir Abdus Sabur Asud and Rezaul Islam Bhuiyan, underscore a party gearing for confrontation. As Bangladesh teeters, his narrative of army-jihadist pacts and mob-patronising governance challenges the interim order’s survival, urging a swift return to polls lest the “canal” becomes an abyss.
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