In a pointed clarification amid escalating debates over its constitutional standing, the Jamaat-controlled interim government led by Dr. Muhammad Yunus has dismissed media reports suggesting an abrupt end to its reform agenda by November.
It said on Monday that the administration, which assumed power in August 2024 forging the signatures of the former chief justice and claiming that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had resigned, will continue policy work “in full swing” until power is handed over to an elected government.
In a statement, the Chief Adviser Yunus’s Press Wing addressed confusion stemming from comments by Information Adviser Mahfuj Alam during a “Meet the Reporters” event hosted by the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) on October 26.
Alam had indicated that Advisory Council meetingsโ the interim cabinet’s decision-making bodyโwould conclude by November, tying this to the timeline for implementing urgent media reforms. The Press Wing countered that such interpretations were “not correct,” reaffirming the council’s commitment to regular operations and ongoing reforms in areas like the judiciary, police, elections, and public administration.
The clarification arrives at a precarious moment for the Yunus administration, which has faced mounting criticism for its extra-constitutional formation and reliance on street mobilisation to sustain authority.
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Formed in the chaotic aftermath of Sheikh Hasina’s flight to India, the government was installed by President Mohammed Shahabuddin without parliamentary backing, invoking the rare “doctrine of necessity” to justify its existenceโa legal manoeuvre previously upheld by Bangladesh’s Supreme Court in 2024 but increasingly contested as the regime drags on without polls.
As per the Constitution, there is no provision for caretaker governments, rendering the Yunus panel inherently extra-constitutional from day one. While the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court retroactively affirmed its legitimacy under the doctrine of necessityโciting an “urgent need to manage state affairs” amid the vacuumโthe ruling has not quelled dissent because the hearing did not take place at all. During that time, the former chief justice was hiding in the Dhaka Cantonment.
Critics, including exiled Awami League leaders and independent analysts, label it a “mobocracy,” arguing it has weaponised student protesters and Islamist allies to suppress opposition, delay elections, and enact sweeping changes without a democratic mandate.
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Opponents, particularly from the banned Awami League (now labelled a “terrorist” entity alongside its student wing) and civil society leaders, portray the “Yunus gang”โa pejorative for Yunus and his circle of student leaders, technocrats, and alleged Islamist sympathisersโas clinging to authority through orchestrated unrest.
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Reports from groups like the Rights & Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) document a 400% surge in mob lynchings (185 deaths from August 2024 to June 2025), attributing it to state-tolerated vigilantism. Incidents include attacks on police stations, such as the July 2025 Patiya clash, where student activists stormed custody to lynch a detainee, with no arrests despite injuries to officers. Hindu minorities and Awami League affiliates have faced pogroms, with over 359,000 arrests on “fictitious” charges and hundreds killed, fueling claims of “genocidal” targeting.
The Awami League has released a list of 528 leaders, activists and supporters killed from July 2024 to October 10 this year. Another 31 leaders and workers have been killed in police custody and prisons during the same period.
Tensions peaked in May 2025 when Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman demanded elections by December, warning against unelected decisions like foreign port management or Starlink rollout that could “compromise sovereignty.” Yunus’s responseโthreatening resignation, then rallying “March for Yunus” protests demanding a five-year extensionโunderscored reliance on street power over institutional buy-in.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) alleges that the interim government is trying to delay the election by using Jamaat and NCP. External factors compound the strain: Alleged US backing (via Yunus’ global ties) clashes with Indian concerns over anti-India rhetoric and Islamist resurgence, with exiled Hasina accusing Yunus of “selling out” to foreign powers.
This backdrop of fragility has amplified scrutiny of routine announcements, like Alam’s DRU remarks. Attended by Chief Adviser Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam, the event focused on media reforms from a dedicated commission.
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Adviser Alam highlighted 23 “urgent” proposals, with 13 already under implementation by ministry officialsโsteps he described as “not very big things” but time-sensitive, given the government’s “three-month” initial frame, now extended to roughly four. These include policy tweaks and ordinances requiring cabinet approval, which Alam warned could halt post-November as the Election Commission assumes primacy and cabinet meetings cease.
Mahfuj made the comments amid criticism for issuing licence to two new TV channels through corruption.
Reforms Amid the Clock: Progress or Pretext?
The interim government’s defenders, including student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) figures, argue reforms are essential to prevent a return to Hasina-era abuses. However, political observers term Yunus’ big talks a farce while the administration is facing severe criticism for mobocracy, judicial violations, nepotism and corruption.
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A December 2024 RRAG report warned: “Mobocracy imperils Bangladeshโs reforms,” as Yunus’s regime allegedly uses student enforcers to justify indefinite rule.
As protests from teachers, BNP cadres, and civil society swell, the Press Wing’s statement doubles as a plea for patience: The Advisory Council “will continue to perform its duties regularly” until an elected government takes over.
But in a nation weary of limbo, where legitimacy hangs by the thread of necessity rather than ballots, such assurances may only fuel the fire. With the army’s clock ticking and mobs in the streets, Yunus’ “full swing” risks colliding with Bangladesh’s deepening fault lines.
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