Bangladesh is entering one of the most unsettling periods in its recent history. What should have been a transitional moment has instead become a slow-motion dismantling of our democratic foundation. Since taking charge in August 2024, Muhammad Yunus has made one decision that changed everything: he suspended all activities of the Awami League, effectively blocking nearly 40% of the country\u2019s voters from taking part in the next election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With that single order, the upcoming poll stopped being a national election and became something else entirely, a carefully staged exercise designed to keep real competition out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This isn\u2019t an accident or a misunderstanding. It\u2019s a clear pattern. As the country\u2019s largest political force is pushed aside, groups like Jamaat-e-Islami and Hefazat-e-Islam are getting a level of space and influence they haven\u2019t enjoyed in years. At the same time, attacks on women\u2019s rights, growing pressure on minorities, and \u201cmoral policing\u201d in public life are becoming disturbingly common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bit by bit, Bangladesh is being steered toward a direction that feels alarmingly familiar, a softer, quieter version of Talibanisation, carried out not by radicals on the streets but by decisions made at the very top of the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yunus\u2019 First Step Toward Taliban-Style Control<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When Yunus suspended all activities of the Awami League, it wasn\u2019t just an administrative decision; it was a political blackout unprecedented in Bangladesh\u2019s history. With a single executive order, he managed to silence the country\u2019s largest political force and effectively shut down the voices of nearly 40% of the electorate. No debate. No due process. No public mandate. Just raw, unchecked power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is exactly the kind of tactic used by regimes that fear genuine competition. In Afghanistan, the Taliban neutralised opposition not by winning public trust, but by banning rival parties, restricting political organising, and isolating communities who refused to accept their rule. Yunus may not be enforcing his will with guns, but the method is eerily similar: erase the opposition, then declare the political landscape \u201copen\u201d for controlled actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Awami League warns of foiling election if barred through false cases, verdicts<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Interview With BBC: Sheikh Hasina demands end to election ban<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n A Tale of Two Elections: Constitutional democracy vs. executive dictatorship<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n By sidelining the Awami League, Yunus has attempted to engineer a political environment where the outcome of the next election is predetermined. It is a move that mirrors authoritarian logic; if you can\u2019t defeat your opponents, you simply remove them from the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the consequences are profound. When 40% of the population loses its ability to participate, the election becomes meaningless. Democracy becomes theatre. And the state starts to look less like a pluralistic republic and more like a system shaped by the same anti-democratic instincts that define Taliban-style governance: concentrate power, silence opponents, and reshape society without consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This executive order wasn\u2019t just an attack on a political party; it was an attack on the very idea of democratic choice. And it marks one of the clearest signs yet that Yunus is steering Bangladesh toward a political model that has more in common with authoritarian Islamist regimes than with the secular, democratic nation its people have always fought to protect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yunus\u2019 Islamist Pact: The Backbone of His Talibanisation Agenda<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As Yunus pushes millions of voters out of the democratic process, he is pulling in the very forces Bangladesh has long fought to contain. Lacking public support, he has turned to Jamaat-e-Islami, Hefazat-e-Islam, and other extremist networks as his new political base. These groups, once restricted for violence and radical agendas, are now enjoying fresh legitimacy, freedom, and protection in exchange for mobilising support for Yunus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside the state, the shift is unmistakable. Secular administrators are being purged, while Islamist-friendly actors rise into key positions. Law enforcement seems far more interested in chasing AL supporters than in monitoring the radicals who once targeted minorities, women, and cultural institutions. The power equation is clear: the state is being reshaped to suit Yunus\u2019 extremist allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the social consequences are already visible. Attacks on secular media, cultural spaces, academics, and women\u2019s rights are increasing. Cancelled women\u2019s sports, moral policing, and pressure on institutions to follow Hefazat-style norms show how radical ideas are creeping into everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n British MP Bob Blackman urges \u2018free, inclusive\u2019 elections in Bangladesh<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n US-funded regime-change elements active again as Bangladesh election nears<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n