Information and Broadcasting Adviser Nahid Islam has said that political parties are trying to undermine the interim government by portraying it as a failure.
He remarked that these parties want the country’s reforms to occur under a politically restructured government and are focusing more on elections than on reforms.
On Wednesday, during a meeting at the Secretariat with members of a delegation from British Global Partners Governance (GPG), including Chile’s former Minister of Social Development Giorgio Jackson, Nahid Islam shared these views in response to questions about reforms and elections.
He said: “There is an expectation among the public that new political parties may form after the mass uprising. If such a party succeeds, it will pose a significant challenge to the current political entities.”
Nahid Islam explained that the interim government came to power through an unprecedented event—a mass uprising.
“This is a unique scenario that has never occurred in Bangladesh before. I am unaware if such a situation has happened in any other country. We are trying to work in this unusual situation,” he added.
When Lord Jeremy Purvis, a former member of the Scottish Parliament, asked about the challenges faced by the interim government, Adviser Nahid said: "Our big challenges are the law and order situation, economic problems, and taking forward the reform activities on the basis of understanding with political parties. Moreover, establishing global contacts is the main challenge of the interim government.”
Highlighting the misinformation being spread, Nahid said: “Many people, both domestically and internationally, are misinterpreting the mass uprising. They fail to understand how such a significant autocratic regime was overthrown in such a short time, which has led to various conspiracies. There is also propaganda around minority oppression. Efforts are being made to dismiss this movement as a democratic uprising.”
He further said: “For years, Bangladesh has faced a severe human rights crisis. People could not vote, thousands were forcibly disappeared, and the nation was in a suffocating condition. Protecting human rights is one of the key priorities of the interim government.”