Comilla-4 MP Hasnat Abdullah has said the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has turned into a “family-run board,” amid recent changes in its leadership structure.
The National Sports Council has dissolved the BCB Board of Directors and formed an ad hoc committee, appointing former cricketer Tamim Iqbal Khan as its chairman. The committee also includes children of BNP leaders.
Hasnat Abdullah made the remarks on Wednesday during the 11th day of the first session of Parliament, following the introduction of the “July Mass Uprising (Protection and Accountability) Bill, 2026.”
He said constitutional institutions were being “blatantly politicised,” adding that the Bangladesh Bank had already been “taken over.” He also said the BCB was no longer functioning as an independent body.
“The BCB is no longer the Bangladesh Cricket Board—it has become a ‘family-run’ cricket board. Similarly, if the National Human Rights Commission is not made autonomous, we will see another such ‘family-controlled’ commission,” he said.
He further said the bill introduced to ensure protection and accountability for those involved in the July mass uprising defines the National Human Rights Commission as the authority. He noted that it explains the misuse of criminal acts in chaotic situations, where killings carried out for narrow personal interests and those committed as part of political resistance are being treated similarly.
“The key concern is—who will define these acts? According to the law, the Human Rights Commission will do so. This means the indemnity depends on the commission. However, the ordinance governing the commission is already proposed to be repealed. If it operates under the 2009 framework, it will effectively remain a government-controlled body, which has previously been used to suppress opposition and justify enforced disappearances and killings,” he added.
The MP said if the commission remains under a ministry and is tasked with overseeing and evaluating the July uprising, its neutrality would be questionable.
Highlighting its limitations, he said that if the commission continues under the Home Ministry, it is doubtful how impartial any investigation would be. “To make this law effective and functional, the commission must be made autonomous,” he added.
He also said those who have faced the most repression are now arguing to keep the commission under a ministry, citing concerns about accountability. “But given how institutions are being politicised, we have little confidence that the commission will not become another partisan tool to suppress opposition,” he added.
