DHAKA – Bangladesh’s interim government has outlawed all activities of the Awami League, the long-dominant political party of ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, invoking national security concerns under the country’s Anti-Terrorism Act.
The ban, announced late Saturday, follows a surge of protests led by the student-driven National Citizen Party, which emerged from last year’s uprising that unseated Hasina and forced her into exile. Islamist and right-wing groups, including Jamaat-e-Islami, have joined the calls to label the Awami League a terrorist organisation.
According to the government, the prohibition will remain in effect until the completion of trials linked to the deaths of hundreds of protesters during the tenure of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). In a significant legal shift, the ICT Act has been amended to allow prosecution not only of individuals but also of political organisations, setting the stage for the Awami League to be tried as a collective entity.
Founded in 1949 and once credited with leading the nation to independence, the Awami League has dismissed the move as illegitimate. “All decisions of the illegal government are illegal,” the party posted on its official Facebook page.
Bangladesh has been mired in political unrest since July, when protests over public sector job quotas spiraled into a broader anti-government movement. Violence escalated, culminating in Hasina’s flight to India in August and the formation of a caretaker government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus.
Yunus has pledged sweeping reforms and hinted that national elections could be delayed until 2026. In October, his administration banned the Awami League’s student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League, branding it a terrorist group for its alleged role in attacks on protesters.
The latest ban marks a dramatic turn in the country’s volatile political landscape and signals an uncertain path ahead as Bangladesh confronts one of its most turbulent periods since independence.
