New York: Eggs were thrown at Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh, in New York on Monday, allegedly by leaders and supporters of the Awami League. Akhtar Hossain, member secretary of the newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP) of Bangladesh was accompanying Yunus when the attack took place.
Yunus and others from Bangladesh are in New York to attend the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The leaders faced protests outside JFK International Airport by those owing allegiance to former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Footage has gone viral on social media, showing protesters throwing eggs at Hossain, calling him a “terrorist” and shouting slogans against Yunus.
Hossain was one of the leaders of the student-led movement against Hasina in July 2024. The violence in Dhaka forced Hasina to flee to India on August 5 that year. An interim government then took over under Yunus. Hasina’s party, the Awami League, was subsequently banned and has been forbidden from contesting general elections in the country, scheduled for 2026.
The Bangladeshi delegation to New York included Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Jamaat-e-Islami leaders, but they were not targeted by the protesters.
Yunus’s press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, called it an “unfortunate incident”, while the NCP condemned “the attacks” on Hossain.
The Bangladesh chief adviser said on Monday that the interim government is making comprehensive preparations to ensure a free, fair, and peaceful general election in the first half of February next year.
Yunus said this during a meeting with Sergio Gor, the US special envoy for south and central Asia and the US ambassador-designate to India, in New York.
“The election will be held in February. It will be free, fair, and peaceful. The country is fully prepared,” Yunus said.
Gor commended his leadership and said that the US will support the country’s efforts. The issues discussed during the meeting included trade, South Asian regional cooperation, the revival of SAARC, the Rohingya crisis, and the proliferation of disinformation targeting Dhaka.
Yunus sought continued US support for more than one million Rohingya refugees currently residing in camps in Cox’s Bazar. In response, the US officials said that their life-saving aid for the Rohingyas would continue.
Yunus also noted that the interim government has intensified efforts to revive SAARC, which has not held a summit in over a decade. He expressed Bangladesh’s interest in joining ASEAN, stating that integration with Southeast Asian economies could significantly accelerate the country’s development.
Additionally, he emphasised the importance of strengthening economic ties with landlocked Nepal and Bhutan, as well as India’s seven Northeastern states. “We can accelerate our economic growth through closer regional cooperation,” he said.