Dhaka: Amid reports claiming that Bangladesh’s interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus had threatened to resign, the rift between him and the country’s Army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman seem to have widened? But why are they at loggerheads?
According to reports, the Bangladesh Army chief wants Yunus to declare elections as soon as possible. His biggest worry is instability due to foreign interference. Sources claimed that Yunus is perceived as a puppet of foreign agencies.
Zaman plans to bring the parties of Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia to come together and contest elections for the country, the News 18 reported, quoting sources. “The Army’s biggest worry is Yunus’s release of prisoners through executive orders,” the sources claimed.
Yunus’s attempt of division of Army with his appointment of a National Security Advisor in the absence of the Army chief has also triggered tension.
Know what’s Zaman’s take on India
Zaman was appointed Army chief in June 2024. He is widely respected as a balanced leader with a pro-India tilt, the News 18 reported. However, Lieutenant General Mohammad Faizur Rahman, the Quartermaster General (QMG), is seen as harbouring pro-Islamist and pro-Pakistan sentiments.
Was Zaman against Yunus’ appointment as chief adviser to interim govt?
Hasnat Abdullah, chief organiser of the National Citizen Party (NCP), recently put up a 28-second video in which Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan said the Army chief was not keen on making Yunus the advisor. In the recording, Asif indicated that the Army chief had questioned the credentials of Yunus, reported News 18. Despite his Nobel laureate status and reformist credentials, Zaman didn’t consider Yunus to be the right person for the role.
Did Yunus bring foreign assassin to target Zaman?
Meanwhile, journalist Nabonita Chowdhury, in a podcast released on May 21, 2025, made a shocking revelation, She claimed that associates of Muhammad Yunus allegedly brought a foreign assassin to target Zaman. According to her account, this alarming disclosure was made by the Army Chief himself during a ‘Darbar’ held at the Army Headquarters, in the presence of senior military officials.
Nabonita further claimed that prior to this ‘Darbar’, Zaman held a meeting with Muhammad Yunus, during which he firmly insisted that the next general elections must be held by December 30. The Army Chief reportedly told Yunus in strong terms that his interim administration has no authority to grant economic corridors or award contracts to any foreign entities.
Such decisions, he emphasized, must be made by an elected government, which he is expecting to take office starting January 1, 2026.
There is mounting pressure on Yunus to conduct elections in the country. Thousands of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) supporters marched in Dhaka on Thursday as they stressed upon their demand of holding elections in the country. They demanded a firm election date. This is the first major protest against Yunus’ administration.
“We have been hearing news of sir’s (Yunus) resignation since this morning. So I went to meet sir to discuss that issue . . . He said he is thinking about it. He feels that the situation is such that he cannot work,” said National Citizen Party (NCP) chief Nahid Islam, who met Yunus on Thursday night, PTI reported, quoting a BBC Bangla report.
Islam is a close ally with Yunus. He rose to prominence during the student-led uprising last year.
“I told him to stay strong for the sake of the country’s security, and future and to meet the expectations of the mass uprising, I hope everyone will cooperate with him,” the report quoted him as saying.
However, there are speculations that Yunus might step down.
The Army chief has also raised serious concerns about the country’s deteriorating state. “Bangladesh is passing through a chaotic phase,” local newspapers quoted Waker-Uz-Zaman as saying. He claimed the structure of the civil administration and law enforcement agencies had collapsed.
Meanwhile, a senior BNP leader Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain told reporters that highest priority should be placed on announcing a clear roadmap for the election.
No polling date has been finalised by Yunus yet. However, he had earlier pledged that elections would be held by June 2026. But BNP leaders in the country want a concrete timeline.
