Bangladesh interim govt takes shape, 27 portfolios with Yunus

The head of Bangladesh’s

interim govt

,

Nobel laureate

Muhammad Yunus, has appointed former foreign secretary M Touhid Hossain to head foreign ministry “to maintain a balance of relations with the big countries”, while Yunus himself will lead over two dozen ministries and departments, the cabinet division of Bangladesh said Friday.
Defence with Yunus
Among the 27 ministries that Yunus has assigned to himself are defence, information, education, energy, food, and water resources.

These are in addition to his position as chief adviser, equivalent to interim PM. A surprise inclusion in the “council of advisers” was AFM Khalid Hossain, a former vice-president of the hardline Islamist organisation Hefazat-e-Islam and adviser to Islami Andolan Bangladesh, as the head of religious affairs ministry.
Law professor Asif Nazrul, who guided

student coordinators

during the protests and was vocal against the now-toppled Sheikh Hasina govt, has been given the law ministry, apparently to help the interim govt take legal steps regarding human rights violations and recent killings.

No decision on tenure length
The interim govt said it had not taken any decision yet on the length of its tenure but that it wanted to first finalise its

reform agenda

. “If you don’t want reforms, that is a separate discussion. Now, there is no reason to get restless... Ultimately, we need to walk towards democracy,” Syeda Rizwana Hasan, in charge of the environment, forest and climate change ministry, said.
In the “council of advisers”, Brigadier General Sakhawat Hussain (Retd), who also served as the country’s election commissioner from 2007 to 2012, will lead home ministry. Salehuddin Ahmed, the ninth governor of Bangladesh Bank (2005 to 2009) will head finance and planning ministries.

Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyian, one of the coordinators of the quota reform protest and pursuing a master’s at the linguistics department of Dhaka University, is now the adviser for the youth and sports ministry. Bhuyian (25) described the new administration as not a caretaker govt but a govt formed through a students’ movement and said they were looking to handing over to a govt brought in by a fair election.
Students in supervisory roles
Nahid Islam, another student who led the protests, has been appoined adviser to the postal, telecom and ICT (information and communications technology) ministries. He said they have decided to appoint students as assistant advisers or to similar positions so that students can have a supervisory role within ministries.
Adilur Rahman Khan, a former deputy attorney general (2001- 2007), has been given the industries ministry. AF Hassan Arif, who was attorney general (2001-2005), will now lead the local govt, rural development and cooperatives ministry. Farida Akhter, a women’s rights activist, has been handed fisheries and livestock, Sharmeen Murshid, a freedom fighter, will take charge of social welfare, and Nurjahan Begum, a Grameen Telecom trustee, will look after health ministry.
Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad, meanwhile, reported 205 incidents of persecution of members of minority communities across 52 districts since Hasina’s resignation on Aug 5.
China welcomes interim govt
China said it has noted that Bangladesh has formed an interim govt, that it welcomes it, and that Beijing strictly follows the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs. “China values its relations with Bangladesh, and stands ready to work with Bangladesh to promote bilateral cooperation in various areas and further advance our comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership,” a spokesperson said, adding, Beijing respects Bangladesh’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and the development path independently chosen by the Bangladeshi people”.