Prof Yunus' 1st month in office marked by reforms initiatives, diplomatic success, greater public trust

The interim government, led by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, marks completion of one-month honeymoon period on Sunday with a number of decisions taken so far on the reforms front while more needs to be done on restoring law and order restoring full public confidence.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Prof Yunus, who took the oath of office on 8 August, has already held a series of meetings with the political parties and other stakeholders to finalise a roadmap for required reforms and to hold a "free, fair and participatory" election once they can complete their "mandate" to carry out "vital reforms."

It is expected that the chief adviser will come up with a roadmap on reforms based on the recommendations he received from various stakeholders including the political leaders while focus remains on restoring peace and preparing for new elections.

Global leaders and Bangladesh's development partners have announced strong support for the new Bangladesh government led by Prof Yunus, stressing that they stand ready to help in any way they can to support the efforts of Bangladesh.

In a major diplomatic success in the first month of his administration, Prof Yunus was able to persuade President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to pardon the 57 Bangladeshi nationals who were jailed over expressing solidarity with the recent student-led upsurge through demonstrations in a few cities in the Gulf country.

"We are, indeed, profoundly touched by your empathy and understanding," Prof Yunus said, expressing deepest gratitude in a letter written to the UAE president.

There are challenges ahead like macroeconomic challenges, in particular, reining in inflation, slowing GDP growth, currency devaluation, financial crisis and looming debt.

There has been much expectation from the people that the interim government would fulfil people's desire on the human rights front.

Demonstrating its commitment to human rights issues, the government on 29 August signed the instrument of accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, demonstrating its commitment to investigate each and every case of enforced disappearances.

With this, Bangladesh is now party to all nine core human rights treaties, manifesting people's aspirations to uphold freedom and justice for everyone.

Prof Yunus said they will undertake robust and far-reaching economic reforms to restore macroeconomic stability and sustained growth, with priority attached to good governance and combating corruption and mismanagement.

In line with that commitment, Bangladesh has got a new governor - Ahsan H. Mansur - who is carrying out massive reforms in the banking sector which still remains fragile.

As part of economic reforms, a committee has been formed for the preparation of a comprehensive "White Paper" on the state of Bangladesh economy.

The committee is chaired by Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow at Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and Convenor of the Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh.

The Advisory Council last week decided to convert Ganabhaban, official residence of the former prime minister, into "July Revolution Memorial Museum", keeping the memory of the student-led mass uprising that toppled Hasina-led government on 5 August.

It is not clear yet how parties like BNP and its allies, who believe in returning to power after the next election, will look at this decision.

Most of the political leaders including BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia have been released from the jails which was widely appreciated while the release of some criminals and militants from different parts of the country has raised many eyebrows.

On the other hand, traditional and social media have raised questions about the way murder cases are being filed against people, including media workers, who hardly can have any part in such incidents.

On 28 August, the Public Security Division of the Home Affairs Ministry expectedly issued a gazette lifting a ban on Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its affiliate Islami Chhatra Shibir.

The government said it did not find any specific information and evidence about Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir and other affiliates' involvement in terrorism and violence and the government also believes that the party has no involvement in terrorism activities.

On the diplomatic front, Bangladesh is maintaining very good relations with almost all its partners. But there are signs of tensions between Dhaka and New Delhi mainly on the issue of deposed PM Hasina's stay in New Delhi.

Prof Yunus has said that making political remarks by Hasina from India is an "unfriendly gesture", asserting that she must remain silent to prevent discomfort to both countries until Dhaka requests her extradition.

"If India wants to keep her until the time Bangladesh (government) wants her back, the condition would be that she has to keep quiet," he said in an interview with the Press Trust of India at his official residence in Dhaka recently.

On the other hand, a senior-level US delegation will soon visit Bangladesh to discuss ways with the interim government to take forward the relations between the two countries in a changed political scenario.

US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for South and Southeast Asia Lindsey W Ford and US Deputy Under Secretary/Assistant Secretary for International Finance Brent Neiman may join the US delegation.