Another advisor in Bangladesh resigns amid political turmoil

Dhaka: As political turmoil in Bangladesh escalates ahead of the February 2026 polls, Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the interim government’s Chief Advisor for the Health Ministry, has resigned–marking the second-highest-level exit from the Muhammad Yunus-led administration within a week, local media reported.

In a gazette notification issued on Tuesday, the Cabinet Division stated that the President of Bangladesh had accepted Rahman’s resignation, which would come into effect immediately.

Speaking to Bangladesh’s leading daily Prothom Alo on Wednesday, Sayedur said, “I submitted my resignation a month ago. It was accepted on Tuesday. My term in government service ended yesterday.”

Reports suggest that no reasons were cited for his resignation. Sayedur, who previously served as Vice Chancellor of Bangladesh Medical University, was appointed special assistant to the Chief Advisor in November last year, with the rank of a state minister.

His resignation follows that of Khuda Baksh Chowdhury, special assistant to the Chief Advisor for the Home Ministry, who stepped down on December 24, underscoring the growing instability in Yunus’ administration.

Khuda Baksh’s resignation came days after the radical platform Inquilab Moncho on December 20 issued a 24-hour ultimatum to him and the Home Affairs Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, demanding an update on progress in arresting those responsible for the killing of the group’s convener, Sharif Osman Bin Hadi.

The ultimatum was issued after Hadi’s funeral, as thousands of his supporters assembled at Dhaka’s Shahbagh intersection, turning the area into a major flashpoint.

The group warned that both officials must resign if they fail to respond within this stipulated time.

“Within the next 24 hours, the Home Affairs Advisor (Jahangir Alam Chowdhury) and the Assistant Advisor (Khuda Bakhsh Chowdhury) must come before the public and explain how far they have progressed over the past week. If they fail to answer, they must resign,” Prothom Alo quoted Inqilab Moncho Member Secretary Abdullah Al Jaber as saying.

According to local media reports, on Monday, the members of Inqilab Moncho blocked the Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka for the fourth consecutive day, demanding arrest and swift trial for slain leader Hadi.

Following the death of Hadi on December 18, his supporters went on a rampage across Bangladesh targeting minorities, Indian High Commission offices, cultural institutions and media houses with alarming impunity.

IANS