If govt is successful, why gas, power and security crises persist?

The opposition has rejected the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) claim of success over the government’s performance during its first 180 days. It said the government could not be considered successful given the crises affecting people’s daily lives and the deteriorating law and order situation.

Citing gas and electricity shortages, the closure of industrial plants, fears of unemployment, and incidents such as enforced disappearances and killings as examples of the government’s failures, the opposition questioned how the government could be considered successful if it failed to ensure people’s safety and rights.

Leaders of the 11-party alliance held a meeting at the residence of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman on Wednesday afternoon.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, the alliance coordinator and Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary-General Hamidur Rahman Azad made these remarks.

Hamidur Rahman Azad said the meeting decided to intensify the movement by criticising various activities of the government.

He said, “Public suffering, deterioration of law and order, and insecurity have increased in the country.”

He also claimed that the failure to implement the “July Charter” and the verdict of the referendum had created a constitutional crisis in the country.

According to him, the meeting also discussed the opposition’s role in Thursday’s session of the Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament), the programmes announced by the alliance and preparations for those programmes.

Hamidur Rahman Azad further said gas, electricity and fertiliser shortages, along with rising fuel and essential commodity prices, had created suffering for people.

The meeting also discussed government mismanagement and politicisation, he said. According to him, these factors have pushed the country’s economy and the lives of ordinary people into a new crisis.

Hamidur Rahman Azad announced a new programme to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on 30 August. He said family members of people subjected to enforced disappearance would join a march towards Parliament that day.

He said the programme, backed by the 11 parties, would begin at 3:00 pm from Shahbagh in the capital. He added that the families of victims of enforced disappearance would submit a memorandum to the Parliament Speaker after the march.

The Jamaat assistant secretary-general also spoke about remarks made by the ruling party’s acting secretary-general criticising the 11-party alliance’s decision to describe the government as a failure on the occasion of its 180th day in office.

Responding to a journalist’s question, he said, “The electricity and gas crises, the closure of industrial plants, unemployment, the deterioration of law and order, and the failure to ensure people’s security must be viewed as failures of the government.”

Hamidur Rahman Azad claimed that hundreds of factories were shutting down because of the gas crisis.

As a result, he said, export orders were moving to other countries, putting pressure on the economy. “Why should these issues not be considered failures of the government?” he questioned.

Referring to the country’s law and order situation, Hamidur Rahman Azad cited various statistics on enforced disappearances and killings.

He claimed that around 512 people had been abducted or subjected to enforced disappearance in nearly six months, while around 1,800 people had been killed. However, he did not cite any source for these figures.

He said the government could not be considered successful if it failed to ensure people’s safety and rights or provide essential services directly linked to people’s daily lives.

National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener and Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam said the draft National Human Rights Commission Act and the draft Prevention of Enforced Disappearances Act 2026 have raised concerns that human rights protections could be weakened compared with the previous ordinances.

Highlighting weaknesses in the proposed National Human Rights Commission Act, Nahid Islam said the proposed law would remove the commission’s power to conduct its own investigations, which it had under the previous ordinance.

“If the responsibility for investigating allegations of enforced disappearance or human rights violations is given to those accused of such violations, questions will remain over the transparency and credibility of the investigation,” he said.

“If such a law takes effect, ensuring accountability for human rights violations committed by state forces will become difficult in the future,” Nahid Islam added.

The NCP chief further said the government or executive branch would retain dominance in the process of selecting members of the National Human Rights Commission.

He also claimed that giving opposition parties the chairmanship of parliamentary standing committees was part of the commitments under the July Charter.

According to him, the opposition should receive the chairmanship of at least several key standing committees to ensure accountability and transparency.

He further said the issue was not directly related to constitutional amendments and could therefore be implemented immediately, but the government was saying it would not do so.

“An attempt is being made to put pressure on the opposition by linking the chairmanship of standing committees to the conditions for implementing the July Charter,” he said.

The NCP convener also announced that the party would continue its movement if the July Charter was not implemented. He said a long march would begin from the Chattogram Division on 5 September and would subsequently be taken to other divisions. A grand rally would later be held in Dhaka.

Nahid Islam also urged the State Minister for Foreign Affairs to make a clear statement on dual citizenship, describing the state minister’s remarks as a threat to independent journalism.

The meeting was attended by Bangladesh Labour Party Chairman Mostafizur Rahman Iran, Bangladesh Development Party (BDP) Chairman AKM Anwarul Islam Chan, JAGPA spokesperson Rashed Pradhan, LDP Acting Secretary-General Billal Hossain Miazi, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Joint Secretary-General Ataullah Amin, AB Party Joint General Secretary Abdullah Al Mamun and other leaders.

Names and party affiliations have been checked against available recent sources, including reports identifying Nahid Islam as NCP convener, Mostafizur Rahman Iran as Bangladesh Labour Party chairman, and Rashed Pradhan as JAGPA spokesperson.