Mahfuj Alam and Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain have resigned from their positions as advisers to the interim government.
A source at the Chief Adviser’s Office confirmed to Prothom Alo on Wednesday evening that they have submitted their resignation letters.
Mahfuj Alam and Asif Mahmud were advisers in the interim government as representatives of the students who led the July uprising.
Mahfuj Alam was serving as adviser to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, while Asif Mahmud was adviser to the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, in addition to the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
After the fall of the Awami League government during the July uprising on 5 August 2024, an interim government was formed on 8 August under the leadership of Professor Muhammad Yunus. Until now, the advisory council—including the Chief Adviser—consisted of 23 members. Of them, two student representatives have now resigned.
At the time the government was formed, student representative Nahid Islam was a member of the advisory council. Later, on 25 February, he resigned and became the convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), which was formed by young leaders who had led the July uprising.
Mahfuj Alam initially served as special assistant to the Chief Adviser, having been appointed on 28 August last year. He later took the oath as an adviser on 10 November, though he was not assigned responsibility for any ministry at that time. After Nahid Islam resigned, Mahfuz Alam was given charge as adviser to the information ministry.
On the other hand, Asif Mahmud initially held responsibility for the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Youth and Sports. In November last year, following the removal of AF Hassan Ariff (who has since passed away), Asif Mahmud was assigned responsibility for the Ministry of Local Government. Since then, he has been overseeing both the Local Government and the Youth and Sports ministries.