A special meeting of the Advisory Council has been convened on Saturday morning, an unusual move for a weekend, signalling that the interim government has important agenda on the table.
This will be the third cabinet-level meeting in just five days, following earlier sessions on Tuesday and Thursday. According to several advisers and their officials, the meeting will be held at 10am at the chief adviser’s official residence Jamuna.
The meeting comes just a day after National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman returned from Doha, where he is believed to have held talks with officials from the United States and India in a Qatar-mediated meeting. Discussions there are understood to have focused on geopolitical issues, including Rakhine, the Rohingya crisis, and Bangladesh’s upcoming election.
According to several sources in the interim government, two advisers – Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan and Mahfuj Alam – are expected to formally bid farewell to their colleagues at the meeting.
“This may be the final Advisory Council meeting for the two student advisers, who are preparing to formally enter the electoral field ahead of the national polls expected in mid-February next year,” said a source at CA office, requesting anonymity.
Both are expected to tender their resignations before the election schedule is announced, which, according to the Election Commission, is due in the first week of December.
A senior official at the EC told TIMES of Bangladesh Friday night that all kind of preparations were completed for the announcement of the schedule.
“It’s a matter of taking decision,” he said.
The student advisers were earlier instructed to step down by 15 November, but they remained in office, arguing that they needed to complete ongoing official responsibilities.
On 14 August, Local Government Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan announced that he would resign before the election schedule is released.
Speaking to journalists at the Secretariat, he further said anyone holding an advisory or state position should resign if they wish to take part in politics or contest an election, to ensure the neutrality of the electoral process.
Last week, Asif Mahmud reiterated that he would consult with senior government officials before announcing his resignation, speaking at the inauguration of public libraries in 44 upazilas across 11 districts.
He confirmed again that he intends to contest the election but has not yet disclosed from which constituency.
Earlier, on 25 February, Nahid Islam resigned as information adviser to lead a new political party formed mainly by the leaders of the July uprising—the National Citizen Party (NCP), launched on 28 February.
The three key student coordinators of the mass movement that toppled the Sheikh Hasina government joined the interim administration on 8 August 2024, three days after the fall of the Awami League regime on 5 August, amid a nationwide uprising.
