Published: 12:19 AM, 29 April 2026
Demand for Stern Actions on Vice Masters Inside Regulators
From left: LGRD Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Barrister Rumeen Farhana, Professor Anu Muhammad and Barrister Sara Hossain. AA
It was observed over and over again that authoritarian governments frame political opponents in false and fabricated cases and manipulate legal systems to punish politicians on groundless basis. A blazing example of this degenerated layout is the prison sentence that was issued against Bangladesh's first female Prime Minister and three times Premier Begum Khaleda Zia on 8 February in 2018 on the basis of unnamed complainants and unproven allegations. Some immoral and unscrupulous bureaucrats and biased institutions were responsible for this tragic and offensive instance who unleashed the evil device of punishing people before charges against them are proven beyond doubts.
Begum Khaleda Zia's son Tarique Rahman was subjected to similar power abuse, repression and revenge during the 1/11 intrigue and he was forced to leave Bangladesh and move abroad for his own safety. For this reason civil society members, legal experts and political analysts hold the opinion that the perpetrators who unlawfully punished Begum Khaleda Zia and exasperated and exiled Tarique Rahman for obtaining undue favours from the then squalid governments need to be grilled and prosecuted.
A great deal of noted business leaders were picked up for so-called interrogation and some were even detained on unspecified and vague charges. These detained dignitaries for the most part were at the end of the day proven not guilty after several months or years but within this time their reputation, image and social esteem were gone down the drain.
An immoral and vicious exercise of causing harm to ordinary people has been going on for nearly two years by means of stamping untrue political attachments and extracting vengeance on competitors and rivals. These vices are loud and clear human rights violations. State machineries are being abused and basic humanitarian norms are being breached every now and then on silly grounds to extort cash from traders and intimidating plain citizens with reckless mob incursions and anonymous letters. Mob violence became the playbook methodology in a totally unauthorized way after the immediate past interim government took oath on 8 August 2024. Mob outfits vandalized business enterprises, households, sculptures, shrines, burned newspaper offices, raped women and smashed cultural institutions and these offences jolted local and international news outlets with horror.
More dreadful was the fact that agencies in charge of fighting corruption sent amorphous papers with baseless allegations to business owners randomly and the interim government abided by the corrupt groups by means of seizing bank accounts of large business conglomerates and confiscating transactions of traders' family members too like sons, daughters, spouses, in-laws etcetera. Huge sums of money are now blocked in the financial confinement which is why lots of entrepreneurs are not being able to pull out their business ventures from debris and woes. Reports have illustrated again and again that more than 400 factories were shut down during the interim government's ruling period while business sources have informed that nearly 2 million people have become jobless. This stalemate in the industrial sector and foreign trade is still prevailing because cash flow in the economic mainstream across Bangladesh has not yet become normal. The government must take a closer look into this predicament and enable industries to bounce back into production and reinstate their employees right now. Courts should ask the authorities concerned why random allegations were taken into cognizance without precise inquiries. It's important for courts to issue orders to all regulators to clarify their standpoint and to submit vivid explanations for chasing people with ambiguous accusations.
At the same time quick actions need to be taken to withdraw all fictitious cases filed against entrepreneurs whose business firms were laid off leading to enormous loads of unemployment. In this context it can be added that a few former chiefs and ex commissioners of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) said on some occasions that ACC is one of the most graft-ridden and ethically bankrupt organizations in Bangladesh. It may be recalled that Chief Coordinator of National Citizens Party (NCP) Hasnat Abdullah MP once complained during the interim government's tenure that ACC investigators seek 5 to 10 lakh taka as tips or bribes for taking tea though ACC declined this allegation at that time despite the fact that extortion, partisan tagging and retaliations flared up vehemently while young student leaders were close to the corridors of power during the interim government's stint.
It's now high time to erase forever the malpractice of avenging ideological dissidents in unauthorized ways by injudiciously influencing state organs.
Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that the abusive habits and dark bequests of the past tyrannical governments will not be allowed to repeat any more. He further said that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is highly concerned about these malpractices and he wants the unfair conventions of illegally framing individuals and tagging to be eliminated quickly and tough measures should be executed fast.
Member of Parliament Barrister Rumeen Farhana said that people hear clusters of promises and sugar-coated rhetoric from all ruling parties but in reality most of the pledges don't get materialized. However, she expressed hope that the present government will take lessons from the past autocratic rulers and will not allow the same offences to occur once again. Rumeen Farhana laid emphasis on dealing with corruption and nepotism without compromise.
Barrister Sara Hossain said that court proceedings and judicial system should not be obtruded under any circumstances. She asserted that the ruling authorities should never put inadmissible pressure on legal procedures.
Professor Anu Muhammad said that giving special favours to dishonest officials and political agents should be stopped. He added that nobody should be allowed to use party identity to do anything illegitimate.
It should be noted that good governance, economic progress and rule of law cannot be established without ensuring the ease of doing business for local and foreign investors and unbiased implementation of codes and regulations. Simultaneously it is vital to release all freezed bank accounts to speed up cash flow in the country's economic trajectories.
