Published: 12:32 AM, 02 June 2026
Islami Bank's new Chairman won't be removed: BB
The spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank (BB), Arif Hossain Khan, has told BBC Bangla that Khurshid Alam, the newly appointed Chairman of Islami Bank, is not being removed from his position.
Meanwhile, under the banner of the Islami Bank Customers' Forum, a group of people staged a protest rally in front of the bank's head office in Motijheel, Dhaka, from Monday morning, demanding the cancellation of the new chairman's appointment. Later, police dispersed the demonstrators by using batons, water cannons, tear gas and sound grenades. Several people were reportedly injured in the incident.
Regarding the decision to keep the newly appointed chairman in office despite the ongoing protests, Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan said:
"The protests have no connection with the appointment. If Bangladesh Bank were to make a decision today because of this protest, and then another group launched a protest against that decision, what would Bangladesh Bank do then?
Therefore, Bangladesh Bank will proceed according to its own processes. The protests have no relevance to its decisions. There is no possibility that Bangladesh Bank's decisions will be changed through protests."
On the night of 24 May 2026, Bangladesh Bank appointed former deputy governor Khurshid Alam as chairman of Islami Bank. Earlier that same day, following protests by a group identifying themselves as bank customers and officials, M. Zubaidur Rahman, who had been appointed chairman during the interim government period, resigned from his post. The bank's Managing Director (MD) is also currently on extended leave.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Jamaat-E-Islami has condemned and protested what it described as a police attack on customers demonstrating in front of the bank's head office and demanding the resignation of the new chairman.
In a statement issued on Monday, the party's Secretary General, Mia Golam Parwar, said that ordinary customers, under the banner of the "Islami Bank Customers' Forum," had been peacefully carrying out a sit-in program in front of the bank's head office in Motijheel, Dhaka. However, according to him, police used force against them without any provocation.
Condemning and protesting the police use of batons, tear gas and water cannons against the customers, he said that he fully supports what he described as the customers' legitimate demands.
