Yunus to stay on as Bangladesh interim head, quells resignation buzz

Muhammad Yunus will remain as the head of Bangladesh's interim government, an adviser in his cabinet said on Saturday, two days after a key ally said he had mulled resignation.

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"He (Yunus) didn't say he will leave. He said that while we face many obstacles in carrying out the work and responsibilities assigned to us, we are overcoming them," Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud told reporters after an unscheduled meeting of the advisory council.

"He (Yunus) is definitely staying," Mahmud said. He said none of the advisers were going anywhere as "the responsibility entrusted to us is a significant one; we cannot abandon this duty".

The chief adviser's decision to stay in office came two days after he told student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders that he was mulling resignation as he felt "the situation is such that he cannot work", citing difficulties in working amid the failure of political parties to find common ground for change.

Yunus reportedly expressed an identical desire to quit in a cabinet meeting earlier on Thursday, where his colleagues persuaded him not to relinquish. As many as 19 advisers, effectively ministers, joined the abruptly called closed-door meeting, which Yunus decided to convene following a scheduled meeting of the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) at the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area in Dhaka. The chief adviser's press wing later issued a "statement from the advisory council", saying the two-hour long meeting included detailed discussions on "three primary responsibilities entrusted to the interim government-elections, reforms, and justice".

"The Council discussed how unreasonable demands, deliberately provocative and jurisdictionally overreaching statements, and disruptive programmes have been continuously obstructing the normal functioning environment and creating confusion and suspicion among the public," it said. The statement said despite all obstacles, the interim government continued to fulfil its responsibilities by putting national interests above group interests.