Last Updated on April 8, 2026 6:16 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
Bangladesh’s parliament on Wednesday passed the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2026, effectively giving legal backing to the earlier ordinance used to ban the activities of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League (AL) party.
The bill was passed without any changes to the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, which had been promulgated by the interim government on May 11, 2025, a day before the official ban on Awami League’s activities.
The ordinance introduced provisions allowing the government to ban individuals or entities involved in terrorist activities and their operations.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed tabled the bill in parliament, triggering objections from Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman.
“We received a comparative sheet only 3-4 minutes ago. We could not read it fully. This law is certainly a sensitive one. We should be given more time to review it,” Shafiqur said.
Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad rejected the objection, stating, “There is a specific time for raising objections. If objections were raised within that time, we could have considered them. At this stage of the bill, there is no scope for objections.” Responding, Shafiqur said, “Unfortunately, we just received the sheet.” The Speaker replied, “Perhaps we can look into this later, but at this stage of the bill, objections are not possible.”
Subsequently, the home minister moved the bill for passage, saying, “This bill concerns the banning of a genocidal, terrorist organisation. It is an amendment to the previous Anti-Terrorism Act. The opposition leader will surely recall that they and their NCP friends together launched a movement. That movement created public opinion in Bangladesh. Based on that, their (AL’s) activities were banned under the Anti-Terrorism Act.”
The bill was passed by voice vote. Under the amendment, Section 18(1) now authorises the government to “ban all activities of any entity,” a provision that was absent in the 2009 law. Section 20 further states that the government can prohibit “publishing or printing any press statement by or on behalf of that entity, or organising any sort of publicity on mass media, online, social media or other media, processions, rallies, gatherings or press conferences, or giving a public speech.”
On May 12, 2025, the interim government had issued a notification banning all activities of the Awami League and its affiliated organisations, citing allegations of killings, genocide, crimes against humanity and other serious offences during the July uprising. Hours later, the Election Commission suspended the party’s registration.
In a related development, parliament also passed the July Uprising (Protection and Determination of Liability) Bill, 2026, aimed at protecting individuals, including students, who took part in the 2024 July Uprising.
The bill, also moved by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, was passed by voice vote during the session presided over by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad. According to the law, it will take effect from January 25, 2026, and will be deemed to have been in force retrospectively from July 1, 2024.