Last Updated on November 16, 2025 11:34 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and seven aligned parties on Sunday (16 November) announced that they will continue their nationwide agitation until the government fully implements the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Ordinance and holds a national referendum ahead of the general election.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Dhaka, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar said the bloc’s eight-party liaison committee would meet again to finalise the next phase of protests. The alliance, however, stopped short of declaring an indefinite blockade of the Chief Adviser’s residence, despite earlier warnings.
Porwar said the movement would persist because the interim government had “fulfilled only part of the demands.” He added that all eight parties would remain on the streets on the day the verdict in the Sheikh Hasina trial is announced, stressing that the “fascist Awami League” would not be allowed to create trouble.
At a morning meeting chaired by Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman, the alliance also agreed to cast a ‘Yes vote’ in favour of the reforms in the upcoming referendum and encourage the public to do the same.
However, Porwar expressed concern that announcing both the referendum and the national election schedule simultaneously had created “confusion and a crisis” among citizens. He also criticised recent transfers of DCs, UNOs and OCs, alleging these were made “through secret consultation to appease a specific political party,” undermining a level playing field. The coalition urged Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus to “maintain neutrality.”
The eight-party bloc held protest marches across the country on November 14, and Sunday’s declaration confirms that their agitation will continue in the days ahead.