Dhaka, Sep 2 (IANS) Bangladesh is experiencing its most severe crisis in over a decade, caused by Islamist militancy, extremism, economic collapse, unemployment, a breakdown of law and order, and widespread unrest under the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, the Awami League stated on Tuesday.
In its report titled ‘Bangladesh’s Crisis Deepens in 2025: A Nation in Decline’, the party asserted that “the military-backed interim government” that replaced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024 has failed to stabilise the country, leaving the economy, security, and democracy in free fall.
Highlighting the growing Islamist militancy and extremism in Bangladesh, the Awami League noted that at least 15 Islamist attacks have been reported since October 2024. Citing intelligence reports, the party stated that recruitment of youth into extremist groups is on the rise, with thousands being radicalised online.
The report revealed that at least 40 incidents of extremist-led violence against minorities occurred in the first half of 2025 alone across the country, many involving physical assaults or intimidation. Additionally, attacks on minorities have doubled, with Hindu temples and Christian institutions frequently vandalised.
The Awami League stated that Bangladeshi police often failed to intervene, with investigations slow or absent, and prosecutions rare, leaving extremists to act with near impunity.
“Under the Yunus-led interim government, Bangladesh has witnessed a disturbing escalation in violence against women, exposing the systemic collapse of law enforcement and social safeguards. In just the first six months of 2025, official records indicate over 4,200 cases of rape and sexual assault, including at least 650 incidents of gang rape, a stark rise from 3,100 cases during the same period in 2024. These figures likely understate the crisis, as countless survivors refrain from reporting due to fear of retaliation or scepticism toward the authorities,” read the report.
According to the Awami League, under the Yunus regime, economic deterioration is not just a slowdown; it is a systemic collapse, with cascading effects on livelihoods, social stability, and the very foundations of Bangladesh’s future.
“GDP growth has plunged from 6.1 per cent in 2023 to barely 2.3 per cent in 2025. Inflation is running above 12per cent, with food inflation at 16 per cent, hitting the poor the hardest. Foreign reserves have fallen from $33 billion (2022) to $14.5 billion (July 2025), raising fears of a balance-of-payments crisis,” the report said, detailing the economic collapse in Bangladesh.
“Youth unemployment has surged past 28 per cent, the highest in South Asia. Remittances, a lifeline for millions, dropped 11per cent year-on-year. Over 2 million workers in the garment sector face layoffs due to declining exports,” it added.
The Awami League asserted that the only realistic way forward to overcome the crisis in Bangladesh is to ensure free, fair, and inclusive national elections that involve all major political parties under a neutral caretaker arrangement.
The current interim government, it said, is closely tied to the National Citizens’ Party (NCP) and has already shown clear favouritism and political bias, making it incapable of conducting impartial elections. The party warned that without a truly neutral framework, any electoral process would risk cementing the current climate of repression, lawlessness, and injustice in Bangladesh.
–IANS
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