Bangladesh stands at a crossroads with February 12 elections looming, and minorities brace for an ominous future under rising Islamist shadows. A comprehensive report from EU Reporter in Brussels indicts the Yunus-led interim regime for exacerbating divisions and neglecting minority plights.
Post-Sheikh Hasina’s fall, the government squandered opportunities for peaceful transition. Economic sabotage, crackdowns on businesses, dismissal of minority assaults, and indifference to Islamist growth have sown chaos.
A leaked audio exposes a US diplomat’s overtures to Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh’s premier Islamist force—longlisted as terrorists by Russia. Though diplomatic outreach to new parties isn’t novel, allying with Jamaat, born from anti-Bangladesh secessionist fervor and Muslim Brotherhood ideology, raises red flags.
Jamaat sided with Pakistan after partition and orchestrated atrocities via paramilitaries during the Liberation War. Banned post-anti-Hindu pogroms, it clawed back via 2024 executive lift and 2025 judicial nod, now second in polls.
US endorsement could rewrite alliances disastrously. Meanwhile, Jamaat’s momentum stokes conservative tides, coinciding with post-July 2024 horrors: women mobbed, girls’ events axed, child rapes rampant.
Once a beacon of female leadership, Bangladesh’s slide is stark. Religious schisms, Rohingya burdens, and India frictions compound the crisis. Elections might entrench rather than heal these wounds, imperiling minorities profoundly.