Vocal British political leaders, past and present MPs, human rights activists, and members of different faith communities across the UK have urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government to denounce the interim government in Bangladesh, headed by Muhammad Yunus, firmly.
They blamed the regime for not protecting the religious minorities in the nation, especially Hindus, and demanded an immediate international response.
The issues were expressed in a seminar entitled "Bangladesh at Crossroads: Role of International Community and Diaspora", organized at the House of Commons. The seminar was arranged by the Conservative Friends of Bangladesh (CFoB), with CFoB Chair Anjenarra Rahman-Huque opening the session. It was chaired by Harrow East MP Bob Blackman, who is also Chair of the powerful 1922 Committee and the Backbench Business Committee from 2024, as well as CFoB's Parliamentary President.
It was noted by participants that between August 5 and September 20, 2024 — mere weeks after Yunus took up the mantle as Chief Advisor after the democratically elected government of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League was removed from power — Bangladesh saw 2,010 documented instances of violence against Hindus. The disturbances continued, with 174 further incidents between September 21 and December 31, with 258 more attacks witnessed between January 1 and June 30, 2025.
Speakers condemned the silence and inaction of Bangladeshi security forces. It was noted that in the past 11 months, 168 journalists had their press credentials revoked and 43 had been imprisoned, pointing to what was described as the "irresponsible, non-transparent, unelected Yunus regime."
The meeting also emphasized the significant contribution of religious minorities to Bangladesh's economic growth and political process. They called for the representation of minorities in the polling process proportionally to achieve social harmony and justice.
Hindus are living in fear. They cannot sleep at home quietly because they do not know what will occur tomorrow," stated Haradhan Bhowmik of the United Hindu Alliance in the UK. He also disclosed a shocking event of June 26, when a Hindu woman was raped by a local political leader in Muradnagar, Cumilla. Graphic images depicting her naked body were shared on social media globally.
Issues relating to religious extremism were also brought forward by UK-based Barrister Prasanta Barua, speaking on behalf of the British Buddhist community. He underscored rising radicalisation in Bangladeshi society as evidenced by Malaysian intelligence reports on the arrest of 36 Bangladeshi nationals suspected to be affiliated with ISIS.
"This will obviously be a huge problem for Bangladesh if the government does nothing to control it," warned Barua.
He also pointed to the alarming return of Harkat-ul Jihad-al Islami (HuJI) agents in Dhaka, and ongoing attacks on indigenous groups in the Chittagong Hill Tracts — both of which continue to go largely unaddressed by the interim government.
Joining the mounting international condemnation, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also spoke out. He recently took to X (formerly Twitter), highlighting the on-going brutality.
"A Hindu woman gangraped in Muradnagar by yet another mob in Bangladesh. For almost 11 months, mob violence, terrorism, and rape have raged on throughout the entire nation. Since August 2024, Yunus has encouraged the perpetrators of atrocities, mass murders, and crimes against humanity against Hindus by downplaying them as political matters," Wazed wrote.
"Mob after mob attacks, but they go on calling them pressure groups — pressure groups to whom Bangladesh is now being taken hostage. And their godfathers — we all know precisely who they are and what they are. Yunus and his cohorts are directly responsible for each rape case, not only in Muradnagar, but throughout the country," he went on.
The seminar ended with fresh appeals for the UK and other international actors to push the interim government to account for itself and to safeguard the rights and security of Bangladesh's religious minorities in an increasingly unstable political climate.
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