Refat Ahmed becomes the new Chief Justice of Bangladesh, advisor to the interim government said- do not want that…

Chief Justice of Bangladesh: In Bangladesh, Justice Syed Refat Ahmed was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of Bangladesh on Sunday (August 11). This development happened a day after Justice Obaidul Hasan resigned from the post of Chief Justice following an ultimatum from protesters demanding reforms in the judiciary.

Former Bangladesh Chief Justice Obaidul Hasan and five other judges tendered their resignations on Saturday (August 10), five days after the collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s regime, amid massive protests on the streets and students marching towards the Supreme Court demanding reforms in the judiciary.

Refaat Ahmed took oath at the President’s residence

Earlier, protesting student leaders had issued an ultimatum to him and the judges of the Appellate Division to resign by 1 pm. After this, Ahmed took oath as the new Chief Justice during a ceremony at Durbar Hall of the President’s official residence at around 12.45 pm local time.

President Mohammad Shahabuddin administered the oath to the Chief Justice. The swearing-in ceremony was conducted by Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hussain. Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus also attended the event. President Shahabuddin on Saturday appointed Justice Ahmed as the 25th Chief Justice of Bangladesh.

Interim government chief Mohammad Yunus has handed over the charge of finance and planning ministries to former Bangladesh Bank governor Ahmed. Yunus announced the portfolios of his 16-member advisory council on Friday. The interim government led by 84-year-old Nobel laureate Yunus was formed on August 5 after the fall of the Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina.

What did the financial advisor say?

Ahmed told reporters on Saturday after taking over as finance and planning adviser that the government’s priority is to restore public confidence in banks by resuming the operations of the central bank. “After that, we will work on bringing about reforms. The country’s economy has slowed down due to various reasons. Our aim will be to revive the economy as soon as possible. Once the economy stalls, it becomes very difficult to restart it. We don’t want it to stall,” Ahmed was quoted as saying by state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).

“There are many problems in the economy. There are issues related to the banking sector, inflation and many other complexities. We have to work on all fronts,” the Dhaka Tribune newspaper quoted him as saying. He stressed that at this time the focus should not be only on law and order or security measures, but equal importance should be given to opening banks and keeping ports operational. He said it would not take much time to resume the basic operations of the banking sector.

Also read: Bangladesh Crisis: ‘I will return soon’, Sheikh Hasina attacks opponents, explains why she left Bangladesh