Bangladesh’s New PM Pledges Protection for Minorities

By Staff, Agencies

Bangladesh’s new prime minister, Tarique Rahman, has vowed to protect minorities in the country, naming it one of the top priorities of his newly elected government.

In his first televised address as prime minister, Rahman said on Wednesday that his administration will strengthen the rule of law in the South Asian nation.

“We want to turn this country into a safe land for every citizen. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians – regardless of party, opinion, religion, or ethnicity – whether living in the hills or the plains, this country belongs to all of us,” he said.

Rahman’s Bangladesh National Party [BNP] won a two-thirds majority in the general election on February 12, in the first polls after a violent uprising in 2024 that ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The interim administration led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus drew flak for presiding over a wave of attacks on the country’s Hindus and other religious minorities.

“Whether you voted for BNP, or did not vote for BNP, or did not vote at all – everyone has equal rights over this government... As a Bangladeshi, every one of us has equal rights in this country, in this state,” Rahman said on Wednesday.

Rights group Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation [MSF] has claimed that in January 2026 alone, 21 incidents of lynching and 28 incidents of mob beatings occurred in the country, according to a PTI report.

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has reported 522 communal attacks in 2025, including the murders of 116 people of minority faiths, mostly Hindus, between June 2025 and January 2026.

Amid rising attacks on minorities, India in December urged Bangladesh’s interim government to act, and in January withdrew diplomats’ families and boosted security for its missions.