But once bitten, twice shy. We cannot quite shrug off our sense of fear and doubt. We cannot be certain that this opportunity will not slip away again. And the stance of BNP on several important reform issues and laws has further deepened this uncertainty.

We know that the party that won the election, BNP, had already recorded its objections or notes of dissent on several aspects of the July National Charter. Whether the people like it or not, it is only natural that a party holding a two-thirds majority in parliament will not implement provisions it objects to. However, it now seems that BNP is also backing away from matters it had agreed to in the July Charter, or is trying to reshape them to suit itself.

Let me mention a few examples among many. The July Charter outlines reforms to be carried out through laws, ordinances, rules, and executive orders. In the case of the judiciary, BNP had objections on only two issues: one was the formation of an independent criminal investigation service, and the other was the non-recognition of any organization of lawyers affiliated with political parties in elections to bar associations and the bar council. Beyond these, BNP had agreed to all other matters, including a code of conduct for judges and the establishment of a Supreme Court Secretariat. Yet we saw that the government repealed the Supreme Court Secretariat Ordinance 2025.

There was extensive discussion both at home and abroad about enforced disappearances during the rule of the Awami League government. Soon after taking power, the interim government signed the international convention against enforced disappearances. It also repealed two ordinances related to the prevention of and remedy for such disappearances.