Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus-led interim government's advisory council is being expanded. The names of the four new advisers have been announced. They are Professor Md. Sayedur Rahman, businessman Sheikh Bashir Uddin, cultural figure Mustafa Sarwar Farooqui and special assistant to the chief adviser Mahfuz Alam.
The new advisers are scheduled to be sworn in at Bangabhaban on Sunday (November 10) evening. It has been confirmed that these four people have been invited to take oath as new advisers.
Professor Md. Sayedur Rahman was appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) on August 27. Now he is being taken to the advisory council. Md. Sayedur Rahman is a professor in the Department of Pharmacology at BSMMU.
Sheikh Bashir Uddin is the Managing Director of Akij-Bashir Group, a leading industrial group in the country. He is the son of Sheikh Akij Uddin.
Internationally renowned filmmaker Mostafa Sarwar Farooqui has always criticized the wrongdoings of the previous government. Not only that, he was by the side of the student movement from the very beginning. Even after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, he gave various suggestions on his Facebook page. As a result, rumor of his becoming an adviser was heard for quite some time. Finally, those rumors are going to come true.
The interim government's chief adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus' special assistant Md. Mahfuz Alam is also joining the advisory council.
Mahfuz Alam was the coordinator of the liaison committee of the anti-discrimination student movement. His home is in Isapur village of Ramganj upazila of Lakshmipur upazila. He studied at Dhaka University. He is a student of the 2015-16 academic year of the Law Department of Dhaka University. Besides, he is known on campus as the theoretical leader of the student organization Democratic Student Power.
A source said that former Inspector General of Police Khoda Box Chowdhury is joining the interim government as an special assistant to the chief adviser.
After the student uprising on August 8, the interim government was formed under the leadership of Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus. The 21-member advisory council has already been in place for three months. Many of them are holding the responsibilities of multiple important ministries. Politicians often complain that one person holding the responsibilities of several ministries at the same time is causing delays in the government's work. Therefore, they have also demanded to expand the scope of the advisory council.