National Citizen Party (NCP) Central Joint Convener Sultan Muhammad Zakaria expressed deep frustration over the prevailing 'lawlessness' and the inability of the new political forces to resist the remnants of the old regime.
In an emotional Facebook post on Saturday, Zakaria admitted that despite the promises of change, 'we could not stop the lawlessness happening in front of our eyes,' and warned that this failure signals 'the beginning of changing the country.'
Referring to a recent conversation with a fellow government Adviser, Zakaria wrote, "Yesterday, an Adviser friend was expressing extreme disappointment while reviewing the politics of the last one year. When asked what should be done, he said, 'Go away.' I said, "I came to fight, to fix the country - will I leave?" His remarks reflect a growing sense of disillusionment among reformist figures who joined the post-uprising political landscape hoping for structural change.
The NCP leader also alleged that the same authoritarian practices that defined the previous regime continue unabated under the watch of the current administration. "In a span of 24 hours, the police, in continuation of the old jungle rule, took one of my friends from his house in front of our eyes without any case or warrant," he wrote. "Even with our new Bangladesh politics, 'King's Party' status, and the government's friends and allies, we could not challenge the illegal power of the old Deep State, DGFI and even retired officials."
Zakaria, who previously worked in the United States, returned to Bangladesh after the August 5 uprising with the stated goal of contributing to a politics of change. However, his recent comments suggest deep disappointment with the state of governance and the persistence of impunity within administrative and law enforcement circles. His post, now widely shared, has drawn attention for its candid acknowledgment of internal frustration within reformist circles, raising questions about whether the promises of a new political era are being undermined by entrenched structures of unaccountable power.
