BNP-led Bangladesh parliament passes law banning Hasina’s Awami League

Bangladesh’s parliament has passed legislation formally endorsing the ban on the Awami League of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, giving statutory backing to an earlier decision taken by the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus.

The House approved the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2026 through a voice vote, converting an interim ordinance into law and maintaining the ban on Awami League activities nationwide. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the legislation strengthened the Anti-Terrorism Act and described it as targeting a “genocidal terrorist organisation” , though he did not explicitly name the Awami League during the debate.

The amendment allows authorities to prohibit organisations involved in terrorism , ensuring the party’s registration with the Election Commission remains suspended and preventing it from contesting elections. Treasury bench members from Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party backed the measure.

The earlier ordinance had already barred the Awami League from political activities including meetings, rallies and online campaigns. The law also prohibits publishing or broadcasting statements supporting a banned party and restricts rallies, processions and social media propaganda in its favour.

Authorities say the restrictions will remain in force until the trial of the party and its leaders at the International Crimes Tribunal over allegations linked to the violent crackdown during the 2024 student-led uprising that toppled Hasina’s government. The Awami League’s student wing, the Bangladesh Chhatra League , had already been designated a terrorist organisation in October 2024 for its alleged role in attacks during the protests.

Opposition leader Shafikur Rahman of Jamaat-e-Islami criticised the process, saying lawmakers received the bill only minutes before the vote. Officials from the United Nations have also warned the ban could restrict freedom of association and peaceful assembly.

The legislation came a day after police arrested former parliament speaker Shirin Sharmin Choudhury on attempted murder charges, the first high-profile detention linked to Hasina’s toppled administration. Hasina fled to India after the uprising, and a special tribunal later sentenced her to death in absentia for crimes against humanity related to the crackdown on the protests.