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- By – Moslem Rohit
In the swirling chaos of post-Hasina Bangladesh, a troubling pattern has emerged that reveals the true character of Muhammad Yunus’s interim government. While the Nobel laureate presents himself as a champion of justice and reform, his administration’s handling of two critical historical incidents, the 2009 Pilkhana massacre and the 2004 August 21 grenade attack, exposes a deeply cynical manipulation of justice that serves political vendettas rather than truth.
The evidence is stark and damning. On one hand, Yunus has personally amplified investigations into the Pilkhana massacre, with his social media accounts actively promoting reports that implicate the Awami League in what his Attorney General calls an “international conspiracy”. Yet simultaneously, his government has presided over the complete judicial exoneration of all perpetrators in the August 21 grenade attack case, including the systematic acquittal of 49 accused individuals, from BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman to former state minister Lutfozzaman Babar.
The Pilkhana Amplification Campaign
The Yunus government’s approach to the Pilkhana massacre represents a masterclass in political theater disguised as justice. Formed on December 24, 2024, the National Independent Investigation Commission has been granted extraordinary resources and visibility. Chief Adviser Yunus himself has made multiple public statements emphasizing the need to “uncover this mystery,” declaring that “the entire nation is looking to the investigation commission”.
The commission’s findings have been strategically choreographed for maximum political impact. In June 2025, commission chairman Major General ALM Fazlur Rahman announced that “involvement of the then political leadership was found” in the massacre, while simultaneously claiming evidence of efforts to “divert the incident to a different direction and destroy its elements”. These conclusions, delivered through carefully staged press conferences, serve the interim government’s narrative that the Awami League orchestrated the killing of 57 army officers to “create an atmosphere of anarchy” and maintain power through weakness.
Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman has gone further, characterizing the Pilkhana incident as part of an “international conspiracy” designed to keep the Awami League in power. This inflammatory rhetoric, amplified by Yunus’s own social media presence, demonstrates how the interim government has weaponized the tragedy for political gain rather than pursuing genuine accountability.
The August 21 Erasure Project
In stark contrast to the Pilkhana spectacle stands the Yunus government’s treatment of the August 21, 2004, grenade attack, a case where the evidence of state-sponsored terrorism was overwhelming, and the perpetrators had been convicted after extensive trials. The attack, which killed 24 Awami League leaders and activists and injured over 300 people, represented one of the most brazen acts of political terrorism in Bangladesh’s history.
Yet under Yunus’s watch, this meticulously documented case has been systematically dismantled. The High Court’s December 2024 decision to acquit all 49 accused, including the masterminds of the attack, was upheld by the Supreme Court in September 2025. The timing is particularly revealing: these acquittals occurred precisely as the interim government was amplifying its Pilkhana investigations.
The Supreme Court’s rationale for the acquittals that confessional statements were obtained through torture and lacked evidential value conveniently ignores the extensive investigation that spanned multiple governments and jurisdictions. Defence lawyer Mohammad Shishir Manir’s claim that “politically motivated charges cannot bring a good outcome” becomes deeply ironic when viewed alongside the politically motivated Pilkhana investigation.
The Convenience of Judicial Amnesia
The August 21 case erasure represents more than a legal technicality; it constitutes historical revisionism of the most cynical kind. The original investigation had meticulously documented how the attack was planned in Tarique Rahman’s political office, dubbed “Hawa Bhaban,” with participation from the highest echelons of the BNP-Jamaat government. Mufti Hannan’s confessional statement, later conveniently discredited, had detailed the systematic planning and execution of the attack with state backing.
The High Court’s recommendation for a “fresh probe by a proper and expert investigation agency” has been conspicuously ignored by the Yunus government. Unlike the Pilkhana case, where multiple commissions and investigations have been launched with great fanfare, the August 21 attack has been relegated to historical footnote status through judicial sleight of hand.
The Social Media Manipulation Machine
Perhaps most telling is Yunus’s personal involvement in shaping public discourse around these incidents. His social media accounts have actively promoted Pilkhana investigation findings while remaining conspicuously silent about the August 21 acquittals. This selective amplification reveals the interim government’s sophisticated propaganda apparatus, designed to rehabilitate BNP figures while demonizing the Awami League.
The contrast becomes even starker when considering that Yunus has used his international platform to defend against criticism of his government’s handling of minority rights and democratic institutions, yet has shown no such concern for addressing the judicial whitewashing of the August 21 attack.
The Dangerous Precedent of Selective Justice
The Yunus government’s dual approach to these historical incidents establishes a dangerous precedent that threatens Bangladesh’s democratic future. By actively pursuing one case while facilitating the erasure of another, the interim administration has demonstrated that justice under its rule is contingent upon political utility rather than truth or accountability.
This selective approach extends beyond these two cases. The government has presided over widespread arbitrary detentions of Awami League supporters while simultaneously facilitating the release and exoneration of individuals previously convicted of serious crimes. Human Rights Watch has documented how the interim government “is attempting to suppress the rights of supporters of the deposed leader, Sheikh Hasina, and the Awami League party” while failing to implement genuine reforms.
International Implications and Credibility Crisis
The international community’s initial support for the Yunus government was based on expectations of genuine democratic reform and transitional justice. Instead, Bangladesh has witnessed what amounts to victor’s justice, a systematic effort to rewrite history in favor of the interim government’s political allies while pursuing vengeance against their opponents.
The government’s handling of Sheikh Hasina’s extradition request to India further illustrates this pattern. While demanding accountability from the former prime minister, Yunus has simultaneously overseen the complete judicial exoneration of those responsible for the August 21 attack, including individuals who were previously convicted of attempting to assassinate the very person he now seeks to prosecute.
The Erosion of Institutional Credibility
The most damaging aspect of the Yunus government’s approach is its corrosive effect on Bangladesh’s judicial and investigative institutions. By manipulating these institutions for political ends, the interim administration has perpetuated the very culture of impunity it claims to oppose. The arbitrary application of justice based on political considerations undermines public confidence in the rule of law and sets the stage for future authoritarian abuse.
Constitutional lawyer Shahdeen Malik’s warning that “after these people leave the government, they will have no moral position to criticise the next government” captures the essence of the problem. The Yunus administration’s selective pursuit of justice has compromised Bangladesh’s democratic institutions in ways that will reverberate long after the interim period ends.
Conclusion: The Betrayal of Democratic Aspirations
The student-led uprising that brought down Sheikh Hasina was driven by genuine aspirations for justice, accountability, and democratic reform. Those brave young protesters who sacrificed their lives for change deserved a government that would pursue truth regardless of political convenience. Instead, they have received an administration that manipulates history, selectively applies justice, and perpetuates the very culture of impunity they sought to end.
Muhammad Yunus’s Nobel Prize was awarded for his work empowering the poor through microcredit. Today, his legacy is being rewritten as the architect of Bangladesh’s most cynical exercise in political manipulation disguised as justice. The Pilkhana amplification campaign and August 21 erasure project represent twin pillars of a broader effort to reshape Bangladesh’s historical narrative to serve the interim government’s political agenda.
The tragedy is not just that justice has been denied to the victims of both incidents, but that Bangladesh’s democratic future has been mortgaged for the sake of political revenge. In their zeal to humiliate the Awami League, Yunus and his allies have demonstrated that they are no different from the authoritarian forces they claim to oppose; they have simply chosen different victims for their selective justice.
The question now facing Bangladesh is whether its people will accept this manipulation of history and justice, or whether they will demand the genuine accountability and democratic reform that their sacrifice deserves. The answer will determine not just the fate of these two tragic incidents, but the very soul of Bangladesh’s democratic experiment.
Courtesy: DIPLOTIC