Dr Zahed slams interim govt for not taking steps on onshore gas and FSRUs

 
Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting Adviser Dr Zahed Ur Rahman has said the government wants to bring former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina back to Bangladesh from India and bring her under the law. He said she would face the death penalty if she returns, as she has been sentenced to death.

He made the remarks while answering questions from journalists at a press briefing on government activities at the Secretariat and a regular press conference at the PID conference room on Tuesday (September 8).

Asked about Sheikh Hasina’s recent comments to Indian media about her desire to return to Bangladesh, Zahed said India had been informed that bringing her back was a condition. The government wants to bring her back to face the trial process, he said.

 “She is a fugitive and a death row convict. She no longer has the opportunity to appeal,” Zahed said. He added that she would not get an opportunity to review the trial if she returned to the country. “She will come and the death sentence is waiting for her. We want to catch her,” he said.

On the Awami League, Zahed said he did not consider it a political party but a “mafia gang”. He said the issue of whether the Awami League should again be allowed to conduct politics in Bangladesh needs to be reconsidered.

Speaking about the attack on Badhon, he said the government had started the legal process over the incident and would not let the matter go without action.

On the government’s decision to buy new Boeing aircraft amid the country’s difficult economic situation, Zahed said the payment would not have to be made at once. It would be paid in stages over a long period, meaning the purchase would not create immediate major financial pressure.

He said the government inherited a very difficult economic situation, but some decisions must still be taken according to the country’s needs. The aircraft would also take a long time to be delivered.

Bangladesh will also buy Airbus aircraft if necessary, he said. As the country has operated Boeing aircraft for a long time, it already has trained manpower and technical capacity related to Boeing, which has created some preference for the US manufacturer.

On power supply, Zahed said average power outage in June-July 2026 was lower than during the same period in 2023. However, Dhaka has also experienced some load shedding recently. He said Dhaka being a major city with high economic activity does not mean it must have no load shedding at all.

He said the country currently has 1.2294 million metric tonnes of fertiliser in stock, compared with around 1.15 million tonnes at the same time last year. There is no shortage of fertiliser in stock, though there have been some distribution problems, he said.

On law and order, Zahed said the Home Ministry was continuing its regular activities to ensure public safety and that arms recovery operations were being carried out properly.

Regarding the gas crisis, he said Bangladesh could not import much more LNG because of the limited capacity of its FSRUs. An FSRU has been urgently ordered from China and is expected to arrive within one and a half years. He said urgent needs had been given priority over cost.

Zahed also criticised the interim government for not taking adequate steps on onshore gas and FSRUs, saying it should have considered the country’s future even if its tenure was not long.