Police in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka have appealed to residents to provide information about members of the Awami League, the country’s once-dominant political party whose activities now banned by the interim government.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said on Wednesday that Awami League leaders and activists were allegedly residing in hotels, flats and hostels across the city. Authorities promised that the identities of informants would remain confidential.
At a press briefing, Additional Police Commissioner (Crime and Operations) SN Md Nazrul Islam said raids had already been carried out and surveillance was continuing.
He claimed some AL members were staying in apartments rent-free and using them as bases to mobilise flash mob-style protests. “If people provide us with information, we will conduct operations and arrest these individuals. Arresting them will reduce the number of flash mobs,” he said.
The Awami League, led by ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, ruled Bangladesh for 15 years until it was ousted in August 2024 amid mass protests, political violence and military intervention.
The interim authorities subsequently banned the party’s activities, accusing it of corruption, authoritarianism and attempts to destabilise the political transition.
Despite the ban, AL supporters have continued to organise scattered demonstrations, which the police describe as flash mobs designed to disrupt public order ahead of elections scheduled for 2026.
Similar measures have been rolled out beyond the capital. On September 17, police in the port city of Chattogram broadcast loudspeaker announcements warning landlords not to rent homes to AL activists. The message instructed property owners to submit tenants’ identification documents to local police stations and cautioned that landlords could face detention as accomplices if their tenants engaged in “terrorist activities” on behalf of the banned party.
The police campaign underscores the tense political climate in Bangladesh as the interim government seeks to suppress the country’s most powerful political force of the past decade and a half, while facing international scrutiny over civil liberties and political pluralism.