Staff Reporter:
State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Yasser Khan Choudhury said the ban on the Awami League (AL) and its all affiliates covers their publicity and promotional activities across traditional, online, and social media.
“A notification issued on May 12, 2025, prohibited all activities of the AL and its affiliated, associate and fraternal organizations, including publications and promotional campaigns through media platforms. The media should take the matter into consideration,” he said.
He briefed journalists after a meeting with a delegation of the Broadcast Journalists Centre (BJC) at the ministry yesterday
On recent arson incidents, the state minister accused those responsible of pursuing a politics of destruction, saying allegations of arson, enforced disappearances and killings had been associated with them since their inception.
He said some individuals occasionally gathered under cover of darkness to chant slogans or set fire to vehicles and buses before fleeing.
Law enforcement agencies remained vigilant, he added, noting that several people linked to such incidents had already been arrested and steps were underway to bring those involved in terrorist activities to justice.
Yasser also said Sheikh Hasina, accused of masterminding arson-related violence, would be brought back to Bangladesh to face trial.
The meeting also addressed the financial pressures and professional challenges facing broadcast journalists, including television channels’ declining revenue, journalists’ salaries and benefits, professional freedom and the modernization of the broadcasting sector.
Yasser said the BNP government believed in media freedom and wanted journalism to be responsible and objective, ensuring that the public received accurate information.
He said as per the prime minister’s instructions, there would be no attempt to control or interfere with the print and electronic media outlets.
The BJC delegation presented proposals to increase television channels’ revenue, strengthen digital platforms and revise existing policies.
The ministry will review the proposals after receiving the delegation’s demands in writing, the state minister said.
