On Friday, October 17, 2025, Muhammad Yunus, who leads Bangladesh’s interim government, announced the ‘birth of a new Bangladesh.’ This declaration came with the formal signing of the ‘July Charter,’ a significant joint declaration. Notably, the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP), a key political ally, chose to boycott the ceremony, creating a noticeable rift in the proceedings.
The July Charter is a comprehensive document that emerged from extensive discussions held by the National Consensus Commission, a body established by the interim government and chaired by Yunus. It includes more than 80 proposed reforms spanning various critical sectors of the nation.
Addressing the gathering at the Parliament Complex, where numerous political leaders affixed their signatures to the document, Mr. Yunus passionately stated, “It’s the birth of a new Bangladesh.”
According to his press office, 25 political parties endorsed the charter, including significant entities such as former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami.
However, the student-led NCP, a party that had gained momentum earlier this year with Mr. Yunus’s implicit support, refused to sign. Their primary objection was the alleged lack of a “legal basis” for the charter.
Nahid Islam, the convenor of the NCP, had voiced his concerns the day prior, on October 16. He claimed that some political factions were attempting to achieve national consensus through deceptive means by signing the document.
During the ceremony, Mr. Yunus also acknowledged and honored the “July fighters,” referring to the protestors whose intense street demonstrations led to the ousting of then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government in August 2024, stating that the nation was “indebted” to them.
Just hours before the signing, the National Consensus Commission announced an amendment to the charter. This crucial change included a clause to indemnify the “July fighters” for their actions during the uprising.
In what appeared to be an effort to placate the NCP, the revised draft also explicitly referred to the “fascist Awami League” and accused law enforcement personnel of carrying out killings in support of the deposed administration.
The Awami League itself was conspicuously absent from these discussions. Its activities had been suspended by an executive order from the interim government, pending trials for its leaders, most of whom are currently incarcerated or living in exile both within Bangladesh and abroad.
Prior to the charter’s signing, hundreds of protestors converged near the Parliament Complex, where the ceremony was taking place. They demanded formal state recognition, legal protection, and rehabilitation for those who were injured during last year’s pivotal demonstrations that brought down Hasina’s government.
When these protestors refused to disperse, police forces resorted to firing teargas and deploying batons and sound grenades to clear the area.