Yunus will 'certainly' stay on as CA: planning advisor

“We discussed the obstacles we’re facing in fulfilling our responsibilities," he says after an unscheduled Advisory Council meeting

Planning Advisor Wahiduddin Mahmud has swatted away rumours about Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus's possible resignation as head of the interim government.

Amid mounting speculation surrounding the chief advisor's future, Wahiduddin said Yunus would "certainly" remain in office.

"He [the Chief Advisor] hasn’t said he will step down. What he said is that there have been many obstacles to fulfilling the responsibilities we’ve been entrusted with. But we must overcome all obstacles to carry out this important responsibility… and we cannot simply walk away from it.”

Speaking about the council meeting, Wahiduddin said: “We discussed the obstacles we’re facing in fulfilling our responsibilities.

“Each of us spoke about the challenges we’re encountering in different areas, what barriers exist for whom, and what’s happening when we try to push forward with reforms in various ministries—we reviewed all of that.”

When asked whether the schedule for the upcoming election was discussed, he did not give a direct answer, only saying efforts were underway to identify obstacles in that area as well.

“We’re also working to identify the necessary conditions for moving toward a well-governed democratic system through the next election. That’s one of our core responsibilities. We’ve tried to pinpoint where the barriers to that are coming from.”

He would not be drawn on whether any specific election-related obstacles had been identified.

The Advisory Council's impromptu meeting added fuel to the speculation over Yunus's exit. Environment Advisor Syeda Rizwana Hasan left the meeting at 2:15pm, citing “urgent work”.

When asked about the meeting at that time, she said: “The discussion is focused on the election, reforms, and the July Charter.”