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Published : 02 Jun 2026, 02:14 AM
The board of directors of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC has held a virtual meeting at night after an hours-long delay resulting from protests over the appointment of its new chairman, Khurshid Alam.
The meeting, however, was attended by the new appointee on Monday night.
The bank's Managing Director Altaf Hussain and Company Secretary Habibur Rahman were not present.
Asked whether it would constitute a board meeting without them in attendance, Khurshid told bdnews24.com: "I tried to bring the acting MD and the company secretary to the meeting. But they were unavailable.
"I have heard that the protesters have objected to their participation in the meeting," said Khurshid, also a former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank.
The protesters started calling for his removal, describing him as an associate of the S Alam Group. They demanded the reinstatement of the bank's 2017 board of directors, who were appointed before the S Alam Group took control of the institution.
After their resignations on May 24, the central bank chose Khurshid.
Following the ousting of the Awami League government on Aug 5, 2024, four senior officials of the central bank – including Khurshid – were forced to resign.
The Islami Bank, long controlled by the Chattogram-based S Alam Group, has seen many changes during the interim government.
On receiving news that Khurshid would begin his first day at work on Monday, members of the Conscious Customer Forum – which has ties to Jamaat-e-Islami - took up positions in front of the Islami Bank Tower in Motijheel’s Dilkusha at 9am.
Shortly before 10am, police fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters. Then, water cannons were used. The protesters retreated slightly.
Afterwards, they regrouped and took up positions in front of the facility.
Police and protesters were in a face-off throughout the day. Some of those injured in a police chase were sent to the hospital.
A protest by the Conscious Customer Forum had also disrupted the board’s previously planned meeting on May 24.
Claiming that five other directors participated in the meeting, the newly appointed chairman said: "I’ve taken notes of the meeting and will inform the bank. This is a board set up by Bangladesh Bank, so it was mandatory to hold the meeting."
Mentioning that the acting Managing Director Omar Faruq Khan resigned, Khurshid said some other issues were on the agenda.
Independent directors Mohammad Khurshid Wahab and Prof Mohammed Masud Rahman were unavailable for comments.
The acting managing director and company could not be reached either.
The meeting was first convened at 2:30pm.
Around 6pm, Altaf sat with leaders of the forum. The protesters left the bank premises an hour later.
A senior officer of the bank said the board meeting started around 9pm and lasted around 40 minutes, when the resignation letter of Omar Faruk was accepted.
The meeting decided that Altaf will continue serving as the acting managing director.
