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Muhammad Yunus was heckled by alleged Awami League supporters at New York's JFK Airport. The confrontation has revived scrutiny of Bangladesh's bitter political divide and Yunus's record.
Dhaka,Oct 13, 2026 18:04 IST
An adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Tuesday warned of legal action after former interim government chief Muhammad Yunus was heckled at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport by people described as supporters of the disbanded Awami League.
Zahed Ur Rahman said the incident would not go unanswered and said the government saw it as "Awami League terror". Videos of the confrontation, in which Yunus was shouted at as he arrived at the airport, went viral on social media.
Addressing a media briefing hours after the incident, Zahed said, "It will not go unchallenged," and added that "definitely legal proceedings will be initiated against those committing this offence".
He also said, "I want to tell the Awami League members living in different countries that if they attempt such actions, they will not go unchallenged. There is no question of that," referring to the case of actress and activist Ajmeria Haque Badhon, who was harassed in Italy.
A key aide in the past interim regime, Lamiya Morshed, was seen walking alongside Yunus carrying his luggage, while another man was pushing him in a wheelchair as he came out of the airport.
The protesters then appeared at the scene and shouted, "You are a terrorist, murderer!", "Why you come here?", and "You killed thousands of police officers in my country", while Yunus looked bewildered and remained silent.
The escort then quickly turned the wheelchair around inside the terminal to shield him from the verbal abuse.
According to media reports, Yunus travelled to the US on a private visit a month after he skipped a scheduled appearance at a key World Health Organisation conference in Berlin on health grounds. The reports said the cancellation came amid strong pushback and petitions from several Europe-based organisations and expatriate Awami League supporters.
Yunus and his former interim government are also facing intense public, legal and political criticism over their handling of Bangladesh's measles outbreak, which has officially claimed 1,170 children's lives so far.
UNICEF said in May this year that it had warned the interim government at least "10 times" about the impending outbreak after delays in vaccine procurement. The crisis worsened after the interim government stopped procuring vaccines through UNICEF and switched to an open tender system. Vaccine supplies then ran out as bureaucratic delays in adopting the new system deepened the crisis.
After Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government was toppled, an interim administration led by Yunus assumed office on August 8, 2024, and governed Bangladesh for the next one and a half years. In 2025, Hasina was tried in absentia by a special tribunal and sentenced to death. The interim government also disbanded the Awami League and sought her extradition from India.
The airport heckling, the warning of legal action and the renewed focus on Yunus's record have again brought attention to the sharp political divisions around Bangladesh's former interim administration.
With PTI Inputs
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