‘Power situation to normalise once gas crisis eases’

Prime Minister’s Information and Broadcasting Adviser Dr Zahed Ur Rahman said on Tuesday that the country’s power situation will return to its previous state once the ongoing gas crisis is resolved.
Briefing journalists at the Secretariat on the progress of government activities, Dr Zahed said the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources and relevant ministers had confirmed the situation would improve once gas supply stabilised.
On load-shedding in Dhaka, he said residents of the capital should also accept some degree of shortage, though the city may retain priority given its scale and economic activity. 
He said the government had moved away from the 
position that Dhaka would be kept entirely free of load-shedding.
Comparing figures from the last full year of the Awami League government, he said average daily load-shedding stood at 969 megawatts in June 2023 and 613 megawatts in July 2023, against 741 megawatts and 460 megawatts respectively in the same months of 2026.
‘Hasina has no time left to appeal’
Asked about ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina – sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal and currently in India – Dr Zahed said the government wants to bring her back to make her face the sentence.
“We have repeatedly said, Sheikh Hasina, you should not come back voluntarily; we want to bring you back. You are a fugitive accused. You are a convict sentenced to death,” he said, adding that the tribunal’s chief prosecutor has confirmed her appeal window has lapsed.
He said Hasina has recently given interviews to Indian media outlets, which he called unexpected ahead of her extradition, and called on the Indian government to stop her from speaking publicly. 
“Ask [the Indian high commissioner] about this. They should understand our sensitivity regarding Sheikh Hasina,” he said.
‘Awami League a mafia gang’
Responding to questions about a recent attack on actress Azmeri Haque Bndhon on foreign soil, Dr Zahed said the Awami League is “not a political party” but “a mafia gang,” and questioned whether it should be allowed to operate in Bangladesh.
He linked the attack to Bndhon’s role during the July uprising, calling her a target of the party’s “greed,” and said legal action against the network is already under way.
He said the government would maintain a firm stance regardless of threats from the party’s supporters, adding that there is “no reason to fear” them now that Hasina herself has fled the country.