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Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Ishraque Hossain postponed the protests over his mayoral oath Thursday afternoon, hours after the High Court’s order clearing his way to take oath as the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation.

He made the announcement at about 4:30pm on Kakrail Mosque Road near State Guest House Jamuna, the official residence of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, after consulting with party leaders.

‘Following the High Court order, our party has decided to postpone the protest. We will observe the government’s actions over the next 24 to 48 hours, and the next course of action will be determined accordingly,’ he said.  

He also warned that they would once again lay siege to Jamuna if the court’s order was not implemented immediately.

Before making the announcement, Ishraque, in a verified Facebook post at about 1:00pm, urged protesters not to leave the streets until the resignation of local government, rural development and co-operatives affairs adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain and information and broadcasting affairs adviser Md Mahfuj Alam, and to intensify their movement.

Alleging that the two student advisers have been working as organiseres for a newly formed political party, he said, ‘Even if the verdict is implemented, our demand for the resignation of the student advisers will remain firm.’

‘If possible, we will try to resolve the issue through high-level discussions with the government. If that doesn’t happen, we will pursue our goal through a movement,’ he said.

Ishraque, a special assistant to the BNP Chairperson’s Foreign Affairs Advisory Committee, also apologised to the people for the immense suffering caused by road blockades and the suspension of services at all DSCC zonal offices, including at the Nagar Bhaban, since May 15.   

The High Court summarily rejected the writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer and DSCC resident Mamunur Rashid challenging a lower court’s March 27 verdict directing the interim government to issue a gazette within 10 days replacing Awami League leader Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh with Ishraque as DSCC mayor.

The mayoral office had been declared vacant by the interim government and appointed a bureaucrat as administrator on August 19, 2024, two weeks after it assumed power following a mass uprising that ousted the Awami League regime on August 5, 2025.

A bench of Justice Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury delivered the verdict, observing that lawyer Mamun had no legal right to file the writ petition in the public interest as he had not contested the 2020 election to DSCC.

‘However, the days elapsed by this time, in the process of legal proceeding as proceeded is condoned in filing any appeal by any contending party of the election tribunal case in question,’ the court observed.

The court delivered the order amid tight security.

‘There will be no legal bar for administering the oath of Ishraque as mayor following the High Court’s verdict and flouting of which would constitute a contempt of the court,’ pro-BNP lawyer Kayser Kamal later told reporters in a briefing on the court premises.  

Mamunur Rashid’s lawyer, Mohammad Hossain, told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that his client intends to appeal against the High Court’s decision.

Another lawyer for the petitioner, Zahirul Islam Musa, who is affiliated with the National Citizen Party, told reporters in a separate briefing that the matter would remain sub judice once an appeal was filed, and in such a situation, the Local Government Division should refrain from administering Ishraque’s oath as mayor.

Zahirul alleged that lawyers representing Ishraque had attempted to exert ‘undue pressure’ on the bench after the court, on Wednesday, appeared to be inclined to issue a ruling that would maintain the status quo regarding the oath-taking.

Zahirul claimed that, prior to Thursday’s order, Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury remarked in court that offensive comments had been directed at the judges during the hearing by Ishraque’s legal team, creating an atmosphere of intimidation. ‘This was very unfortunate,’ he said.

Zahirul also alleged that, during the hearing, some lawyers aligned with Supreme Court Bar Association president AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon warned the judges that they would not be allowed to continue proceedings if the court issued any ruling that could delay Ishraque’s oath-taking.

The Election Commission on April 27 issued a gazette notification declaring Ishraque mayor. The gazette notification was issued one month after the Election Tribunal on March 27 announced Ishraque’s victory in the DSCC mayoral race.

The petitioner’s counsel, Mohammad Hossain, argued that the lower court’s verdict contradicted the spirit of the August 5, 2024 political transition, when the then-interim government suspended elected mayors and appointed administrators, particularly targeting individuals in hiding or with pending cases.

On Wednesday, the High Court had deferred its order on the writ petition until Thursday, when it ultimately paved the way for Ishraque’s oath-taking.

Several hundred supporters of Ishraque Hossain began to block major city roads, including those near Nagar Bhaban, Matsya Bhaban, and Kakrail Mosque, Wednesday morning. They later gathered at Kakrail Mosque Road to continue their overnight sit-in protest, which then spread to Matsya Bhaban and continued until the protest was postponed Thursday afternoon.

Md Sarjis Alam, the chief organiser of the Jatiya Nagorik Party’s northern region, wrote in a post his verified Facebook page, ‘If the High Court’s order can be achieved by creating mob, what is the necessity of the High Court?’

Hasnat Abdullah, the NCP’s chief organiser for the southern region, in a post on his verified Facebook page, wanted to know whether blocking roads and demanding student advisers’ resignations were acceptable when adviser Mahfuz said on May 10 that the national election will be held between June and December.

He further said that demanding the resignations of the two advisers who led the uprising and were parts of the interim government was not a ‘normal’ issue.