Dhaka: Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC Concerned Customers' Forum and a group of dismissed bank employees staged separate demonstrations in Motijheel and Jatiya Press Club area to press home their respective demands. Demonstrators from both groups gathered in front of the Jatiya Press Club, Islami Bank's head office in Dilkusha, and near Shapla Chattar area early in the morning.
According to United News of Bangladesh, members of the Concerned Customers' Forum took position at the base of the Islami Bank Tower in Dilkusha, held a rally, and chanted slogans to safeguard depositors' interests. Besides, a group of terminated bank officials and employees staged a demonstration along the roads connecting Jatiya Press Club and Secretariat, chanting slogans including, 'One point, one demand -- we want our jobs back.'
Protesters demanding job reinstatement were joined by several terminated officials and employees who traveled from Patiya in Chattogram. Demonstrators announced plans to march from the Press Club to Secretariat to submit a formal memorandum outlining their charter of demands.
Addressing the rally outside the bank headquarters, Professor Nurunnabi Manik, President of the Concerned Customers' Forum, said depositors would collectively resist any attempt to destabilize Islami Bank or carry out unlawful operations within the institution. To restore operational stability and rebuild customer trust, Manik urged authorities to form a full-fledged board of directors through meaningful discussions with relevant stakeholders.
He further demanded immediate measures to trace, recover, and confiscate assets siphoned abroad by the S. Alam Group for the direct financial benefit of the bank.