Bangladesh’s newly-elected Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday (February 18, 2026) vowed to strengthen the rule of regulation and stated his authorities will flip the nation right into a secure land for folks of all faiths, no matter celebration, opinion, faith, or ethnicity.
In his maiden televised handle to the nation after assuming workplace, 60-year-old Rahman outlined his authorities’s priorities and stated that enhancing the regulation and order state of affairs and strictly controlling corruption to revive peace and safety are his high priorities.
“We wish to flip this nation right into a secure land for each citizen. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians — no matter celebration, opinion, faith, or ethnicity — whether or not residing within the hills or the plains, this nation belongs to all of us,” stated the Prime Minister, who can be the chief of the Bangladesh Nationalist Occasion (BNP).
“Whether or not you voted for BNP, or didn’t vote for BNP, or didn’t vote in any respect — everybody has equal rights over this authorities… As a Bangladeshi, each one among us has equal rights on this nation, on this state,” he asserted.
His remarks a couple of pluralistic society assume significance because the Hindu inhabitants in Bangladesh has been affected by a collection of assaults after the ouster of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024.
Beneath the interim authorities ofMuhammad Yunus since August 2024, the nation has skilled an increase in mob violence, extrajudicial killings and assaults on minority communities, particularly Hindus.
Rights group Manabadhikar Shongskriti Basis (MSF) stated that in January 2026 alone, they documented 21 incidents of lynching and 28 incidents of mob beatings.
The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council reported 522 communal assaults in 2025, together with killings, rapes, and temple vandalism, with murders of 116 folks of minority faiths, principally Hindus, between June 2025 and January 2026.
The stories urged leaders and activists of the Awami League, disbanded by the Yunus regime, have been the victims of most assaults.
India has been expressing issues over assaults on minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh.
Earlier, the senior-most minister within the new authorities, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, stated that the regulation and order problem was one among three priorities and the administration would take steps to finish “mob violence”.
Alamgir, who can be the celebration’s secretary common and entrusted with the cost of the native authorities ministry, stated, “This (mob violence) can be managed.”
“We should attempt to enhance the regulation and order state of affairs, no matter how a lot it has deteriorated,” he added.
Dwelling Minister Salahuddin Ahmed additionally stated, “The mob tradition under no circumstances will be tolerated.”
In his handle, Mr. Rahman stated each constitutional, governmental, and non-governmental establishment will function in keeping with established legal guidelines and laws.
“Not celebration or political affect or pressure, however the rule of regulation would be the ultimate phrase in governing the state,” he stated.
He stated establishing a self-reliant, safe, humane, and democratic Bangladesh is the objective of his celebration’s authorities.
In his handle, Mr. Rahman didn’t elaborate on his overseas coverage. He, nonetheless, at first of his speech, stated that “in a Bangladesh free of subservience, a brand new authorities accountable to the folks via their votes has begun its journey”.
He stated his authorities began its journey amid a fragile economic system battered by corruption and misrule in the course of the “interval of fascism, a weak governance construction, and a deteriorating regulation and order state of affairs”.
Mr. Rahman additionally prolonged his greetings to the folks on the event of the holy month of Ramadan. “If we really perceive the essence of self-purification, then this month shouldn’t enhance folks’s struggling,” he stated.
On the provision of gasoline, water, and electrical energy throughout Ramadan, Mr. Rahman stated he has already instructed the authorities involved to make sure the civic facilities throughout iftar, tarawih, and sehri occasions.
Referring to his earlier pledge that if the BNP was voted to energy, the federal government would comply with the best of justice of the Holy Prophet, he stated, “I imagine that this determination of the BNP parliamentary celebration displays that very best of justice”.
Mr. Rahman stated his authorities was decided to dismantle all syndicates of wrongdoing and irregularities in each sector however “shield the pursuits of each businessmen and customers”.
Stating that Bangladesh was dealing with many challenges, Mr. Rahman stated, “If we are able to remodel our massive inhabitants into a talented workforce, then this inhabitants will turn out to be our human useful resource. If we are able to develop ourselves with abilities, not solely Bangladesh but additionally the worldwide market can be open to us.”
He stated the world is getting into the period of synthetic intelligence, and survival with dignity and prosperity on this aggressive world requires experience in particular fields.
He additionally assured college students and youths that his authorities was prepared to supply all attainable help to assist them develop intellectually and scientifically.
Mr. Rahman, 60, was sworn in because the eleventh Prime Minister on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) after main his celebration to a forceful victory within the thirteenth Parliamentary polls held on February 12. He changed interim authorities chief Yunus.
Mr. Rahman, the son of the late President Ziaur Rahman and former premier Khaleda Zia, returned residence in December after residing in London in self-exile for 17 years.
Together with Mr. Rahman, 25 Ministers and 24 State Ministers additionally took the oath of workplace on Tuesday (February 17, 2026).