Former Adviser Touhid Hossain Claims ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ Was Active in Interim Government

Former adviser M. Touhid Hossain has claimed that a “kitchen cabinet” played an active role in running Bangladesh’s interim government, alleging that the group held regular meetings every Tuesday at the state guest house Jamuna.

He made the remarks during an interview with Jamuna Television.

The former foreign affairs adviser also said he believes the Awami League may participate in the country’s next national election.

Speaking about his time in government, Touhid Hossain revealed that he had considered resigning three times.

“I decided to quit three times,” he said. “But they told me it would create an embarrassing situation for the interim government.”

Responding to a question about whether a “deep state” was active during the July mass uprising, Hossain said such forces are involved in major events worldwide.

“The deep state is involved in every event across the world in some way,” he said. “They become involved, though not against the mainstream current. Afterwards, they try to manipulate the situation.”

Claims About a ‘Kitchen Cabinet’

Hossain said he once attended a meeting of the alleged “kitchen cabinet” at Jamuna on a particular occasion and later learned that the group met regularly every Tuesday.

“I heard that some decisions were made there,” he said. “These kinds of things came to my ears as well. Beyond that, I did not know much, except that there was a group that met regularly to make decisions.”

Concerns Over US Trade Agreement

The former adviser also commented on a trade agreement signed between the interim government and the United States just three days before the election.

He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had almost no involvement in the process.

“Neither the foreign minister nor the Foreign Ministry was minimally involved,” he said. “The Commerce Ministry and the National Security Adviser handled it.”

Hossain added that there may have been undisclosed reasons that compelled the government to sign the agreement.

“If there had been no such pressure or obligation, it would have been more appropriate to leave the matter to an elected government,” he said.

On Sheikh Hasina and Awami League’s Future

Referring to Bangladesh’s request to India for the return of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Hossain said he never expected a positive response from New Delhi.

Asked why India did not respond to the request, he said: “Did we really expect a response? I did not.”

He also expressed the view that the Awami League is unlikely to disappear from politics permanently.

“People’s memories are not very long,” he said. “I believe they will return to politics, and my assumption is that they will participate in the country’s next election.”