Reform pace slow in govt's first 3 months: PPRC dialogue

Policy analysts, legal experts, and business leaders have expressed concern over the slow pace of institutional reform, weak law enforcement, economic uncertainty and mounting geopolitical pressure during the first three months of the BNP-led government.

The observations came at a webinar titled "3 Months of the New Government: A Preliminary Review", organised by the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) today (23 May).

The discussion was moderated by Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of PPRC, and featured Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua, former BKMEA president Fazlul Hoque, Lt Gen (retd) Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman and former ambassador Sufiur Rahman.

Participants acknowledged that the government assumed office under difficult economic and geopolitical conditions but stressed that inherited crises could not indefinitely justify delayed reforms and weak implementation.

Zillur Rahman urged the country to move beyond emotion-driven politics and focus on evidence-based public discourse and accountability.

He criticised what he described as an entrenched "tag culture" in politics, where opponents are labelled for political purposes, saying such practices undermine constructive debate and honest governance assessments.

"If our elected government succeeds, that is ultimately good for all of us as citizens," he added.

Speaking on institutional reform and governance, Advocate Barua said there had been little visible progress in depoliticising state institutions.

"The key question for these three months is whether we have moved away from the politicisation of institutions. Progress has not so far been visible," he said.

He added that civil administration appointments continued to reflect "old patterns", while police morale remained weak and incidents of mob violence and deteriorating law and order persisted.

Barua also raised concerns over weaknesses in judicial and administrative culture, warning that public confidence in institutions remained fragile.

On the economic front, Fazlul Hoque said the government had inherited severe structural weaknesses from both the previous regime and the interim administration, which had been compounded by the ongoing Middle East crisis.

"This government has had to absorb the failures of the interim administration, and with the Middle East crisis arriving on top of that, the need for a bold contractionary budget with decisive measures has never been greater," he said.

He warned that private sector credit had fallen to its lowest level, while exports were declining and investment conditions remained uncertain.

According to Fazlul, rising oil prices, disruptions in multiple export markets and declining consumer spending globally were placing additional pressure on Bangladesh's economy.

"The impact of the war has therefore been multilayered and has added considerable pressure on the government from the very beginning," he added.

Lt Gen (retd) Mahfuzur said Bangladesh's strategic environment was becoming increasingly complex amid intensifying competition among global and regional powers.

He noted that growing Chinese and Indian influence in the region, along with expanding United States engagement in the Bay of Bengal, were reshaping Bangladesh's geopolitical calculations.

"Bangladesh must master the art of adversarial cooperation with meritocracy, balancing ambiguous relationships across the India-US-Bangladesh and China-Pakistan-Bangladesh axes to survive and secure its interests," he said.

Meanwhile, Sufiur Rahman stressed the importance of national unity in strengthening Bangladesh's position in both bilateral and multilateral negotiations.

He cautioned against discarding previous policy initiatives solely for political reasons and argued that valuable institutional experience should be retained where necessary. He added that deeper engagement with the Asean remained strategically important for Bangladesh's long-term economic and diplomatic interests.