The Parbatya Chattogram Chukti Bastobayan Andolon has called for the withdrawal of the non-hill state minister from the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs and redistribution of the portfolio. In a joint statement sent to the media on Monday, the group’s joint coordinators, human rights activist Zakir Hossain and Professor Dr. Khairul Islam Chowdhury, congratulated the newly elected BNP-led government and party chairman Tarique Rahman following the 13th national parliamentary election.

The statement expressed hope that under Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s leadership, the new democratic journey of Bangladesh would prioritize full implementation of the 1997 Chittagong Hill Tracts Accord, along with the protection of ethnic and religious minority rights and the human rights of marginalized communities. The leaders argued that appointing a non-hill state minister alongside a hill full minister contradicts the spirit of the 1997 accord.

They recalled that the BNP government initiated dialogue with the Jana Sanghati Samiti in the 1990s, leading to the 1997 accord, and later played a responsible role in its implementation. The group urged correction of decisions inconsistent with the accord to realize the BNP’s “rainbow nation” vision.