Shishir Monir, a senior Supreme Court lawyer and Jamaat-e-Islami politician, has called for all sides to hold talks on Bangladesh’s gas and electricity crisis. In a Facebook post on August 16, he said the shortages should be treated as a national crisis rather than a problem only for the government, a political party or a group.

Monir said the crisis could have multiple causes and urged stakeholders to sit together, saying everyone wants a solution and there was no need for ego. His remarks stressed coordinated action by the government, opposition parties and other relevant sides instead of mutual accusations, with the aim of reducing public hardship.

The comments came as political pressure over the shortages increased. On Saturday, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman challenged opposition parties to submit any plan capable of resolving the crisis within six months and invited them to present it in parliament when the session begins on August 27. He acknowledged hardship in several areas, said a floating LNG terminal accident had disrupted gas supply, and stated that technical faults had been repaired. He expressed hope that the gas shortage would ease substantially within days.