The Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP) has withdrawn its 48-hour ultimatum to shut down unregistered online news portals within just 24 hours of issuing it. The initial directive, signed by SMP Commissioner Abdul Kudduch Chowdhury and released on Wednesday evening, required all unregistered portals to be removed from domestic and foreign domains by 6 p.m. on May 1, 2026, warning of legal action for non-compliance.

The original notice cited the National Online Media Policy 2017 (amended 2020), which mandates government registration for online news operations. It alleged that many unregistered portals were spreading false, baseless, and defamatory content, including anti-government propaganda that could harm Bangladesh’s image internationally. The sudden withdrawal of the order was announced through another notice on Thursday morning, also signed by the SMP commissioner.

The new notice did not specify any reason for the reversal, prompting further discussion and speculation about the decision’s background and implications.