On July 30, 2025, National Citizens Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam declared, “Even if (former Prime Minister) Sheikh Hasina is hanged ten times, her crimes won’t be reduced. The people of Bangladesh will never forgive her. They will never forgive the Awami League or any refined version of the party.” The NCP crystallized out of the leadership of the students’ protests of July-August 2024 that eventually unseated the Sheikh Hasina government.
On July 24, 2025, Nahid Islam stated that the fight against Mujibism and fascism had started again and that they will not accept the politics of extortion:
The fight we started to build a new Bangladesh is not over yet. We have not got the Bangladesh we wanted. Our fight against Mujibism and fascism has started again. Everyone has to join this fight again…The solidarity that has been created in the country between political parties and people against fascism is a strength. We will not accept the politics of extortion, occupation and corruption that has started in the country now. We have to break this politics.
On July 19, 2025, leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its student wing, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), vandalised the stage of a scheduled street rally organised by NCP in the Chakaria Upazila (Sub-District) of Cox’s Bazar District.
On July 9, 2025, a Molotov cocktail explosion occurred in front of the central office of the NCP at Rupayan Tower, Bangla Motor, in Dhaka. NCP disclosed that, around midnight, one person, Emon Howlader, joint convener of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement for the Kalabagan Police Station area, was injured in the explosion.
On July 3, 2025, two Molotov cocktail explosions occurred at the Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka during the NCP July Exhibition.
On July 2, 2025, a Molotov cocktail explosion took place under the temporary central office of the NCP at Bangla Motor in Dhaka, where the explosion targeted a vehicle participating in the NCP’s Dhaka Metropolitan July Parade.
On June 23, 2025, three people were injured in a crude bomb explosion outside the office of the NCP in the Bangla Motor area in Dhaka at around 10:30 pm, as claimed by the party. NCP’s Senior Joint Convener Ariful Islam Adib stated,
Public interest in the NCP has been growing due to the party’s application for registration… People have started visiting our office regularly, and this explosion appears to be an attempt to instil fear and panic among ordinary citizens.
On June 22, 2025, a Molotov cocktail explosion occurred near the NCP central office at the Bangla Motor intersection in Dhaka, causing panic in the area. According to eyewitnesses, an explosive device was hurled from a moving vehicle and detonated in front of the traffic police box at the intersection around 5:30 pm. No casualties were reported.
NCP or Jatiya Nagorik Party (in Bangla) was formed on February 28, 2025, at Manik Mia Avenue, in front of the National Parliament Building in Dhaka. NCP emerged from the July uprising of 2024, which led to the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and follows centrist political ideology. The NCP leadership was at the forefront of the Students Against Discrimination (SAD) movement, and was formed by the Jatiya Nagorik Committee. Its declaration focuses on a transformative political and economic roadmap for Bangladesh, including writing a new constitution. NCP’s official declaration announced its mission to dismantle constitutional autocracy and adopt a new democratic constitution, with special emphasis on the July 2024 mass uprising as a force to reshape the entire political framework.
The ideology of NCP includes the inclusion of marginalised and disadvantaged communities and vows to eradicate corruption and nepotism, ensuring a fair and transparent governance system. The party asserts that in the “second republic”, the common people and only the common people will be the supreme source of power. The party urges people from all walks of life to take an oath to work towards the realisation of the second republic: “We must eliminate all possibilities of restoring constitutional autocracy. Now is the time to dream anew, to march forward, and to build a new Bangladesh.” Additionally, the party envisions a strong national defence system to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and national interests.
Nahid Islam, who resigned from his position as Information Adviser under the interim government of Bangladesh on February 25, 2025, became the NCP Convenor, while Akhter Hossen became its Member Secretary, making him second-in-command. Earlier, Akhter Hossen served as the Member Secretary of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee, the civic platform organised by the July uprising leaders. The Senior Joint Convenors are Samanta Shermeen and Ariful Islam Adib, while Dr. Tasnim Zara and Nahida Sarwar (Niva) assumed the roles of Senior Joint Member Secretaries. Further, Nasiruddin Patwari has been appointed as the Chief Coordinator, while Abdul Hannan Masud will serve as the Joint Coordinator. Hasnat Abdullah was designated as the Chief Organiser (Southern Region), while Sarjis Alam has been assigned the role of Chief Organiser (Northern Region).
The Joint Conveners of the party are Nusrat Tabassum, Monira Sharmin, Mahbub Alam, Sarwar Tushar, Advocate Mujahidul Islam Shahin, Tajnuva Zabin, Sultan Muhammad Zakaria, Dr. Atiq Mujahid, Ashraf Uddin Mahdi, Arpita Shyama Deba, Tanjil Mahmud, Anik Roy, Khaleda Saifullah, Javed Rasim, Ehtesham Haque, and Hasan Ali. 32 Joint Member Secretaries have also been announced.
On July 7, 2025, Human Rights Support Society (HRSS) released a report titled ‘Human Rights Situation in Bangladesh January-June 2025’, in which it was stated that in the preceding six months, at least 79 people had been killed in at least 529 incidents of ‘political violence’, and another 79 people were injured in 11 clashes between BNP and NCP. Further, in 18 clashes between the Awami League and NCP, one person was killed and 54 were injured. 37 persons were also injured in 12 incidents of intra-NCP violence, while 42 clashes occurred between different parties.
NCP does not maintain good relations with BNP. On July 14, 2025, while speaking at a rally held in Patuakhali, NCP Convener Nahid Islam asserted that he suspected that BNP had taken a stance in favour of corruption and extortion. He warned,
They are protecting the 1972 Mujibist Constitution and standing in support of corrupt extortionists. The BNP has positioned itself as a protector of these forces, sowing division across the country… We will not compromise or unite with anyone who stands against the July-August revolution.
On an incident on March 24, 2025, an attack was reported at a roadside rally led by Abdul Hannan Masud, senior joint coordinator of NCP, in the Hatia Upazila (Sub-District) of Noakhali District. Masud alleged that a group of BNP supporters led the attack, resulting in injuries to five or six NCP supporters as well as Masud.
Controversially, NCP supports the previously banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), and Nahid has lauded its role in the 1971 elections which preceded the war of Independence, genocide in East Pakistan, and the creation of Bangladesh. The JeI was the most prominent political formation that collaborated with the Pakistan Army in the genocide. NCP has also expressed gratitude to Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), JeI’s student wing, for supporting the students’ protests of July 2024.
On May 5, 2025, the NCP strongly condemned the “demeaning and disrespectful” remarks towards women made at rallies held by Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) to oppose the Women’s Affairs Reform Commission’s recommendations. An NCP press release stated, “The NCP deeply values the freedom of women, their freedom of expression and social struggle, and is firmly committed to upholding their dignity and rights… It has pitted society against the state, and religion against women. We believe it is essential to keep the door open for constructive dialogue with all representative stakeholders on issues where disagreements have arisen.” Earlier, however, on April 9, 2025, NCP and HeI had reached a consensus on demanding the trial of the Awami League with suspension of its political activities until the trial was concluded, and a proposal to declare the Awami League a “criminal organisation”, in a meeting held in NCP’s office in the Bangla Motor area of Dhaka District. In the meeting, both parties emphasised the need for transparency in the prosecution process ahead of the national election.
According to Nahid, Bangladesh had been under an authoritarian regime for the last 15 years, which clearly explains his anti-Awami League sentiment, which worked as the driving force for the July uprising. NCP wants to create its own identity with an ideology that it believes would be helpful for the country’s growth. The protestors did not want to change just a person or a regime when the uprising happened; rather, they wanted a new constitution. NCP seeks the involvement of senior citizens, women and minorities, as Nahid stated, in an interview with The Week published on June 16, 2025, “Senior citizens to be in advisory roles, women to be more involved, getting minorities involved in major roles.”
In the same interview, he expressed his party’s stance on the Liberation War of 1971, “We feel that the history of 2024 is a continuation of the history of 1971.” NCP is not against the liberation war and believes that 1971 laid the foundation for Bangladesh.
The NCP has always been pro-Yunus, the Chief Advisor, due to his international recognition, his acceptance in society and his suppression by the Awami League. In fact, when Yunus wanted to resign, this news itself was confirmed by Nahid on May 22, 2025, demonstrating the proximity of their relationship.
NCP and its leadership, especially Nahid Islam, have been involved in some high-level diplomatic engagement in 2025 starting from April 15, 2025, when an NCP delegation, led by Nahid Islam and Senior Joint Member Secretary Tasnim Jara, met with envoys and representatives of Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and Norway, at the residence of Michael Miller, EU ambassador and head of the delegation to Bangladesh in Dhaka, where they engaged in a discussion over diverse topics, including Bangladesh’s political landscape, reform agenda, its strong commitment particularly to the need for accountability for human rights violations during the July Uprising, and other violations and systemic abuses committed under the former regime.
On April 16, 2025, the NCP delegation met with a United States (US) team led by Nicole Ann Chulick, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, and discussed the next national elections and reform issues in Dhaka. Another meeting, between NCP and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) delegation on April 25 in Dhaka, focused on the current political situation in Bangladesh, NCP’s thoughts on reforms, regional and global geopolitical realities, and the prospects for future cooperation.
On May 28, 2025, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke met NCP leaders, including Nahid Islam and Tasnim Zara, with discussions centring around continued British support to Bangladesh and the pathway towards a democratic, inclusive, and prosperous future. This was Cooke’s second meeting with NCP’s leadership, with the first formal engagement on April 16, 2025.
On June 5, 2025, NCP held a “constructive and forward-looking” discussion with Yao Wen, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh, focusing on the country’s ongoing democratic reforms and transitional political landscape.
According to Nahid, India has not maintained state-to-state relations or, for that matter, people to people-to-people relations, but had relations with just one party and saw Bangladesh through the lens of the Awami League. Only the separation of the Awami League from India can help in building future relations between the two countries. On July 8, 2025, Nahid warned against “serving Indian aggression and hegemony”, stating that his party would stand with the people to resist any such activities. Islam declared,
We have long resisted Indian hegemony. If any political party or group tries to serve that hegemonic force again, we will resist. The people of Bangladesh will rise against it… We have boldly raised the slogan: ‘Not slavery, but freedom!’ We freed ourselves from the chains of India, just as we did from those of West Pakistan. In the Bangladesh of the future, we will stand tall with dignity and build a new state.
NCP is presently committed to the reforms that have to be made before the election and the release of the July Charter, most certainly by August 3, 2025. Despite the explosions near the NCP office, internal or external political clashes or the attack on NCP leader Hasnat Abdullah on May 4, 2025, the party remains unperturbed.
NCP’s power cannot be denied and with the ongoing political and diplomatic engagements, it has certainly become one of the very significant political stakeholders in the country. It remains unclear, however, where this party stands on the Bangladesh political landscape, as it has openly criticised various political parties, including the Awami League and the BNP. Moreover, the party is struggling to obtain registration with the Election Commission (EC), having failed to pass the preliminary scrutiny, and was given 15 additional days by the EC, with 143 other political parties, for compliance, as reported on July 15, 2025. Although NCP’s emergence marks a dramatic shift in Bangladesh’s political discourse, the party still faces ambiguity regarding its public acceptance and participation in national politics, as a relatively new face in Bangladesh.
