Mohammad Mohit Daily Dawn, Dawn TV Report
Dhaka: The Bangladesh government has issued new currency notes that will replace the ones with the image of Sheikh Hasina Wajid’s father and the country’s first president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The country is currently under an interim government that was established after Hasina Wajid left the country.
A case has also been initiated against Hasina Wajid since Sunday, accusing her of using force to suppress protests against the government.
Since August 2024, the country has still been using notes with the image of Hasina Wajid’s father, under whose leadership Bangladesh seceded from Pakistan and was killed in a military coup in 1975.
“The new notes will not feature any human figures, but will feature national monuments and natural scenery,” Bangladesh Bank spokesman Arif Hussain Khan told AFP.
The notes also feature artwork by artist Zainul Abidin depicting famines during the British era.
Three of the nine notes, of different denominations, were released on Sunday.
The bank spokesman also said that “the new notes will be issued from the central bank’s headquarters and will then be distributed to its offices across the country.”
Existing notes and coins will also remain usable with the new notes. This is not the first time that the designs of the notes have been changed following a change in the political situation.
The new notes were issued in 1972 after separation from Pakistan and the name was changed from East Pakistan to Bangladesh, and its map was also prominent on the note.
Shortly after, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s portrait was placed on the notes, and his daughter Hasina Wajid continued this trend during her 15-year rule. His party, the Awami League, was banned last month and its leadership is facing prosecution.
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