Nikkei Asia Article by Brahma Chellaney Without political reconciliation and economic revival, Bangladesh risks sliding toward the kind of Islamist dysfunction that has long plagued Pakistan, the country from which it seceded in a bloody war of liberation in 1971. The interim regime led by Yunus presided over widespread repression, institutional purges and a resurgence of Islamist vigilantism. The secular Awami League, historically the country’s largest political force, was arbitrarily outlawed last year and thousands of its members remain in jail without trial. As much as 30% to 40% of the electorate was effectively excluded from the election. The result is a 300-member

parliament is socially brittle also. It includes just seven women and only four members from religious and ethnic minority communities, though these groups make up about 10% of the population, alongside over 50% female populace.