This follows a night of confusion after a media report last night claimed that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had directed him to resign. Ishraque later disputed the report, saying it was untrue.
TBS Report
19 October, 2026, 02:30 pm
Last modified: 19 October, 2026, 02:38 pm
Ishraque Hossain announced his resignation as state minister for liberation war affairs this afternoon (19 October) amid controversy over his gun-wielding anti-drug raid.
Speaking at a press conference at the National Press Club, Ishraque slammed media "narratives" about the raid, saying they had embarrassed his party, the ruling BNP.
He defended his actions, saying he had a licence for his gun and had wielded it for protection.
This follows a night of confusion after a media report last night claimed that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had directed him to resign. Ishraque later disputed the report, saying it was untrue.
In a Facebook post earlier today, Ishraque, son of the late BNP leader and Dhaka mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka, said he intended to resign.
In the post, the Dhaka-6 MP said, "I will formally announce my resignation as state minister for liberation war affairs at a press conference at the National Press Club at 2pm today."
A Prothom Alo report said last night that Tarique summoned Ishraque after a Cabinet meeting at the Secretariat yesterday afternoon and instructed him to step down.
But in a statement, Ishraque urged everyone to treat the report as unverified, false and a rumour, saying no decision had been made at that time.
This morning, however, Ishraque confirmed through his Facebook post that he would step down.
He also pledged to intensify his anti-drug campaign as a BNP activist in his post. "Instead of working as a member of parliament or a state minister, I will work against drugs with a hundred times more enthusiasm as a BNP activist, InshaAllah."