Information and Broadcasting Adviser of the interim government, Mahfuz Alam, stated that it is false to claim students opposed the legal move to ban the Awami League. Writing on his verified social media page on Friday (May 9), Mahfuz Alam clarified that during the cabinet’s very first meeting, he himself raised serious objections to several provisions of the proposed law. According to him, advisers Nahid and Asif also supported his position. He rejected claims circulating from a particular political party's activists, who say students were not on board with the initiative, labeling such statements as baseless and misleading.

Mahfuz recounted that when arguments were made in favor of trying the party as an entity, one adviser countered with the outdated analogy of the Nuremberg Trials. Ironically, activists are now championing that adviser’s stance to undermine students. Mahfuz emphasized that students had no hostility with the individual in question, and attempts to manufacture a conflict are pointless.

He mentioned that two legal-background advisers (one of whom has since passed away) supported their viewpoint, as did the adviser for cultural affairs. As of yesterday evening, that adviser reaffirmed commitment to including a provision for the party's prosecution soon—something Mahfuz thanked him for. He called on critics to stop spreading misinformation, especially regarding the delays around the party’s official declaration and accused them of dragging out the process over two months. While acknowledging that students placed trust in the party leader’s assurances, he admitted they were ultimately let down.

In a postscript, he emphasized that they do not want to delay the election—it will be held between December and June as planned.

Mahfuz further argued that those who believe students are incapable of forming their own ideology or plans, and instead act only when externally influenced, are either underestimating them or intentionally trying to delegitimize them. Since last August, students have acted in the national interest, taking all necessary advice, often relying most heavily on the very party now being criticized. Despite placing trust in that party, the students feel they’ve received nothing in return but disappointment and scapegoating.

He concluded by reiterating that they still want to believe in the party and its leader—that he will act patriotically and pragmatically on key issues like the party ban and public declaration. Mahfuz called on the party to lead with students against anti-uprising forces, and to take charge of a national consensus for sovereignty and democracy. “Unite. Lead. Don’t disappoint this generation,” he wrote, stressing that today’s youth are the shield protecting the country’s sovereignty and democracy.