The advisory council of the interim government, headed by Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus, is set to expand with the inclusion of five new members, according to reports, said Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam.
Swearing-in ceremony of the new advisers will be held on Sunday evening (10 November), he added.
The interim government took charge on 8 August under the leadership of Nobel laureate Dr Yunus following a student and public uprising that resulted in the ouster of Sheikh Hasina's regime.
Yunus-led government has already completed three months in office.
The current 21-member advisory council is tasked with multiple critical ministerial roles, leading to political criticism about inefficiencies arising from individuals managing several portfolios simultaneously.
Political leaders have argued that this overlap is causing bureaucratic delays and have called for an expansion of the council.
The existing advisory council, led by Dr Yunus, includes former governor of Bangladesh Bank Salehuddin Ahmed, Dr Asif Nazrul of Dhaka University's Law Department, Adilur Rahman Khan, secretary of the human rights organisation Odhikar, former attorney general AF Hassan Ariff, former foreign secretary Touhid Hossain, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), former election commissioner Brigadier General (retd.) M Sakhawat Hossain, executive director of the NGO Ubinig Farida Akhter, Grameen Telecom Director Noor Jahan Begum, Brac Executive Director Sharmin Murshid, Islamic scholar AFM Khalid Hasan, coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, former ambassador Supradeep Chakma, former Director of the National Institute of Mental Health Bidhan Ranjan Roy Poddar, decorated veteran Faruq-e-Azam (Bir Pratik), former secretary Muhammad Faozul Kabir Khan, former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumdar, economist Wahiduddin Mahmud, and former director general of Bangladesh Rifles, Lieutenant General (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury.
