Travel ban sought on Yunus, all his advisers for alleged measles vaccination policy shift

A legal notice has sought a travel ban on former chief adviser Muhammad Yunus and other advisers of the interim government over their alleged role in what it termed an "unlawful and malicious" initiative to transfer the measles vaccination system from government control to the private sector.

Supreme Court lawyer Barrister M Ashraful Islam served the notice to the government seeking the ban on them today (6 April), according to a media release.  

"A severe outbreak of measles, a previously eliminated disease, has suddenly emerged across the country. Already more than a hundred children have died, and countless children and ordinary citizens have been hospitalised after being infected with measles. A demand has been raised to form an investigation committee into the alleged involvement in the unlawful initiative to transfer the vaccination system for a disease like measles from the state to the private sector," reads the notice.

The travel ban sought against individuals includes all former advisers, including Asif Nazrul, Syeda Rizwana Hasan and Nurjahan Begum, as well as former press secretary Shafiqul Alam and all relevant former personal assistants, until the completion of the investigation, according to the notice.

The notice has been served to the secretaries of the cabinet, the health, the home ministries and other secretaries of the relevant ministries.

A directive has also been sought for the formation of a probe body and the issuance of the travel ban within five days of receiving the notice. Upon failure to comply, the lawyer said he will take further action.