Dhaka, Nov. 13 -- Bangladesh's interim government has faced sharp criticism after cancelling the recruitment of music and physical education teachers in primary schools, a move widely seen as a capitulation to pressure from Islamist groups.

In an opinion piece published in The Diplomat, journalist Saqlain Rizve writes that the government's November 3 decision for such planned recruitment followed weeks of protests from religion-based organisations that had denounced the plan as "un-Islamic".

The interim administration, led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, has been accused of abandoning its earlier reformist and secular stance under mounting pressure from conservative forces, writes Rizve in The Diplomat.

As per Rizve, who is a Banglade...