Dhaka, Nov. 12 -- British-Bangladeshi novelist Zia Haider Rahman has delivered a searing critique of the interim government during a seminar on "The Politics of Literature" at Bangla Academy.

On Tuesday, he emphasised that a thriving literary culture requires political freedom and accountability, warning that the limitations on free expression in Bangladesh extend far beyond the machinery of the state.

In his keynote speech, Zia denounced Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus and National Consensus Commission Vice-President Ali Riaz for their "silence".

The seminar was held in the Shamsur Rahman Seminar Hall at Bangla Academy, organised under the supervision of Bangla Academy Director General Prof Mohammad Azam, with Prof Firdous Azim presiding...