Leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement have proposed an interim government led by Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, in a bid to address Bangladesh’s ongoing challenge, Dhaka Tribune reported.
This announcement was made in a video message released early hours of Tuesday by key student leaders Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud, and Abu Bakar Mazumdar.
Earlier on Monday night, Nahid had announced that an outline for an interim government would be formulated within the next 24 hours, as per Dhaka Tribune.
This comes after the announcement of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who resigned from her position and departed Bangladesh.
Hasina’s exit came after hundreds of people were killed in a crackdown on demonstrations that began as protests against job quotas and swelled into a movement demanding her downfall.
However, as widespread violence persisted throughout the night in Bangladesh, the coordinators decided to announce their stance as quickly as possible, even in the middle of the night.
President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Monday night gave his nod to form an interim government to run the country.
Following this, a meeting was held at Bangabhaban, the presidential palace, to address the country’s deteriorating law and order situation. Attendees included the chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, political party leaders, and civil society members.
This decision was made during a meeting at Bangabhaban after discussing the current situation with the chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, leaders of various political parties, and members of civil society, according to a press release signed by Muhammad Shiplu Zaman, Assistant Press Secretary of Bangabhaban.
The Army has been tasked with stopping the vandalism and ensuring law enforcement, which deteriorated severely after Sheikh Hasina left the country Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has announced that Tarique Rahman, the party’s acting chairman, will be returning to the country very soon.
He disclosed this information to the media on Monday at 9:30 pm.
The BNP leader said, “You all know that our leader, Tarique Rahman, has been unjustly exiled abroad due to false cases. He has fully supported this movement, and we have taken steps to bring him back to the country immediately. Insha’Allah, we will be successful.”
Mirza Fakhrul added: “It has been decided that our leader Begum Khaleda Zia will be released immediately. Those who were imprisoned for political reasons will also be released. Now, in the current situation, all political parties, students, and the public will work together to control it.”
Addressing the nation, he said: “We have achieved a great victory, a great success. To maintain this success, let’s show restraint, not act out of anger or hatred, not attack anyone, and not damage any institutions. Especially, let’s not attack our religious minority brothers.”
Mirza Fakhrul further commented that protecting minorities is everyone’s responsibility, stating: “It is our sacred duty to protect them. I urge everyone in our party not to give the opportunity to miscreants to harm others.”
