Bangladesh Interim Govt Swearing-In Today; Khaleda Zia Appeals For Calm, Hasina To Stay In Delhi | Top Points

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh will take oath on Thursday, Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, General Waker said the interim government is likely to be sworn in at 8:00 pm on Thursday.

Bangladesh’s Nobel-winning microfinance pioneer was appointed as the head of the interim government, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country following deadly protests against her government over a controversial quota system in jobs.

Yunus On His Way To Dhaka

Yunus has left for Dhaka from Paris, the capital of France. According to Dhaka Tribune, he was given strict security at the airport by members of the French Special Forces. Yunus will arrive in Dhaka on an Emirates flight (EK-582) from Dubai at 2 pm on Thursday. His appointment came quickly after student leaders called on the 84-year-old — credited with lifting millions out of poverty — to lead the country.

‘I fervently appeal’

“Let us make the best use of our new victory. Let us not let this slip away because of our mistakes. I fervently appeal to everybody to stay calm. Please refrain from all kinds of violence," Yunus said in a statement released on Wednesday, according to bdnews24. “I appeal to all students, members of all political parties and non-political people to stay calm. This is our beautiful country with lots of exciting possibilities. We must protect and make it a wonderful country for us and for our future generations," he added.

 Khaleda Zia’s First Message

Bangladesh’s former prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia has thanked the people of the country for their “struggle to make possible the impossible" and said it is not “anger" or “revenge" but “love and peace" that will rebuild the nation.

In her first public speech since 2018, delivered via video link at the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) rally in Nayapaltan, 79-year-old Zia on Wednesday appealed for calm. A day after her release from house arrest, she thanked people as they fought and prayed for her to be released from imprisonment, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

Hasina’s Delhi Plans

Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister who fled to India following mass protests against her government, is planning to stay in Delhi “for a little while," her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy said on Wednesday. The 76-year-old Awami League leader landed at an airbase near Delhi on Monday and later shifted to a safe location under tight security.

During a video interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, Joy was asked about Hasina’s reported plans to seek asylum in a third country. “These are all rumours. She has not made a decision on that yet. She is going to stay in Delhi for a little while. My sister is with her. So she is not alone," Joy said. Hasina’s plan to travel to London has hit a roadblock following the UK’s hesitation to provide her refuge.

BSF Stops Bangladeshi Group

The Border Security Force (BSF) on Wednesday stopped a group of about 120-140 Bangladeshi citizens who were attempting to cross over to the Indian side from the international border in West Bengal, officials said. The force has been on a ‘high alert’ mode since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in Dhaka early this week.

The incident took place during the day at two locations under the jurisdiction of the North Bengal frontier of the force headquartered in Kadamtala, Darjeeling, the officials said. The BSF field commanders contacted their counterparts in the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the group of 120-140 persons compromising women and children were stopped and asked to return, they said. The situation all along this border is under control, the officials said.

Human rights ‘violated’

A top police official in Bangladesh on Wednesday said that the casualties of policemen in the recent violence occurred due to some unprofessional and overly ambitious officials who violated human rights. Addressing a press briefing at the Police Headquarters, newly-appointed Inspector General of Police Md Mainul Islam said some unprofessional officers did not follow the accepted principles of applying force and violated human rights.

“It is because of them [unprofessional officials] that this ongoing violence and casualties have occurred," he was quoted as saying by The Daily Star newspaper. Many police officials have been injured, killed, and tortured because of some unprofessional and overly ambitious officials, he said.

Local Businesses, Indo-Bangla Trade

Local businesses demanded immediate restoration of law and order to ensure the safety of their production units amid incidents of attacks on factories over the last two days. They said they opened factories on Wednesday, particularly the garment units, but many cannot run properly fearing unrest and vandalism, the Daily Star newspaper reported.

Despite ongoing political turmoil in Bangladesh, trade between India and the neighbouring country through land ports in West Bengal is expected to normalise soon while some movements of goods via one of these facilities were reported on Wednesday, officials said. A meeting between the land port authorities of the two countries is scheduled on Wednesday at South Asia’s largest land port Petrapole in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, which is “expected to provide clarity on transportation of goods", the officials said.

‘Stop Anarchy’

Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin has ordered police to take tough measures to stop the anarchy and looting after the fall of the Awami League government in a popular uprising. The president delivered the order after newly appointed Inspector General of Police Md Mainul Islam went to meet him at Bangabhaban on Wednesday, bdnews24 reported. In a statement, Bangabhaban said that President Shahabuddin gave the order to take necessary steps to ensure that every police member can perform their duties with high morale and courage maintaining the ‘chain of command’.

How It All Began

Hasina, 76, resigned on Monday as hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Dhaka demanding she stand down. Monday’s events were the culmination of more than a month of unrest, which began as protests against a plan for quotas in government jobs but morphed into an anti-Hasina movement. Hundreds of people were killed in the crackdown, but the military turned against Hasina on the weekend and she was forced to flee in a helicopter to neighbouring India. The president dissolved parliament on Tuesday, another demand of the student leaders and the major opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP).

(With agency inputs)

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