Bangladesh Crisis: Sheikh Hasina had sought to quell nationwide protests
New Delhi:
The Bangladeshi parliament is set to be dissolved today – a day after Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country and the military took control amid massive protests.
Here Are 10 Updates On Bangladesh Violence
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Bangladeshi President Mohammed Shahabuddin late last evening chaired a crucial meeting to discuss the formation of a military-backed caretaker government. Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, along with the head of the navy and airforce, and top leaders of several opposition parties including the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami party, attended the meeting.
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Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman will meet student protest leaders as the country awaits the formation of a new government. Student leaders, who spearheaded a movement against job quotas that turned into a call for Ms Hasina to resign, said that they want a new interim government with Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus as its chief advisor.
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The Army chief – in an address to the nation – yesterday announced that Sheikh Hasina had resigned and the Army would form an interim government. “The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed — it is time to stop the violence,” said General Waker.
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Sheikh Hasina – the daughter of Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – was given a 45-minute ultimatum to step down as the Prime Minister, it is learnt.
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Ms Hasina, who started her fifth term as Prime Minister earlier this year, left state capital Dhaka in a military aircraft for India after resigning. The 76-year-old is accompanied by her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana.
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Sheikh Hasina met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval evening after landing at the Hindon Air Force base in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad – around 30 km from Delhi. MS Hasina is expected to leave for London later, sources told NDTV, where she is seeking political asylum.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been briefed on the situation in Bangladesh by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. There is no word yet if Mr Modi will meet Mrs Hasina.
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Western powers called for calm in Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina fled. The United States called on all sides to “refrain from further violence”, while the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a “peaceful, orderly and democratic transition”.
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Sheikh Hasina had sought to quell nationwide protests against her government since early July but she fled the country after brutal unrest on Sunday in which nearly 100 people were killed, taking the death count since the anti-government demonstrations began to over 300.
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Protests began in June after student groups’ demands for the scrapping of a controversial quota system in government jobs escalated into a movement seeking the end of her rule.
