New Delhi: Monday afternoon saw an escalated political crisis in Bangladesh and a chain reaction of events, with now an interim government to be formed in the country.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s unprecedented fleeing of the country, after clinching a fifth term in office just months ago, was followed by army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman’s address where he officially announced Hasina’s resignation.
Diplomatic sources say the reason the army chief’s address was delayed for a few hours was because he was holding talks with political parties on how to proceed with the political situation.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jamaat-e-Islami and other groups who had boycotted January’s elections met the army chief but “no member of the Awami League” (Hasina’s party) was present, they said.
In his address, the army chief also sought to quell concerns about the rising death toll amid the anti-quota protests, believed to have exceeded 100 Sunday.
“The honourable prime minister has resigned, and we will form an interim government to do our work. Please have patience, give us some time,” General Waker-uz-Zaman said while addressing the media.
He added that the decision to form an interim government was made after consultations with the leadership of the “main political parties” in the country.
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Hasina’s exit
Around 1.30 pm IST, Hasina left her official residence, ‘Gono Bhaban’, in Dhaka as speculation about her resignation in the face of protests began to mount. She moved to a Bangladeshi air base via Mi17 helicopter, from where she took off in a military transport aircraft.
Hasina reached out to New Delhi seeking safe passage into Indian airspace, a request that was immediately accepted, and is now travelling to London, ThePrint has reported.
Army chief’s speech
Around 2 pm IST, in a televised address, General Waker-uz-Zaman confirmed that Hasina had resigned from the top post and that a political transition was underway to form an interim government. This was after he held talks with the opposition, namely the BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the Jatiya Party. Awami League representatives were not present.
“We will now go to the President, where we will discuss the formation of the interim government. Trust us. Now we will conduct all activities by forming an interim government,” he said.
“We will return peace to the country. We ask citizens to stop violence. We will investigate all killings that have happened over the past few weeks,” he added.
The army chief made an appeal to the people to trust the army. “You trust me, let’s work together. Please help. I won’t get anything by fighting. Avoid conflict. We have built a beautiful country together,” he said.
Storming of PM’s residence
Shortly after the army chief’s address, Bangladeshi protesters stormed the PM’s residence in Dhaka. The footage was reminiscent of scenes of angry Sri Lankan protesters storming their leader’s residence in 2022 in the wake of the island nation’s economic crisis, and were seen swimming in a pool and lying on the president’s bed.
Bangladeshi TV channels broadcast angry protesters stealing sarees, crockery, furniture, pillows, utensils and decor from the residence. They could be seen freely roaming in the various halls of the residence.
The crowd also destroyed Hasina’s father and former Bangladesh president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s statue in Dhaka.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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