Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina resigns, leaves country: Reports

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and left the country on Monday, media reports said.

The death toll in the violent protests rocking the country has crossed 300, as upto 100 people were killed on Sunday, in some of the worst violence since the birth of the South Asian nation more than five decades ago.

Thousands of protesters reportedly breached Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s official residence in Dhaka on Monday, following weeks of violent demonstrations and clashes with security forces.

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Bangladeş Başbakanı istifa ederek Hindistan’a kaçtı/Protestocular Başbakanlık ofisini işgal etti pic.twitter.com/sPHvZ19Jh3

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In an address to the country after Sheikh Hasina’s resignation, Bangladesh’s army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said an interim government will be formed to run the country.

Media reports by UK’s public broadcaster BBC, and Indian TV news channel CNN News18 said the just-unseated prime minister has flown to India, and could take asylum in a third country.

Bangladesh’s student protests

What began as a student-led protest against civil service job quotas has now evolved into a broader anti-government movement in Bangladesh.

Over the weekend, demonstrators called for a “non-cooperation” campaign, urging citizens to withhold taxes, avoid paying utility bills, and abstain from work on Sunday, which is a working day in Bangladesh.

While offices, banks, and factories remained open, commuters in Dhaka and other cities faced significant challenges getting to their workplaces.

The protests originally began last month with students demanding the abolition of a quota system that reserved 30 per cent of government jobs for families of veterans from Bangladesh’s 1971 independence movement.

In response to the escalating violence, the Supreme Court ruled that the veterans’ quota must be reduced to 5 per cent, with 93 per cent of jobs to be allocated on merit. The remaining 2 per cent were designated for ethnic minorities, transgender individuals, and disabled people.

Despite the government accepting this decision, protesters continued to demand accountability for the violence they attribute to the government’s use of force.

The administration of Prime Minister Hasina accused opposition parties and their student affiliates of instigating the violence, which has seen several state-owned establishments torched or vandalised.

A military-imposed curfew was enforced Sunday night, affecting Dhaka and other major cities and districts. The government had previously imposed a curfew with some exceptions in the capital and other areas.

Additionally, the government declared a holiday from Monday to Wednesday, with courts closed indefinitely. Mobile internet services were suspended, and social media platforms such as Facebook and messaging apps like WhatsApp were inaccessible on Monday.

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