Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus appointed head of Bangladesh’s interim government

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been appointed the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, the Dhaka Tribune reported. This was announced by Joynal Abedin, press secretary to the President of Bangladesh.

The decision to appoint the head of the interim government of Bangladesh was taken during a meeting between President Shahabuddin and the coordinators of the anti-discrimination student movement.

Joynal Abedin said the decision on the names of the remaining members of the interim government would be taken after talks with various political parties, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

Earlier, a 13-member team of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement visited Bangabhaban to discuss the current situation in Bangladesh and the outline of the interim government, reported Dhaka Tribune. They visited Bangabhaban at 6 pm (local time) on Tuesday and met the President and the chiefs of the three armed forces.

The political situation in Bangladesh is volatile since Sheikh Hasina resigned from her post on 5 August in the wake of growing protests.

The protests, mainly by students demanding abolition of quota system in government jobs, turned into anti-government demonstrations.

A day after Sheikh Hasina resigned as Bangladesh Prime Minister and left the country, President Mohammad Shahabuddin announced the dissolution of the country’s parliament to form an interim administration, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

The National Parliament was dissolved based on the decision taken in a meeting of President Shahabuddin with the chiefs of the three armed forces, leaders of various political parties, representatives of civil society and leaders of the anti-discrimination student movement, a press release issued by the President’s Office said.

It further said that Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) President Khaleda Zia has been released from jail. The statement said that the process of releasing those detained from July 1 to August 5 in connection with the student movement and various cases has begun, and many of them have already been released.

In a statement on Monday, the President’s press team said a meeting chaired by Shahabuddin had “unanimously decided” to immediately release Khaleda Zia.

“The meeting also decided to release all those arrested during the student protests,” the presidential statement said.