The student movement has nominated Muhammad Yunus, renowned as the ‘banker to the poor,’ to lead the new interim government.
Key organizers of Bangladesh’s student protests have called for Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus to lead the interim government following the resignation and flight of longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Nahid Islam, a 26-year-old sociology student who led the protest movement against government job quotas, which evolved into a nationwide uprising, announced in a social media video that Yunus had agreed to take on the role.
“We want to see the process begin by morning,” Islam said late Monday. “We urge the president to act quickly to form an interim government led by Dr. Yunus.”
On Tuesday, President Mohammed Shahabuddin declared the dissolution of parliament, having previously promised that new elections would be held as soon as possible. This announcement followed a scheduled meeting between the protest organizers and the army chief.
Student leaders have consistently rejected the idea of an army-led government.
“We have sacrificed so much and must honor our commitment to build a new Bangladesh,” Islam stated. “We will accept no government other than the one proposed by the students. As we’ve said, we reject any military-backed government or any regime of fascists.”
Reporting from Dhaka, Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdhury noted that the Students Against Discrimination movement had issued an “ultimatum,” demanding the dissolution of parliament or they would resume protests. Their demand was met.
Chowdhury observed that while the streets of the capital were mostly calm on Tuesday and many businesses reopened, a sense of tension remained. The movement had called for calm as they proposed a list of names for the new interim government.
**Interim Government**
Muhammad Yunus, 84, has been proposed as a potential chief adviser for the new interim government.
Widely recognized as the "banker to the poor," Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering microlending, a practice credited with lifting millions out of poverty through small loans. Although he faced corruption charges during Sheikh Hasina’s tenure—charges he argued were politically motivated—Yunus has consistently denied the allegations.
A spokesperson for Yunus confirmed that he has agreed to the students' request to serve as an adviser to the interim government. According to the spokesperson, the Nobel laureate will return to Bangladesh “immediately” after undergoing a minor medical procedure in Paris, as reported by Reuters.
After Sheikh Hasina's removal on Monday, army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced that he was temporarily assuming control of the country as troops worked to quell the escalating unrest.
He stated that he had engaged in discussions with leaders of major political parties—excluding Hasina’s long-dominant Awami League—and declared that an interim government would be established to oversee Bangladesh.
He also vowed to investigate the deaths of at least 135 people across Bangladesh since mid-July, marking some of the worst violence the country has seen since the 1971 war of independence. “Trust the military,” he said. “We will thoroughly investigate all the killings and hold those responsible accountable.”
Shahabuddin, the country’s figurehead president, also announced that it was "unanimously decided" to immediately release Begum Khaleda Zia, the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson and longtime rival of Sheikh Hasina. Zia, convicted in a 2018 corruption case, had been moved to a hospital the following year due to declining health. She has consistently denied the charges against her.
The protests, which began peacefully last month with students calling for an end to a government job quota system they believed favored Hasina’s Awami League party, escalated into a significant challenge to Hasina’s rule. The unrest was met with a severe police crackdown, underscoring the deepening economic distress in the country.
On Monday, protesters defied a military curfew to march into the capital, setting fire to Hasina’s official residence and gathering outside the parliament building, where they displayed a banner reading “justice.” They also vandalized Hasina’s family ancestral home-turned-museum, where her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman—Bangladesh’s first president and independence leader—was assassinated.
Meanwhile, Hasina arrived at a military airfield near New Delhi and met with India’s National Security Adviser, Ajit Doval, according to Indian media. Reports suggest she was taken to a safe house and is likely to travel to the United Kingdom.
India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar confirmed Hasina’s presence in India during an emergency parliamentary meeting on Tuesday. He expressed deep concern until law and order is restored in Bangladesh, noting that India shares a border of over 4,000 kilometers (2,545 miles) with Bangladesh. “At very short notice, she requested approval to come to India,” Jaishankar said.
“Our border guarding forces have also been instructed to maintain exceptional vigilance given this complex situation,” he added.
Hasina, 76, had been in power since 2009 but faced allegations of election rigging in January. Over the past month, millions of people have taken to the streets demanding her resignation.
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