Key Faces In New Bangladesh Government

New Delhi:

A new “interim government” – to be advised, most likely, by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus – is taking shape in crisis-hit Bangladesh following Sheikh Hasina resigning as Prime Minister.

Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin gave his assent late Monday for that temporary administration. A meeting was held at his residence that was attended by the chiefs of the country’s Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as political party leaders and civil society members.

In speculation that has emerged (inevitably so) since Mrs Hasina quit, three key names are at the forefront, two of whom are the Army, which took charge after Mrs Hasina quit, and which may have given her a 45-minute ultimatum; and her nemesis and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who was jailed in 2018 on corruption charges and whose release was ordered by the President.

Who Is Khaleda Zia

In 1991 Mrs Zia, now 78 and unwell, became Bangladesh’s first woman Prime Minister.

She won a second term in 1996 but the elections were boycotted and denounced as unfair by the major opposition parties, including Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League. Her second term lasted 12 days; a caretaker government was installed and fresh elections were held, which Mrs Hasina won.

Mrs Zia returned to power five years later.

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In 2007 she was arrested on corruption charges. She was convicted and jailed in 2018, but multiple health concerns meant she has spent most of the time since in a hospital.

It is unclear if she will be well enough to assume the Prime Minister’s post, should she be selected.

The third is Mr Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for founding the Grameen Bank, a microfinance organisation working towards community development in Bangladesh.

Mr Yunus is widely seen as protesting students’ pick – a bid to ensure the focus of their agitation does not get ignored as Sheikh Hasina’s rivals scramble to pick up power following her resignation.

Who Is Md Yunus

An economist with a PhD from Vanderbilt University – a private research institution in Tennessee in the United States – Mr Yunus taught there briefly before returning to Bangladesh to head the department at Chittagong University.

He set up the Grameen Bank in 1983. The bank provides tiny loans (as small as Rs 2,000) to women in rural Bangladesh to start small businesses. This helped millions lift themselves out of poverty, earning him the nickname ‘banker to the poor’. The model is now replicated in over 100 countries.

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However, in June he was indicted on charges of corruption and embezzlement of 252.2 million taka (Rs 219.4 crore) from the workers’ welfare fund of his telecoms company, Grameen Telecom.

The 83-year-old has denied wrongdoing and claimed the charges are politically motivated. In January, he was also sentenced to six months in prison for labour law violations but secured bail.

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Also in the fray is Tariq Rahman, the exiled Chairperson of Mrs Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

As in the case of Khaleda Zia, there is no formal confirmation Mr Rahman will be party of any new government, but there is strong speculation to suggest Mrs Zia and her BNP could make a return.

Mr Rahman is widely expected to return to Bangladesh, at least according to news agency ANI, which quoted BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to that effect.

A potential fifth figure is Nahid Islam, a Dhaka University student seen as the protest leader.

Who Is Nahid Islam

Mr Islam, a Sociology student, served as a National Coordinator for the ‘Students Against Discrimination’ Movement, which demanded reforms to the quota system for government jobs.

In the flurry of announcements and statements made last night Mr Islam claimed an outline for the interim government would be revealed within 24 hours.

Mr Nahid has been vocal against Sheikh Hasina’s party, calling them “terrorists” on the roads.

In July he was abducted by at least 25 men in plain clothes from a house in Sabujbagh.

READ | Who Is Nahid Islam, Student Leader Of Protests Against Sheikh Hasina

He was blindfolded, handcuffed and tortured during repeated interrogations about his involvement in the protests. Two days later, he was found unconscious and battered under a bridge in Purbachal.

He was kidnapped a second time a week later by individuals claiming to be from intelligence agencies, including the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch. But the police denied involvement. 

Sheikh Hasina Resignation

Mrs Hasina, 76, a five-time PM and daughter of the country’s founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – quit and fled Dhaka Monday evening after weeks of violent protests over a government jobs quota.

Shortly after Ms Hasina resigned, Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said the military will form an “interim government” and urged to protesters to stand down.

Over 400 people have died in clashes between authorities and mobs for and against the scheme assuring 30 per cent quota to family members of Bangladesh’s 1971 war with Pakistan.

The protests that have roiled Bangladesh were sparked by Mrs Hasina’s government announcing a 30 per cent quota for family members of her country’s 1971 war of independence against Pakistan.

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The students’ movement gathered pace after the Bangladesh Supreme Court reinstated the quota, after first slashing it to five per cent. The students have alleged the quota is discriminatory.

Mrs Hasina left Dhaka in a military aircraft and flew to India’s Hindon Air Force Base in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad; she is expected to fly to London to claim political asylum.

Mrs Hasina was met on arrival by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. There is no word yet if Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet her.

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Mr Modi has been briefed and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today chaired an all-party meeting to discuss the Bangladesh issue. He briefed all parties about steps being taken by the government to address potential security, economic, and diplomatic repercussions.

India’s Border Security Force is on high alert across the country’s 4,096 km border with Bangladesh, with field commanders ordered to take “on ground” positions and be prepared for anything. Indian Railways and the country’s airlines have temporarily stopped services to Bangladesh.

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