A day after Sheikh Hasina resigned from the post of Prime Minister of Bangladesh and left the country, President Mohammad Shahabuddin on Tuesday announced the dissolution of the country’s Parliament to form an interim administration. A press release issued by the President’s Office said that President Shahabuddin’s meeting 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, Dhaka Tribune reported. Based on the decision taken, the National Parliament was dissolved.
The press release further said that Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson 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 started, many of whom have been released. Earlier in the day, BNP chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was also released. In a statement on Monday, the President’s press team said that in the meeting led by Shahabuddin, a unanimous decision was taken to immediately release Begum Khaleda Zia.
“The meeting also decided to release all those arrested during the student protests,” the president’s statement said.
Let us tell you that 78-year-old Zia, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, is admitted in the hospital due to ill health. In 2018, he was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 17 years in prison. According to Al Jazeera, there was a long-running dispute between him and Hasina and he was accused of abusing his position by stealing approximately US$250,000 in donations for a trust for an orphanage. The BNP claimed that the cases were made up to prevent Zia from entering politics, however, Hasina’s administration denied these claims.
It is noteworthy that the political situation in Bangladesh is unstable, because Sheikh Hasina resigned from her post on August 5 in view of the increasing protests. The protests by students demanding abolition of the quota system for government jobs took the form of anti-government protests. Hasina reached India on Monday evening and it is not clear whether she will stay in Delhi or go to some other place. Meanwhile, in Dhaka, leaders of the anti-discrimination student movement have proposed an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to deal with Bangladesh’s current challenges.