Bangladesh’s Nobel-winning microfinance pioneer Mohamed Yunus has been tapped to lead an interim government after the ouster of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the country’s presidency announced early today.
The decision “to form an interim government with... Yunus as its chief” was taken at a meeting of President Mohamed Shahabuddin, military leaders and the heads of the Students Against Discrimination group, Shahabuddin’s press office said.
Nahid Islam, a leader of the student group, confirmed the decision to reporters after three hours of talks at the presidential palace.
“The president has asked the people to help ride out the crisis. Quick formation of an interim government is necessary to overcome the crisis,” Shahabuddin’s office said in a statement.
Shahabuddin also sacked the national police chief in the wake of deadly protests that sparked Hasina’s departure and named a replacement, his office said. Islam called the talks “fruitful” and said that Shahabuddin had agreed that the interim government “will be formed within the shortest time” possible.
Earlier the president dissolved parliament and announced that the leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Begum Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister who had feuded with Hasina for decades, had been freed from house arrest. The streets of the capital Dhaka were again peaceful yesterday, with traffic lighter than usual and many schools and businesses that shut during the unrest were still closed.
Garment factories, which supply apparel to some of the world’s top brands and are a mainstay of the economy, will reopen today after being shut due to the disruptions, the main garment manufacturers’ association said.
The decision to dissolve parliament was taken following meetings with the heads of armed forces, leaders of political parties, student leaders and some civil society representatives, a presidential statement said.