Bangladesh crisis: Sheikh Hasina loyalist Ziaul Ahsan, relieved from Army, detained in Dhaka
Ziaul Ahsan was dismissed from service on Tuesday as the top ranks of the military have been reshuffled following the announcement of an interim government in Bangladesh. The massive reshuffle comes as Sheikh Hasina fled to India after deadly anti-government protests.
Bangladesh unrest: Major General Ziaul Ahsan, a Sheikh Hasina loyalist who was dismissed from service after the Bangladesh Army announced the formation of an interim government post-exit of former PM Sheikh Hasina, was detained in dramatic circumstances on Tuesday night after the plane he was on was brought back from the Dhaka airport runway to the boarding bridge, as per local media reports.
Ziaul Ahsan was arrested Emirates Flight 585 was made to taxi back to the boarding bridge from the runway, sources at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport told the Daily Star. Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) officials took him back to the Dhaka Cantonment after his arrest.
Ahsan, served as Director General of National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre since 2022 before he was relieved of duty. Prior to that, he was the director of the company. Ziaul Ahsan became the vice-captain of Rapid Action Battalion-2 in 2009 when he was a major. In the same year, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed director of the intelligence wing of the RAB headquarters.
Interim government in Bangladesh
Meanwhile, Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus, who has been chosen as the head of the interim government, is expected to arrive from Paris to Bangladesh as early as Thursday, according to a top source in Dhaka. Tarique Rahman, the son of newly-freed former PM and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Khaleda Zia, is expected to arrive in Dhaka today (August 7) from the UK.
Bangladesh's protest leaders said they expect members of an interim government to be finalised on Wednesday. The nterim government will fill a power vacuum left after Bangladesh's army chief announced Hasina's resignation in a televised address on Monday that followed weeks of deadly violence that ripped through the country.
The massive protests in Bangladesh were initially against the controversial quota system in government jobs, but soon spiralled into a broader agitation against the Awami League government after Hasina's 'razakar' remarks and the harsh police crackdown on protesters. While the initial protests calmed down after the Supreme Court scaled back the quotas, the recent unrest broke out as several students demanded Hasina's resignation.
The death toll in the anti-government protests in Bangladesh on Tuesday climbed to 469, with 100 more deaths reported after Sheikh Hasina fled the country, according to local media, even as efforts were on by the army to bring the situation under control in the violence-hit nation. However, the situation in Dhaka was largely calm on Tuesday as public transport resumed and schools and shops opened.
Fresh protests in Dhaka
Meanwhile, fresh protests broke out in a Dhaka neighbourhood on Wednesday when hundreds of officials from the central bank forced four of its deputy governors to resign over alleged corruption, Bangladesh Bank sources said. The interim government is expected to hold elections soon after taking charge.
Businesses on Wednesday demanded immediate restoration of law and order to ensure the safety of their production units amid incidents of arson attacks on factories over the last two days. Bodies of at least 29 supporters of Hasina’s Awami League party were recovered across the country through Tuesday.
Media reports also flagged more and more cases of violence against minorities surfacing through Tuesday, prominent among them being the massive vandalism and destruction at popular folk band Joler Gaan’s frontman Rahul Ananda's residence on Monday prompting the singer and his family to take shelter at a secret place.
(with inputs from agencies)
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