Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who resigned on Monday following unprecedented anti-government protests, landed at the Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad as part of her plan to go to London.
Bangladesh Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman announced that Sheikh Hasina has resigned as the country's Prime Minister and an interim government is set to take over soon. After resigning, Hasina landed at the Hindon airbase near Ghaziabad on her way to London.
Sheikh Hasina first became Prime Minister in 1996, serving until 2001. She returned to power in 2009 and has been in office since then, making her one of the longest-serving leaders in Bangladesh’s history.
Following the resignation of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Army chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman announced that he would form an interim government. He had met political leaders and told them the Army would take over responsibility for law and order.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and left the country, amid massive protests against her government that has killed more than 106 people since Sunday, August 4.
Numerous videos surfaced online of protesters entering the PM Palace in Dhaka and vandalising and enjoying the comforts of the prime minister's residence.
Bangladesh protests: Agitators also set on fire Awami League president Sheikh Hasina's office at Dhanmondi in Dhaka. Protesters were seen chanting slogans and celebrating the news of Sheikh Hasina's resignation.
Bangladesh protests: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has left Dhaka in a military chopper amid escalating nationwide violence. Protesters breached the gates of Gono Bhaban and entered the premises of the prime minister's residence around 3 pm today.
Protesters forced open the gates of Gono Bhaban and entered the premises of the Prime Minister's residence around 3 pm today. Thousands of people joined the Anti-Discrimination Students' Movement's "March to Dhaka" programme at the Mirpur 10 roundabout and moved towards Farmgate.
Sheikh Hasina tendered her resignation on Monday and left the country as the violent protests escalated.
It is for the second time during the recent protests that the government shut down internet services, mobile operators said. Social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp were not available, even via broadband connections.
Bangladesh's student protests have shifted from rallying against government job quotas to calling for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation. The movement now includes a call for a nationwide non-cooperation campaign until the government steps down.
Bangladesh PM Hasina and several other Cabinet ministers have accused the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami party and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir of playing a role in the violence during the student protests.
More than 200 people were killed in Bangladesh in recent weeks during violence that evolved from student protests over the South Asian country's quota system for government jobs.
The protests turned violent in Bangladesh last week following clashes between thousands of anti-quota demonstrators and members of the student wing of Hasina's Awami League party.
At least 39 people were killed and hundreds injured as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up groups of protesters, who torched vehicles, police posts and other establishments. This is the most serious challenge to PM Sheikh Hasina's government after it was elected for a fourth term.
University students in Dhaka and other cities have been holding rallies for more than a week protesting the system of reservation in public sector jobs, including that for the relatives of war heroes, who fought for the country's independence from Pakistan in 1971.
The unrest reached a critical juncture when a group of protesters targeted the Bangladesh state TV headquarters, located in a prominent area of the capital. Reports indicate that the attackers breached security barriers and swiftly set parts of the building on fire.
Hasina announced a judicial committee to probe the deaths of anti-quota protesters, saying she "deeply regretted" the killings. A nationwide shutdown was announced by the protesters after violent clashes with police and ruling party's student activists left at least six dead.
The protesters were demanding an end to a government job quota for the families of those who fought in Bangladesh's war of independence in 1971.
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