Bangladesh parliament dissolved after PM flees country

Bangladesh’s parliament has been dissolved, a day after prime minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to take over.

Ms Hasina resigned and fled the country after weeks of student-led protests that led to deadly violence.

The dissolution of the parliament, which is the main demand of the protesters, paves the way for the establishment of an interim government.

Bangladeshis are waiting to see what comes next, as the country’s military chief holds talks with political leaders and protest organizers.

According to local media, more than 100 people died in violent clashes across Bangladesh on Monday, the deadliest day since the protests began.

Hundreds of police stations were also set on fire, with the Bangladesh Police Service Association (BPSA) announcing a strike “until the safety of all police personnel is secured”.

The group also wanted to blame the authorities, saying they were “forced to shoot”.

In total, more than 400 people are believed to have died, as the protests were met with heavy repression by government forces.

The protests began in early July with peaceful demands by university students for an end to public sector job quotas, but snowballed into an anti-government movement.

The chaos that lasted for weeks ended with the raid on the prime minister’s house, not long after Mrs. Hasina fled to the neighboring country of India, which ended her reign of almost 15 years.

Bangladesh’s leaders are under pressure to form an interim government to avoid a power outage that could lead to further conflict.

Hours after resigning, Bangladesh army chief Gen Waker-uz-Zaman promised an interim administration, adding on state television that “it is time to stop the violence”.

The student leaders were clear that they would not accept a military-led government, demanding that Muhammad Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, be the chief adviser of the interim government.

Mr. Yunus, who agreed to take this position, said: “If the students who sacrificed so much asked me to step in at this difficult time, how could I refuse?”

He is returning to Dhaka from Paris, where he will undergo minor surgery, according to his spokesman.

Meanwhile, former prime minister and prominent opposition leader Khaleda Zia has been released from years of imprisonment, the president’s statement said.

He is the chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which boycotted elections in 2014 and again in 2024, saying free and fair elections were impossible under Ms Hasina.

The BNP wanted the polls to be held under a neutral administration. This is now a possibility after the departure of Ms. Hasina, who has been refusing this request.

Ms Zia, 78, served as prime minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996, but was arrested in 2018 for corruption, although she says the charges were politically motivated.

He is not the only dissident to be released after years of imprisonment.

Activist Ahmad Bin Quasem was also released from custody, according to his lawyer Michael Polak.

Rights groups say Mr Quasem was taken by the military in 2016, as one of hundreds of people forcibly disappeared in the country under Ms Hasina’s regime.

“There were many points during his detention that he was feared dead, and uncertainty was one of the many tools of repression used by the state,” explained Mr. Polak, adding that they hope the decision to release political prisoners “is a good sign of their intentions”.

“Unfortunately, the good news will not be preached to all,” he told the BBC, pointing out that dozens of political prisoners have died in custody.

At least 20 other families of political prisoners gathered outside the intelligence agency building in the capital Dhaka this morning, still eagerly awaiting news about their loved ones, AFP news agency reported.

“We need answers,” said Sanjida Islam Tulee, coordinator of the campaign organization Mayer Daak (The Call of the Mothers), told the media.

Across India’s border, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said he was “deeply concerned until law and order is clearly restored” in Bangladesh, with which India shares a 4,096-kilometer (2,545-mile) border and has close economic and cultural ties.

He gave the first official confirmation that Ms Hasina had applied to go to India at “very short notice” and had “arrived yesterday evening in Delhi”.

India has also sent more troops to its border with Bangladesh.

“Our border guards have also been ordered to be on high alert due to this difficult situation,” Mr Jaishankar said.