Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina quits power, leaves the country

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reportedly resigned from the post and left the country, amid countrywide protests against her government that has killed more than 106 people in the past 48 hours.

According to the private Jamuna television news channel Hasina was forced to quit as prime minister after massive protests against her government over a controversial quota system that reserved 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s War of Independence in 1971.

In an address to the national Army Chief Gen. Waker -ur_Zaman confirmed that PM Hasina has resigned and left the country.

“Prime Minister Sheik Hasina has resigned and an interim government will run the country,” army chief Gen. Zaman said. He said that there was no more need for a curfew or state of emergency at present but urged protesters to return home.

Even before Waker-uz-Zaman’s announcement, which was delayed amid negotiations with political players, protesters had already stormed the Ganabhaban, the prime minister’s official residence in the capital Dhaka.

What began last month as peaceful student demonstrations against civil service employment quotas for descendants of the nation’s 1971 war of independence spiralled into a campaign of protest and civil disobedience across Bangladesh having a population of over 170 million. Hundreds of thousands of protesters had taken to the street over the weekend with crowds swelling to millions by Monday amid calls to march on the Ganabhaban to force the 76 year old leader’s ouster. Now military came in the forefront amid a bloody confrontation.

The chief of the army has announced the formation of an interim government and urged protesters to halt the unrest. He has also pledged to meet the demands of protesters and bring justice for those who have been killed.