Bangladesh president,
Mohammed Shahabuddin, has dissolved the country’s parliament, paving the way for the formation of an interim government, a day after Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, resigned.
Shahabuddin dissolved the parliament after it was discovered that the former Prime Minister had fled the country following a violent crackdown on a student-led uprising.
A statement from President Mohammed Shahabuddin’s office on Tuesday,
Aside from that, the president approved the release of Khaleda Zia, the chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and a former prime minister, who was placed house arrest.
Zia, who is a longtime political rival of current immediate past Prime Minister, had been under house arrest for many weeks after he was considered as threat by Hasina.
The steps came amid student had threatened to intensify if the parliament was not dissolved.
The decision to dissolve the parliament was taken following meetings with the heads of defence forces, leaders of political parties, student leaders and some civil society representatives, the presidential statement said.
Hasina’s flight away from the country ended her 15-year second stint in power. She had ruled the country for 20 of the last 30 years, having inherited the political movement of her father, state founder Mujubur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1975.
Bangladesh’s Army Chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, was scheduled to meet with student leaders to discuss the establishment of an interim government, which is anticipated to oversee elections shortly after assuming power.
Zaman announced Hasina’s resignation on Monday. Hasina flew to India and is staying at a safe house outside New Delhi.
