After ordering the release of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia from house arrest, where she had been detained due to multiple convictions, Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin said on Monday that a caretaker government would be constituted once parliament is dissolved.
Shahabuddin said this at a meeting with leaders of different political parties and representatives of civil society at Bangabhaban. The meeting, also attended by the chiefs of the three armed forces, was front-paged in the Bengali-language daily Prothom Alo.
The President made it clear that the interim government would be constituted without delay and hinted that the military would take all necessary measures to reinstate order as the situation has gone out of hand.
The meeting also decided to release Khaleda Zia, Chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, from house arrest. Shahabuddin ordered the release of all students detained during ongoing protests. A condolence motion was passed in the meeting to express deep sorrow at the death of students and other activists in the anti-quota movement.
Things took a dramatic turn in Bangladesh when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country aboard a military aircraft in secrecy. This situation has thus created a power vacuum that the military, thereafter, has sought to fill. Subsequent to Hasina's departure, protesters stormed her residence and caused wide-scale damages and looting, thereby making the anti-government demonstrations even more fervent that has claimed over 300 lives within the last fortnight.
The Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the military, announced a curfew from 12:00 am till 6:00 am from Tuesday. ISPR also added that Army Chief Wakar-Uz-Zaman will shortly meet representatives of students and teachers. All government, semi-government, and private offices and educational institutions will start functioning from Tuesday, said Gen Zaman.
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