Bangladesh’s PM Hasina Wajid resigns, escapes to India

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned and left the country on Monday amid escalating violence, according to media reports. The unrest has claimed more lives, marking some of the deadliest clashes since Bangladesh’s independence over five decades ago.

According to Al-Jazeera.com, Hasina Wajid has left for India keeping in view fury of masses in the country.

Notably, the student activists had organized a march to Dhaka on Monday, defying a nationwide curfew to demand Hasina’s resignation, following a series of deadly clashes across the country that left nearly 100 people dead.

As the protests gained momentum, armored personnel carriers and troops were seen patrolling the streets of the capital. Civilian traffic was sparse, limited to a few motorcycles and three-wheeled taxis.

The Daily Star newspaper reported that at least six people were killed in clashes between police and protesters in the Jatrabari and Dhaka Medical College areas on Monday, though Reuters was unable to immediately verify these reports.

In some parts of the city, police deployed sound grenades to disperse small groups of protesters, according to the Bengali-language newspaper Prothom Alo. Thousands of protesters reportedly surrounded law enforcement officers stationed in front of a key building elsewhere in the city.

Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman was initially scheduled to address the nation at 2 p.m. local time (0800 GMT), but the address was delayed to 3 p.m. (0900 GMT) due to ongoing talks with stakeholders outside the military, an army officer told Reuters.

Earlier, the military spokesperson’s office had urged the public to “refrain from violence and be patient” until the army chief’s address, as reported by Prothom Alo.

The unrest in Bangladesh was sparked last month by student groups demanding the abolition of a controversial quota system in government jobs. This movement has since evolved into a broader campaign to oust Hasina, who secured a fourth consecutive term in an election boycotted by the opposition in January.

On Sunday, at least 91 people were killed and hundreds injured as violence erupted across the country. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse tens of thousands of protesters. A nationwide curfew was imposed starting Sunday evening, and railway services were suspended, with the country’s vast garments industry shutting down.

In the midst of the crisis, Sheikh Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, called on the country’s security forces to prevent any power takeover from his mother’s rule. In a Facebook post, the U.S.-based advisor to Hasina urged the forces to “keep our people safe and our country safe and to uphold the constitution,” warning that any change in leadership could undo the progress Bangladesh has made.

Joy stressed the importance of maintaining his mother’s government, saying, “All our development and progress would vanish if she is forced out, and Bangladesh may not recover from such a setback.”