Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to head Bangladesh’s interim government

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will head Bangladesh's interim government after longtime prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country amid a mass uprising that left hundreds of people dead and pushed the South Asian nation to the brink of chaos.

The decision, announced early on Wednesday by Joynal Abedin, the press secretary of the country's figurehead President Mohammed Shahabuddin, came during a meeting that included military chiefs, organisers of the student protests that helped drive Hasina from power, prominent business leaders and civil society members.

A longtime political opponent of Hasina, Yunus is expected to return soon from Paris, where he is advising Olympic organisers, media reports said.

An economist and banker, he was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work developing microcredit markets. Yunus has been hailed for bringing thousands out of poverty through Grameen Bank, which he founded in 1983, and which makes small loans to businesspeople who wouldn't qualify for regular bank loans.

Other members of the new government would be decided soon, after discussions with political parties and other stakeholders, Abedin said. The president had dissolved parliament on Tuesday, clearing the way for an interim administration and new elections.

Shahabuddin also ordered the release of opposition leader Khaleda Zia from house arrest, a longtime Hasina rival who was convicted on corruption charges in 2018

Yunus, who had called Hasina's resignation the country's "second liberation day," had faced corruption charges during her rule that he derided as politically motivated. He could not immediately be reached for comment, but a key organiser of the protests, Nahid Islam, said he had agreed to head the interim administration.

Islam said protesters would propose more names for the Cabinet and suggested that it would be difficult for those in power to ignore their wishes.

Hasina fled to India by helicopter as protesters defied a military curfew to march on the capital, with thousands eventually storming her residence and other buildings associated with her party and family.

The news that Yunus would lead the interim government came amid reports that Bangladesh's army chief, Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman, told Hasina's office that troops would not be able to enforce a curfew she had called for amid the protests, the night before she fled the country.

Hasina's army chief held a meeting with his generals and decided that troops would not open fire on civilians to enforce the lockdown, according to two serving army officers with knowledge of the discussions, according to Reuters.

On Monday, Hasina resigned and fled the country after at least 300 people were killed in a crackdown on demonstrations that began as student protests against preferential job quotas and swelled into a movement demanding her downfall.

Students said the quota system disproportionately allocated government jobs to the descendants of freedom fighters from the 1971 independence war. The violence worsened on Sunday when 91 people were killed in nationwide clashes - the deadliest day since the protests began in July.

Zaman has not publicly explained his decision to withdraw support from Hasina and she could not be reached for comment. Her son and adviser, Sajeeb Wazed, also did not respond to repeated requests for comment, according to Reuters.

But India's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that Hasina apparently decided to resign after a meeting with the leaders of the security forces. She then requested at short notice permission from New Delhi to come to India while Bangladesh authorities simultaneously sought flight clearance. According to the latest information, she is still in India.

Hasina, who has ruled Bangladesh for 20 of the last 30 years, was elected to a fourth term leading the country of 170 million in January, after arresting thousands of opposition leaders and workers. That election was boycotted by her main rivals.

With Reuters and Redwan Ahmed in Dhaka