Muhammad Yunus takes oath as head of Bangladesh’s interim government

The Nobel Peace laureate says he will perform his duties ‘sincerely’ as he is selected interim leader after Sheikh Hasina’s resignation.

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus has been sworn in as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government, three days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and flee to neighbouring India.

Yunus, 84, took the oath during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Dhaka on Thursday night that was attended by political leaders, civil society leaders, generals and diplomats.

“I will uphold, support and protect the constitution,” Yunus said as he was administered the oath by President Mohammed Shahabuddin, adding that he will perform his duties “sincerely”.

More than a dozen members of his cabinet, whose titles are advisers, not ministers, also took the oath as the caretaker government will now seek to restore peace and prepare for new elections.

They include Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud, top leaders of the Students Against Discrimination group, which led the weeks-long protests that ousted Hasina.

Others include Touhid Hossain, a former foreign secretary, and Hassan Ariff, a former attorney general. Syeda Rizwana Hasan, an award-winning environmental lawyer, and Asif Nazrul, a top law professor and writer, were also sworn in.

Adilur Rahman Khan, a prominent human rights activist who was sentenced to two years in jail by Hasina’s government, also took the oath as an adviser.

No representatives of Hasina’s Awami League party were present at the ceremony.

Hasina quit on Monday after nationwide protests that began in July against a quota system for government jobs that critics said favoured people with connections to her party.

But the demonstrations soon grew