Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to lead Bangladesh interim government

The decision “to form an interim government with … Yunus as its chief” was taken at a meeting of President Mohammed Shahabuddin, military leaders and the heads of the Students Against Discrimination group, Shahabuddin’s press office said.

Shahabuddin also ordered the release of opposition leader Khaleda Zia from house arrest. Zia, a long-time rival of Hasina, was convicted on corruption charges by Hasina’s government in 2018.

On Tuesday, some senior positions in the military were reshuffled. The student protesters said they would not allow any military-backed government.

The streets of Dhaka, the capital, appeared calmer on Tuesday, with no reports of new violence as jubilant protesters thronged the ousted leader’s residence. Some posed for selfies with soldiers guarding the building, where a day earlier angry protesters had looted furniture, paintings, flowerpots and chickens.

Dhaka’s main airport resumed operations after an eight-hour suspension.

The Bangladesh Police Association said it was launching a strike across the country because of a lack of security after numerous police stations were attacked on Monday and “many” officers were killed, though it did not give any number of the dead.

It said officers would not return to work unless their safety is assured. The association also apologised for violent police attacks on student protesters, saying officers had been “forced to open fire” and had been cast as the “villain”.

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‘Our country has been liberated’: Bangladeshis celebrate as prime minister resigns and flees

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.

Protests against a quota system for government jobs, which