Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will lead Bangladesh's interim government

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus will lead Bangladesh's interim government after ousting longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.The decision, announced by President Mohammad Shahabuddin's press secretary Zainal Abedin, was taken at a meeting with military chiefs, student protest organizers,business leaders , members of civil society on Wednesday morning.

Muhammad Yunus a longstanding political opponent of Hasina is expected to return from Paris on Thursday to lead the interim government, which will be sworn in on the same dayHer lawyers confirmed that a Dhaka court had upheld a conviction for labor law violations that Muhammad Yunus claimed was part of Hasina's politically motivated campaign.

An economist and banker, Muhammad Yunus won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in developing the microfinance market through the Grameen Bank, which he founded in 1983 to help lift people out of poverty.Abedin said, other members of the new government will be selected after discussions with political parties and stakeholders. President Shahabuddin dissolved Parliament on Tuesday to pave the way for the interim administration and fresh elections. arrested.

 

Zia, Hasina's rival  was convicted on corruption charges in 2018. Muhammad Yunus who called Hasina's resignation the country's "second liberation day" faced allegations of corruption during her rule which he derided as politically motivated.

Protest organizer Nahid Islam confirmed Yunus had agreed to lead the interim government and said protesters would propose more cabinet members. Hasina fled to India by helicopter as thousands of protesters defied a military curfew and stormed her residence and other buildings associated with her party.

Reports indicate that Bangladesh Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman has informed Hasina's office that the army will not enforce her curfew. On Monday, Hasina resigned and fled after a crackdown on protests killed at least 300 people. The protests that began over preferential job quotas for descendants of freedom fighters turned into movements demanding Hasina's removal.

 

Violence peaked on Sunday, with 91 people killed in nationwide clashes. India's Ministry of External Affairs said Hasina decided to resign after a meeting with security forces leaders and sought short-notice permission to enter India, where she remains.

 

Hasina, who has ruled Bangladesh for 20 of the past 30 years, was re-elected to a fourth term in January after a widely boycotted election marked by the arrest of thousands of opposition figures.