Bangladesh president dissolves parliament

Bangladesh’s parliament was dissolved on Tuesday a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled following a violent uprising.

Nahid Islam one of the key organisers of the movement against Hasina, said on Facebook with two other student leaders that parliament should be dissolved by 3 pm (0900 GMT) on Tuesday and asked “revolutionary students to be ready” if that did not happen.

The decision to dissolve the parliament was taken following meetings with the heads of defence forces, leaders of political parties, student leaders and some civil society representatives, the presidential statement said.

Bangladesh’s Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman was due to meet student leaders to discuss the formation of an interim government that is expected to hold elections soon after it takes over.

It was not immediately clear if the meeting had taken place and if the students’ deadline to dissolve parliament came after the meeting.

General Zaman, on Monday, had announced Hasina’s resignation following days of violent protests which have seen around 300 people being killed.

The general also announced the formation of an interim government.

Meanwhile, the country’s ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia has been released from years of house arrest, Bangladesh National Party (BNP) spokesperson AKM Wahiduzzaman told local media.

Zia’s release, also confirmed by the president’s office, comes as student leaders have already proposed the name of Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus as the interim government’s chief adviser.