7 August 2024: Amidst escalating unrest in Bangladesh, former Information and Technology Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak and Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud have been detained while attempting to flee the country. These developments followed the resignation of Awami League party chief Sheikh Hasina as Prime Minister and her subsequent escape to India.
Palak was apprehended at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Tuesday. According to the Dhaka Tribune, he was detained by Air Force personnel while trying to leave for India. Mahmud, the former Foreign Minister, was also arrested at the airport. Reports from Daily Bangladesh suggest he made an unsuccessful attempt to flee through a land port on the India-Bangladesh border before his capture.
These arrests occurred a day after Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India amid widespread anti-government protests. President Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved the Parliament on Tuesday following an ultimatum from student protesters, leading to a chaotic scramble among Awami League leaders to escape the country.
Currently, Hasina is at Hindon Airbase in Ghaziabad, India. She is seeking asylum in the UK, though initial reports indicate the UK may not grant her refuge. Her sister, Rehana, a UK citizen, is reportedly planning to leave for the UK soon. Additionally, sources close to the opposition reveal that the United States has revoked Hasina’s visa, amid Western pressure for her ousting.
On Tuesday, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar informed Parliament that Hasina had requested safe passage to India following her abrupt resignation. Jaishankar stated that Hasina was granted permission to travel to India on ‘very short notice’.
Following Hasina’s resignation, Bangladesh’s Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman assumed control of the administration, forming an interim government. In a televised address, General Zaman confirmed Hasina’s resignation and announced the Army’s responsibility for maintaining law and order. He assured that both the Army and police had been instructed not to use firearms as protests continued to escalate.
The unrest in Bangladesh was primarily triggered by the controversial quota system, which reserves 30 percent of government jobs for families of veterans from the 1971 liberation war. This policy has sparked widespread discontent, culminating in the recent nationwide protests and political turmoil.
