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

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 into a bigger challenge for Hasina’s 15-year rule as more than 300 people, including students, were killed during spiralling violence

Yunus, who was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work developing microcredit markets, was in the French capital for the 2024 Olympics when he was chosen for the interim role and returned home earlier on Thursday to tight security at the airport in Dhaka.

In his first comments after his arrival, he said at a news briefing that his priority would be to restore order. “Bangladesh is a family. We have to unite it,” Yunus said while flanked by student leaders. “It has immense possibility.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his “best wishes” to Yunus, saying New Delhi was “committed” to working with neighbouring Dhaka.

“My best wishes to Professor Muhammad Yunus on the assumption of his new responsibilities,” Modi wrote on the social media platform X. “India remains committed to working with Bangladesh to fulfil the shared aspirations of both our peoples for peace, security and development.”

Al Jazeera’s Tanvir Chowdury, reporting from Dhaka, said Yunus wants the people to feel secure and has asked people not to seek vengeance or reprisal.

“Most people say it would be good if the interim government stays for a long time to clean up the system,” he said.

Chowdury said the people want an independent judiciary and election commission to “depoliticise the system”.

“Because whenever there is a political government, there are a lot of people who are loyal to that government and given a higher position, and that whole system gets corrupted,” he said.

On Wednesday, a tribunal in Dhaka acquitted Yunus in a labour law violation case involving a telecommunications company he founded in which he was convicted and sentenced to six months in jail. He was out on bail in the case.

Yunus has been a longtime opponent of Hasina, who had called him a “bloodsucker” allegedly for using force to extract loan repayments from rural poor people, mainly women. Yunus has denied the allegations.Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been appointed as the head of Bangladesh's interim government, Dhaka Tribune reported. Bangladesh President's Press Secretary Joynal Abedin made the announcement.

The decision regarding the appointment of Bangladesh's interim government head was made during a meeting between President Shahabuddin and the coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement

Joynal Abedin said that the remaining members of the interim government will be finalized after talks with various political parties, according to the Dhaka Tribune report.

Earlier, a 13-member team from the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement traveled to Bangabhaban to discuss Bangladesh's current situation and the outline of the interim government, Dhaka Tribune reported. They traveled to Bangabhaban on Tuesday at 6 pm (local time) to call on the President and the chiefs of the three armed forces.

Bangladesh is facing a fluid political situation with Sheikh Hasina tendering her resignation from her post in the wake of mounting protests on August 5.

The protests, led mainly by students demanding an end to the quota system for government jobs, evolved into anti-government demonstrations.

A day after Sheikh Hasina resigned as Prime Minister of Bangladesh and left the country, President Mohammed Shahabuddin announced the dissolution of the country's parliament to make way for the formation of an interim administration, Dhaka Tribune reported.

Based on the decision from a meeting of President Shahabuddin with the heads of the three armed forces, leaders of various political parties, representatives of civil society, and leaders of the Students Against Discrimination movement, the national parliament was dissolved, a press release from the president's office stated.

It further said that Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been released from jail. The statement said that the process of releasing those detained in the student movement and various cases from July 1 to August 5 has begun, with many already being freed.

In a statement on Monday, the president's press team said that a meeting led by Shahabuddin had "decided unanimously" to free Khaleda Zia immediately.

"The meeting has also decided to free all the people who have been arrested during the student protests," the president's statement added.Nobel laureate Prof Mohammad Yunus, the designated head of Bangladesh’s interim government, on Wednesday fervently appealed everybody “to stay calm and refrain from all kinds of violence” as the country witnessed a major reshuffle in the security establishment following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government.

Army chief Gen Waker-Uz-Zaman announced that the interim government would take oath on Thursday around 8 pm. He said the advisory council may have 15 members. General Zaman said the armed forces would provide all possible support to Yunus

Yunus, whose name was first proposed for the top job by the coordinators of the Students Against Discrimination movement, congratulated the “brave students” who took the lead in making, what he said, “Our second Victory Day possible.”

“Let us make the best use of our new victory. Let us not let this slip away because of our mistakes,” said the 84-year-old economist, who will return home from Paris on Thursday to take charge. He appealed to all students, political parties and non-political people to stay calm.

His appeal comes as the Army chief acknowledged that there were incidents of looting and anarchy after Hasina’s ouster. He said the police forces became “totally dysfunctional” and it was not possible on the part of the military along with the navy and air force troops to “fill the void”.

“But we will do everything possible to bring the culprits to justice,” he added.

With police absent from their duty to keep law and order or manage traffic, students carried out traffic management as volunteers for the second consecutive day on Wednesday. There were reports of attacks on police stations and facilities across the country on Tuesday, resulting in numerous police casualties, which have led to this unprecedented situation, media reports said.

In another development, Additional Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidur Rahman was appointed Director General of elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in a reshuffle on Wednesday, according to home ministry, which reconstituted the top positions in the security establishment.

Former PM Khaleda Zia, who was released from jail after the ouster of her arch-rival Hasina, addressed a massive rally of her party in Dhaka where she appealed for peace instead of destruction and revenge to rebuild the country. Zia, 79, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for graft in 2018 under the rule of Hasina. “I have been released now. I want to thank the brave people who were in a do-or-die struggle to make possible the impossible,” said the chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Meanwhile, the Indian High Commission in Dhaka continues to remain functional and its helplines are open for assistance needed by Indian nationals. “Our diplomats and officials are in Dhaka, although non-essential staff and families returned this morning,” a source said, sharing helpline numbers: +8801958383679, +8801958383680 and +8801937400591.