Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus To Lead Bangladesh's Army-Backed Interim Government

Student leaders whose protest campaign culminated in Ms Hasina's ouster met with Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman and President Mohammed Shahabuddin late last evening, and the decision was taken to "to form an interim government with Muhammad Yunus as its chief," the President's office announced.

The Bangladeshi Army has reshuffled several generals, demoting some seen as close to Sheikh Hasina, and sacking Ziaul Ahsan, a commander of the feared Rapid Action Battalion paramilitary force. Former Prime Minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, 78, was also released from years of house arrest yesterday.

Rights groups have alleged that hundreds of Hindu houses, businesses and temples have been vandalised since the fall of Sheikh Hasina government.

Ms Hasina, 76, was forced to resign as Prime Minister Monday evening after weeks-long protests over a jobs quota killed over 400 people. She fled Dhaka reportedly after the Bangladesh Army gave her a 45-minute ultimatum.

Ms Hasina landed at the Hindon airbase, near Delhi, on Monday in a Bangladesh military aircraft and is unlikely to move out of India for the next couple of days, people familiar with the matter said.

Sources had said she wanted to go to London to claim sanctuary, but her son Sajeeb Wazed has dismissed the speculation. Asked about multiple reports about UK's "silence" her request for asylum and revocation of her visa by the US, Mr Wazed said, "The reports about her requesting asylum are incorrect. She has not requested asylum anywhere. So the question of UK or US not responding yet is not true".

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar yesterday said the government is giving time to Sheikh Hasina to "recover" and let them know about her next move. "At very short notice, she requested approval to come for the moment to India. We simultaneously received a request for flight clearance from the Bangladesh authorities," he said.

Mr Jaishankar also briefed the leaders of all parties about the situation in the violence-hit nation and the steps taken by the Indian government to address the potential security, economic, and diplomatic repercussions of this situation.

He said that the government is in touch with the Bangladeshi Army to ensure the safety of Indian nationals and the minorities in Bangladesh amid violence.

The anti-government rallies that began in June against civil service job quotas escalated into some of the worst unrest of Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule and shifted into wider calls for the 76-year-old to step down.