NEW DELHI: Bangladesh army chief Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said on Wednesday that the interim government, headed by Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, will be sworn in on Thursday.
"We are trying our best to hold the oath-taking ceremony tomorrow," the general said in a televised briefing.
"We might do it at around 8:00 pm (1400 GMT). Around 400 hundred people will likely be present," he said.
Addressing the nation after the announcement of his name, Yunus urged people to maintain peace and use the opportunity to build a better nation.
"I fervently appeal to everybody to stay calm. Please refrain from all kinds of violence," the Nobel-winning microfinance pioneer said in a statement.
"Be calm and get ready to build the country. If we take the path of violence everything will be destroyed," he added.
Dr Yunus was among the several opposition voices jailed under the rule of Sheikh Hasina. The now acquitted Dr Yunus, along with six others, were sentenced to jail over labour law violations on January 1st this year.
The Labour Law Appellate Tribunal delivered the verdict on Wednesday and fined Dr Yunus a sum of BDT 30000 under two different sections. Dr Yunus was facing more than 100 other charges over labour law violations and alleged graft.
Former Prime Minister and BNP chairperson Khalida Zia, who was released from jail yesterday, delivered her first virtual public speech in which she urged for peace.
"Not destruction, not revenge, not vengeance, lets build a society based on love, peace and knowledge,’’ she said via a video message from a hospital where she is undergoing treatment.
This was her first speech, six and half years after being sentenced to prison in 2018, over corruption charges.
Meanwhile, former PM Sheikh Hasina is expected to extend her stay in India for "as long as she wants," according to a source. She has reportedly been kept in a safe house.
There are conjectures about where Hasina could possibly go from India, as the UK remains hesitant to grant her asylum. According to media reports, the US has revoked Hasina's official visa preventing her travel to the country. For the moment, India is considered a safe place for the prime minister who has fled her country amid violent protests demanding her resignation.
Meanwhile, the ground situation in Bangladesh continues to be volatile as protesters vandalised national monuments and stormed government buildings looting it. There have also been reports of arson attack on the properties of the supporters of Hasina's Awami League party. The Indira Gandhi Centre in Dhaka was also reportedly vandalised and looted.
"The last time something like this happened was after the Parliamentary elections in October 2001, when for ten days there was looting, arson and attack on minorities. This time it is worse... there seems to be no control in sight,’’ Professor Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah told TNIE.
Meanwhile, since the police are on strike (as many have been killed) and the army has gone back to barracks, students are now manning traffic and also cleaning up the roads.
The situation continues to be volatile as houses and businesses of most Awami League leaders have been burnt and they are all on the run. It is a long road ahead before normalcy sets in.
The ongoing violent outburst and chaos follows weeklong protests led by students against a discriminatory job quota introduced by the Sheikh Hasina-led government. The protests were met with deadly violence by the police which resulted in the killings of several students, which inturn led to further clashes. The violence has so far claimed more than 400 lives.
