Soldiers to return to barracks after police resume operations: Bangladesh army chief

Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman also said that there is improvement in the law and order situation in the country.

Bangladesh's army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman. Screengrab- IANS

DHAKA: Bangladesh's Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said on Monday that soldiers will return to barracks once the police resume normal operations, as he met and reviewed the security situation with the interim government head Muhammad Yunus.

Last week, chaos escalated in Bangladesh forcing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee the country. Hasina has been given refuge in India while the UK rejected her appeal for asylum and the US revoked her official visa.

The power vacuum created by Hasina's overthrow was immidietly filled by the Army before an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus took charge.

Yunus was recommended as the head of the interim government by the students group which has been at the forefront of the nationwide protests against the Hasina-led government. The protests were met with violent crackdown by the government killing more than 400 people, mostly students.

The protests began as a peaceful student movement against a discriminative job quota introduced by the Hasina-led government but quickly exacerbated into a full-fledged anti-government uprising after police shot at protesting students, killing one of them on the spot. The protesters turned violent and enraged students took to looting government buildings including the official residence of Hasina. Several national monuments were also vandalised and violence took the centre stage while the police was nowhere to be found.

While responding to journalists at an event, Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman said that the soldiers who took charge of the law and order in the absence of police will return to barracks once police resume normal operations.

He also said that there is improvement in the law and order situation in the country.

"If the situation continues to improve, all regular forces will carry out their counter-terrorism operations," he was quoted as saying by the United News of Bangladesh news agency.

He said that 30 crimes against minority communities have been committed in 20 districts of the country.

He called upon the political parties to shun all violence and do politics for the people.

Earlier, he held a meeting with senior government officials including the Khulna Divisional Administration, District Administration, DIG, and KMP Commissioner.

During the political turmoil, most police stations in the country, including the capital Dhaka, had no police personnel present.

Multiple police officers have reported that over four hundred police stations across the country have experienced attacks, vandalism, arson, and looting.

A police headquarters official said that the police have not faced such a situation since 1971, the report said.

Meanwhile, the protesting police officers in Bangladesh have agreed to call off their strike after the interim government assured them to meet most of their demands, according to media reports on Monday.

The Bangladesh Police Subordinate Employees Association (BPSEA) declared the strike on August 6, following clashes across the country between police and students during the widespread protests against Hasina's government over a controversial quota system in jobs.

The clashes led to the fall of Hasina's Awami League-led government and forced her to flee to India.

Many police personnel did not return to work out of fear after the government's fall, and those who did went to their police stations in plain clothes.

The army chief also met with the Chief Adviser of the interim government, Prof Yunus, on Monday at the State Guest House.

The meeting, which included senior Bangladesh Army officers, focused on the nation's security and the role of the military in maintaining law and order.

According to sources from the chief adviser's office, Yunus expressed his satisfaction with the significant improvement in the country's law and order situation.

He praised the military for its active involvement in stabilising the situation.

Earlier in the day, Yunus also held a meeting with secretaries from over two dozen ministries.

During this session, he reviewed the progress of various development projects being implemented across the country.

Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain was present during the discussions.