Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin (left) administers the oath of office to Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as the leader of the country’s interim government at a ceremony in Dhaka on August 8, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

A 17-member Bangladesh interim government under the leadership of Noble Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus took oath on Thursday (August 7, 2024), three days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted and fled the country.

Bangladesh President Mohammad Shahabuddin administered the oath to the 84-year-old chief adviser Prof. Yunus at 9.20 p.m., followed by the Cabinet members, at a ceremony attended by politicians including BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leader Amir Shafiqur Rahman and Jatiya Party chairman Ghulam Muhammed Quader, diplomats from the U.K., Japan, China, Philippines, Iran, Argentina, Qatar, The Netherlands and the UAE, civil society figures and senior civil and military officials at Bangabhaban Presidential Palace. Prof. Yunus reached Bangabhaban at 8.45 p.m. No one from the Awami League was seen at Bangabhaban.

Thirteen out of the 16 advisers of the interim government also took oath after Prof. Yunus. Theye were: Dr. Saleh Uddin Ahmed, Dr. Asif Nazrul, Adilur Rahman Khan, Hasan Arif, Tauhid Hossain, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Brig. Gen. (retd.) M. Sakhawat Hossain, Farida Akhtar, Bidhan Ranjan Roy, Dr. A.F.M. Khalid Hossain, Nurjahan Begum, Sharmin Murshid, Nahid Islam (student representative) and Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan (students’ representative).

The other three advisers — Supradip Chakma, Bidhan Ranjan Roy and Farooqui Azam — were not present at the ceremony as they were outside of Dhaka that time.

As the Prime Minister’s Office and official residence Gono Bhaban remain in shambles, the State Guest House, Jamuna, will be the office and residence of Prof. Yunus.

A committee will be formed to assess the damage to these two important installations, and renovation will begin soon afterwards.

Earlier in the day, after landing in Bangladesh from a trip to France, Prof. Yunus, gave an emotional speech recalling the sacrifices made by students whose protests were met with a heavy-hand by the Hasina-led government.

At a press conference at the Dhaka airport, he addressed the people of Bangladesh as “one big family”, and said that the young protesters had given them a “new birth”. Also, he condemned the recent violence directed against the country’s religious minorities over the last two days.

“My first word to you is to protect the country from disorder. Protect it from violence so we can follow the path our students have shown us,” he said.

Restoring stability and stopping anarchy, arson, destructive activities has become forepoint in Bangladesh as attacks, looting and destructive activities persisted yesterday as well in many part of the country, in absence of government and enforcement agencies. 

However, the Bangladesh Army, alongside other armed forces and law enforcement agencies, decided to take strict action to stop the ongoing anarchy, arson attacks, and destructive activities across the country. 

Following the newly appointed Inspector-General of Police’s call to return to duty within 24 hours, some police personnel have started to report back, but many others are waiting for security assurances before returning to their posts. Many force members fear violent reprisals from the public after having opened fire on protesters and the general public under the Hasina regime.

During a regular briefing in Washington on Wednesday (August 7, 2024), Matthew Miller, the U.S. State Department spokesperson, said that the United States believes the interim government should respect democratic principles, the rule of law, and the will of the Bangladeshi people. Mr. Miller also mentioned that they think the interim government will play a vital role in establishing long-term peace and political stability in Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Shamsus Sadat Selim, head of the APD Wing and additional secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, confirmed that all contractual appointments of officials made during the tenure of the recently ousted Awami League government are set to be cancelled. Also, there is a growing demand to remove other officials who benefited from the last government’s tenure from key positions.

Bangladeshi Army officers stand guard at the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on August 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Several residents across Bangladesh spent a sleepless night as they gathered in groups to guard the streets amid fears of robbery and looting by criminals in the violence-hit country, where an interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is all set to take oath on Thursday (August 8, 2024).

Also read: BSF stops entry of 120 people from Bangladesh

Security concerns have gripped the country since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster on Monday as police observed a work abstention, citing fears for their safety amid reports of deadly attacks on security personnel.

Follow Bangladesh crisis LIVE Updates here

The Yunus-led interim government – appointed by President Mohammed Shahabuddin who had dissolved the parliament – is set to take oath in the evening after weeks of tumultuous student protests that forced Hasina to resign and flee the country.

The chaos and fear created by the deadly protests remained. Gangs of criminals have been looting and robbing homes in the absence of law enforcers over the last two days.

Many residents spent a sleepless night on Wednesday amid fears of robbery and looting. From one end of Dhaka to another, particularly Uttara to Mohammadpur, people were concerned about their safety.

Facebook users were posting in different groups and streaming live. Residents in many areas, including in Uttara and Mohammadpur, formed neighbourhood watch groups to stand guard, bdnews24.com news portal reported.

Nazvi Islam, a part-time teacher at Dhaka University and resident of Mohammadpur’s Bosila, said that robbers had terrorised the area on Tuesday night. Mosques were regularly making announcements, asking everyone to remain on alert.

On Wednesday night, residents gathered in groups to guard the streets with sticks and bats. Hundreds of students from the local madrasa also came to guard the area. After standing watch all night, they returned home in the morning. The students divided themselves into small groups and guarded the government buildings and public properties.

Zakirul Islam, a resident of Chanmia Housing in Mohammadpur, said guards were posted at the gates to the housing area on Wednesday night, but residents still could not sleep due to fear.

Abir Hossain, a resident of Mirpur-14, where many government officials live, says that everyone panicked when news spread that robbers had entered their housing complex.

“Last night, a group of people carrying local weapons came and attacked a neighbouring house. They forcefully opened the main gate and looted cash and jewellery,” The Daily Star newspaper quoted a resident of the Naboday Housing area as saying.

Many Facebook users posted or live-streamed videos of robbers attacking a building in the ECB Chattar area adjacent to the Mirpur cantonment. Sounds of Army patron sirens could be heard in the videos.

People posted on Facebook about the attacks and robberies throughout the night. Many have questioned where so many robbers had sprung up from.

Most ATMs were out of cash and even many bank branches were running low on cash as the money supply had been disrupted due to inadequate security, The Daily Star reported, citing bankers.

“Overall, I visited almost 10 booths but failed to withdraw a single penny. Either they had run out of money or restricted the use of ATM cards issued by other banks,” Nasir Hossain, a resident of the capital’s Dhanmondi area, was quoted as saying by the paper.

Managing Director of Pubali Bank Mohammad Ali said although there is no cash crisis in the banking sector, they have been unable to deliver money to booths and branches as security companies that transport money have halted services.

“The security agencies that carry our cash told us that they will not provide services in the current situation,” he said.

Hence, banks are struggling to supply money, especially to remote branches and booths, he added.

Meanwhile, political parties in the country discussed the structure of the interim Cabinet.

The anti-discrimination student movement has reportedly prepared a list of 15 names in the interim government. The list will be finalised after discussions with Yunus after he returns home on Thursday. According to multiple sources in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the leaders of the student movement met BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday and discussed the list.

The anti-discrimination student movement has formed a liaison committee to discuss the list with various parties.