Bangladesh PM cancels overseas trips as protests escalate
Soldiers stand guard following a curfew and the deployment of military forces in Dhaka on July 20. (AFP Photo)
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has canceled her overseas travel plans amid escalating protests that have resulted in dozens of deaths and triggered a nationwide internet blackout.
Hasina was scheduled to travel to Spain and Brazil starting Sunday. Still, her press secretary, Nayeemul Islam Khan, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that these plans were shelved “because of the prevailing situation.”
This decision comes in the wake of intense clashes between student protesters and police, which have claimed at least 105 lives, according to hospital reports cited by AFP.
Deadly clashes between protesters, police
The government’s job quota policy, which reserves 30% of government job openings for family members of veterans, has sparked protests from the 1971 War of Independence from Pakistan.
Critics argue that this policy has been abused, fueling anger among students facing a youth unemployment rate of approximately 40%, according to the latest census.
In response to the escalating violence, the government has deployed the army to support local law enforcement agencies, imposed a curfew, and enforced an internet shutdown that has disrupted ATMs and mobile money services.
Opposition leader arrested
On Friday, officials arrested Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed, the joint secretary of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and banned all public gatherings amid the ongoing protests.
The situation has posed one of the toughest challenges to Hasina’s administration, which secured a fourth consecutive term earlier this year.
The government has not commented on the reported death toll or the internet outages.
The protests are critical for Bangladesh’s economy, as the country seeks funds from creditors and the International Monetary Fund to bolster its dwindling foreign exchange reserves.
