Prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Monday and fled the country, ending her 15-year rule amid an unprecedented student-led mass uprising against her authoritarian regime.
She left her Ganabhaban official residence by a military helicopter with her sister Sheikh Rehana before the army chief, General Waker-Uz-Zaman, confirmed her resignation at a press conference in front of his Dhaka cantonment office.
Thousands of people stormed to the prime minister鈥檚 Ganabhaban residence in jubilation soon after she left and some climbed atop a statue of the country鈥檚 founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
She reached India, where Hasina and her family were sheltered, Indian daily The Hindu reported hours after the ousted Bangladesh ruler fled the country.
Before confirming Hasina鈥檚 resignation, Waker-Uz-Zaman said that he had invited representatives of different political parties and discussed with them the formation of an interim government.
鈥榃e had a nice discussion. I think this discussion would be fruitful. And we will run the country through forming an interim government,鈥� said Waker-Uz-Zaman, adding that they would go to president Md Shahabuddin Chuppu to discuss the formation of the new government.
Waker-Uz-Zaman confirmed that representatives of all major parties, except the Awami League, were present at the meeting.
He assured all of arranging trials for all killings and injustices and said that he would take responsibility for saving people鈥檚 lives and properties.
鈥楧o not lose your hope. The many demands that you have we will fulfil that and will restore peace and discipline in the country,鈥� he said, urging all to refrain from vandalism, killing, and clashes.
At noon, Inter-Services Public Relations announced that the army chief would address the nation, asking protesters to keep their patience until then.
As street barriers were removed in Dhaka, thousands of protesters rushed to Shahbagh Square in anticipation of Hasnina鈥檚 fall.
Waker was supposed to address the nation at 2:00pm but later it was deferred to 3:00pm.
He finally skipped the address and instead held a press conference, which triggered wild jubilation among the protesters and opposition supporters.
Following the resignation of Hasina, who was labelled as a fascist and dictator by protestors, hundreds of thousands of people also entered the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.
The mob set fire to different entities, including AL offices, police stations, and media houses, following Hasina鈥檚 fall.
After forming a government in January 2009, Hasina, until Monday, ignored all local and international criticisms against her misrules, including serious violations of human rights, snatching of freedom of expression, enacting various draconian laws, massive corruption, destroying of all democratic institutions, and ruination of the electoral system.
She ignored all political demands for fair elections and was elected in the 2014 general election, with 153 lawmakers winning unopposed amid a boycott of all opposition parties.
Ballot boxes were filled up well before voting in the 2014 general election, and her latest parliament was formed in 2024 in a one-sided general election that was levelled as a dummy election.
At the latest, her government carried out a massive crackdown on students and other protestors when the Student Movement Against Discrimination, a platform of anti-quota protestors, demanded reform of the quota system in public service.
Around 350 people were killed in the July massacre against protesting students and ordinary people that started with the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the then-ruling Awami League of Sheikh Hasina, carrying out an attack on agitators on July 15.
The attack added fuel to the student protests, which turned into civil unrest due to the mass killings and mass arrests of agitators.
Students presented nine-point demands, including an unconditional public apology from Sheikh Hasina by accepting responsibility for the killing of more than 200 people in violent clashes between July 16 and July 21 and their aftermath.
Students also sought the removal of her home minister, law minister, road transport and bridges minister, and education minister, assurance of justice for the killing of students; freeing all arrested students; and withdrawal of false cases against them.
Without addressing the demands, the authority picked up and detained six key coordinators of the student movement unlawfully between four and six days at the detective branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
The six coordinators鈥擭ahid Islam, Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah, Asif Mahmud, Nusrat Tabassum, and Abu Baker Mojumder鈥攐bserved a 32-hour hunger strike at the DB office before they were freed amid growing local and international criticism.
Later, at a mass rally at the Central Shaheed Minar on Friday, they announced a one-point demand for Sheikh Haisna鈥檚 resignation, as their nine-point demands were not addressed.
People flood the Shahbagh crossing in the capital on Monday to celebrate the resignation of Sheikh Hasina as prime minister and her fleeing from the country. 鈥� Sony Ramany
