Sheikh Hasina will be back, says son

Muhammad Yunus (right) takes the oath of office as chief adviser of Bangladesh’s new interim government during the oath-taking ceremony administered by President Mohammed Shahabuddin (left) in Dhaka, on Thursday. Pic/AFP

Sheikh Hasina, who quit as prime minister and fled Bangladesh amid the protests, will be back in the country as soon as democracy is restored, his son Sajeeb Wazed Joy said on Thursday. He also blamed Pakistan's intelligence agency, ISI, for fuelling the ongoing unrest in the country. Joy said Hasina would definitely return to Bangladesh, but it is not yet decided whether she will be back as a "retired or active" politician.

Muhammad Yunus sworn-in

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Nobel laureate economist Muhammad Yunus returned to the protest-torn Bangladesh from Paris on Thursday to take oath as the head of the interim government following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.

Sheikh Hasina with son Sajeeb Wazed Joy. Pic/Twitter

Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as the head of Bangladesh's interim government, three days after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to quit and flee the country amid massive unrest in the country, Al Jazeera reported. Yunus, 84, took oath at a ceremony in Dhaka on Thursday night. The key tasks for Yunus will now be to restore peace in Bangladesh and prepare for the new elections.

Bangladesh's figurehead President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath to Yunus for his role as chief advisor, which is the equivalent to a prime minister, as per Al Jazeera. The ceremony was held in the presence of foreign diplomats, civil society members, top businessmen and members of the former opposition party at the presidential palace in Dhaka.

However, no representatives of Sheikh Hasina's party, Awami League were present. At an emotional press conference at the airport, Yunus addressed the youth, saying, "The nation is in your hands now. You have to rebuild it as per your aspirations. You have earned independence for the country," he said.

"What I would like to stress first is to save the country from chaos. Save the country from violence so that we can move forward on the path that the students have shown us," he added. This interim government will lead the country for a certain period and oversee the election to transition power to an elected government.

232 people killed since fall of govt

Crowds in front of the BNP HQ on Wednesday. Pic/AFP

At least 232 people were killed in Bangladesh in the incidents of violence that erupted across the country following the fall of the government led by Sheikh Hasina on Monday, according to a media report on Thursday, taking the death toll to 560 since the anti-quota protests first started in mid-July. Hasina resigned as Prime Minister and fled the country after weeks of tumultuous student protests against her regime.A total of 232 were reported dead as of Wednesday evening since Hasina's ouster, Prothom Alo newspaper reported. Before this, some 328 were killed in the clashes.