Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh has resigned from her position as Prime Minister amid widespread protests demanding her departure.
Sources revealed to AFP that the Prime Minister left the capital, Dhaka, along with her sister for a safer location. “She wanted to record a speech but could not find the opportunity,” the source added.
This resignation comes on the heels of intense clashes that resulted in 98 fatalities, the deadliest day in the recent weeks of anti-government protests. Bangladesh’s army chief, Waker-Uz-Zaman, is expected to address the nation following these events.
Meanwhile, Indian media reports claim that Hasina departed Bangladesh via military helicopter, allegedly heading to India.
On Saturday, Bangladeshi student leaders announced their intention to continue a nationwide civil disobedience campaign until Hasina steps down. This follows last month’s violent police crackdown on protesters, which left over 200 dead, marking some of the most severe unrest in Hasina’s 15-year rule.
Although troop deployments temporarily restored order, massive crowds returned to the streets this week, gearing up for an all-out non-cooperation movement aimed at crippling the government, set to begin on Sunday.
Students Against Discrimination, the group that initiated the protests, rejected Hasina’s offer for talks, insisting their campaign would persist until she and her government resign. “She must resign and face trial,” declared Nahid Islam, the group’s leader, to a cheering crowd at a national monument in Dhaka.
The group has called on citizens to stop paying taxes and utility bills starting Sunday to pressure the government. They have also urged government employees and workers in the crucial garment industry to strike.
“She must go because we don’t need this authoritarian government,” said Nijhum Yasmin, a 20-year-old protester, to AFP. “Did we liberate the country to see our brothers and sisters shot dead by this regime?”
This looming non-cooperation campaign deliberately echoes the historical civil disobedience movement during Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.
