Bangladeshi President Mohammed Shahabuddin late last evening chaired a crucial meeting to discuss the formation of a military-backed caretaker government. Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, along with the head of the navy and airforce, and top leaders of several opposition parties including the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami party, attended the meeting.
President Shahabuddin also ordered the release of jailed former prime minister and key opposition leader Khaleda Zia, hours after her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina was ousted.
Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman – in an address to the nation – yesterday announced that Sheikh Hasina had resigned and the Army would form an interim government. “The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed — it is time to stop the violence,” said General Waker.
Sheikh Hasina – the daughter of Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – was given a 45-minute ultimatum to step down as the Prime Minister, it is learnt.
Ms Hasina, who started her fifth term as Prime Minister earlier this year, left state capital Dhaka in a military aircraft for India after resigning. The 76-year-old is accompanied by her younger sister, Sheikh Rehana.
Sheikh Hasina met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval evening after landing at the Hindon Air Force base in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad – around 30 km from Delhi. MS Hasina is expected to leave for London later, sources told NDTV, where she is seeking political asylum.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been briefed on the situation in Bangladesh by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. There is no word yet if Mr Modi will meet Mrs Hasina.
Western powers called for calm in Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina fled. The United States called on all sides to “refrain from further violence”, while the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a “peaceful, orderly and democratic transition”.
Sheikh Hasina had sought to quell nationwide protests against her government since early July but she fled the country after brutal unrest on Sunday in which nearly 100 people were killed, taking the death count since the anti-government demonstrations began to over 300. 
Protests began in June after student groups’ demands for the scrapping of a controversial quota system in government jobs escalated into a movement seeking the end of her rule.

Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen, a staunch critic of communalism, has found an irony in ousted Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina’s escape in the face of deadly student-led protests.

Ms Nasreen said Hasina had thrown her out of Bangladesh to “please Islamists”, and the “same Islamists” were part of the student movement that forced her to leave the country.

“Hasina in order to please Islamists threw me out of my country in 1999 after I entered Bangladesh to see my mother in her deathbed and never allowed me to enter the country again. The same Islamists have been in the student movement who forced Hasina to leave the country today,” said Ms Nasreen in an online post.

Ms Hasina fled to India in a military plane yesterday and is likely to fly to London to seek asylum in the UK.

The author blamed her for allowing “Islamists to grow” and letting those involved in corruption to thrive. She also spoke against Army rule in her country and batted for democracy.

Read | “She Didn’t Want To Leave, We Insisted”: Sheikh Hasina’s Son To NDTV

“Hasina had to resign and leave the country. She was responsible for her situation. She made Islamists to grow. She allowed her people to involve in corruption. Now Bangladesh must not become like Pakistan. Army must not rule. Political parties should bring democracy & secularism,” she said in an earlier post.

Ms Nasreen had to leave Bangladesh in 1994 in the wake of death threats by fundamentalist outfits over her book “Lajja”. The 1993 book was banned in Bangladesh, but became a bestseller elsewhere.

Khaleda Zia, the jailed arch-rival of Ms Hasina, was the prime minister at that time.

The author has been living in exile since.

Read | Sheikh Hasina Flees, Bangladesh President Orders Ex PM Khaleda Zia’s Release

Bangladesh saw one of its deadliest demonstrations on Sunday with nearly 100 protesters dying in clashes with cops. In the fallout, the protesters breached the Prime Minister’s residence on Monday. Ms Hasina avoided a direct confrontation, having already resigned and left the country in a military plane.

The country’s army chief called a press conference hours later and declared an interim government would be formed to run the country.

Later in the day, Ms Hasina landed at the Hindon Air Force base in India – about 30 km from capital Delhi. She is likely to leave for London where she may seek asylum, sources told NDTV. They said her plane was being refuelled for the flight to London.

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was safely escorted to India following her resignation amid political turmoil. Security measures were stringent, involving the Indian Air Force and top officials. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met her upon arrival, and an interim government was announced in Bangladesh. Hasina exited following political crisis prompted by violent protests and vandalism.