Nobel Peace Prize winner Yunus to lead Bangladesh’s interim government

Nobel laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus has been appointed as Bangladesh’s interim leader.

Recall that Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country after weeks of violent protests by citizens.

Yunus, 84, was appointed a day after Hasina left.

The Nobel laureate, who is a long-time political foe of the ousted prime minister, has been praised for his pioneering use of micro-lending.

Hasina considers him an enemy of the people – he is currently out on bail, appealing against a six-month jail sentence in what she calls a politically motivated case.

Students who led mass protests that ousted Hasina refused to accept a military-led government and urged Prof Yunus to head an interim government.

The decision to appoint Yunus as the interim government’s chief adviser was a follow-up to a meeting between President Mohammed Shahabuddin, military leaders and student leaders.

“When students who have sacrificed so much ask me to step in at this difficult time, how can I refuse?” said Prof Yunus.

“He returned to Dhaka from Paris where he underwent a minor medical procedure,” his spokesman said.

Recall that the protests in Bangladesh began in early July with demands from students to abolish quotas in civil service jobs, but have snowballed into a broader anti-government movement.

READ ALSO: Bangladesh president dissolves parliament, frees ex-PM

More than 400 people have been reported killed in clashes between government forces and protesters – most of them civilians shot by police.

On Monday alone, more than 100 people were killed across the country, making it the deadliest day of the movement. Hundreds of police stations were also burned.

Hours before protesters stormed and looted the former PM’s official residence in the capital Dhaka, Hasina resigned and fled to neighboring India, bringing a swift and abrupt end to her nearly 15-year rule.

Even as Bangladesh’s economy grew in the last decade, the former PM has been increasingly criticized for silencing his critics and jailing political opponents.

Some of them, like former PM Khaleda Zia and activist Ahmad Bin Quasem, were released soon after Hasina’s hasty exit.

Zia leads the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which boycotted elections in 2014 and again in 2024, saying free and fair elections were impossible under Hasina.

The 78-year-old was jailed in 2018 for corruption – charges he says were politically motivated.

Human rights groups say Quasem was detained in 2016, one of hundreds of people who were subjected to enforced disappearances during Hasina’s tenure.

Yunus, who was sentenced to six months in prison in January for violating labour laws, said he too was a victim of Hasina’s wrath.

He has faced other accusations in the past, dating back to 2011 when he was accused of defaming Bangladeshi politicians.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Yunus to lead Bangladesh’s interim government first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.