Bangladesh’s President Dissolves Parliament Following PM’s Resignation

Bangladesh's president Mohammed Shahabuddin dissolved the parliament on Tuesday, only a day after the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her leaving the country against the backdrop of protests against her government. In a statement, Bangladeshi presidency said that the decision to dissolve parliament was issued by the countrys president hours after his meeting with student leaders demanding that a deadline be set for dissolving the parliament and forming an interim government. On Monday, after his meeting with the leaders of the various political parties in the country, army chief general Waker-Uz-Zaman had announced the start of consultations to form an interim government to manage the countrys affairs, following Sheikh Hasina's resignation. Protests had erupted in Bangladesh due to the Supreme Court last June reinstating a quota system, which allocates 56 percent of government jobs to certain demographic groups, including the families of veterans who participated in the 1971 War of Independ ence, in which the country separated from Pakistan. Source: Qatar News Agency