Zunaid Ahmed Palak was detained at the Dhaka international airport.
Bangladesh’s former Information and Technology Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak was detained at the Dhaka International Airport today while he was trying to leave the country. The military, which has formed an interim government in the violence-hit country, detained the former minister a day after the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Mr Ahmed was approached by airport officials while he was waiting at the VIP lounge of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, as per reports. He was later detained by Air Force officials.
He was trying to fly to India, where Ms Hasina also fled to on Monday as protesters forced their way into her palace, according to several reports.
Bangladesh witnessed scenes of chaos and anger yesterday, its deadliest day since anti-government protests began in early July, with police reporting mobs launching revenge attacks on Sheikh Hasina’s allies.
Offices of her party Awam League across the country were torched and looted.
Protesters stormed parliament and burnt TV stations. Footage showed some smashing the statue of Ms Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s independence hero.
Sheikh Hasina landed at a military airbase near New Delhi on Monday evening. As per sources, she wanted to transit on to London. However, there has been no confirmation of the former Prime Minister’s schedule or, about her location since then.
The UK government, meanwhile, has said their immigration rules do not allow individuals to travel to their country to seek asylum or temporary refuge. “Individuals seeking asylum must do so in the first safe country they reach,” the UK Home Office told NDTV.
The unrest in Bangladesh began last month against civil service job quotas. What started as protests later escalated into wider calls for Sheikh Hasina to stand down. She was made to resign by the military that, as per sources, gave her a “45-minute ultimatum”.
The army chief met President Mohammed Shahabuddin late Monday, alongside key opposition leaders, with the president’s press team saying it had been “decided to form an interim government immediately”.
Shahabuddin also ordered the release of prisoners from the protests, as well as former prime minister and a bitter rival of Ms Hasina, Khaleda Zia.
