Student leaders in Bangladesh demand Obaidul Hassan’s resignation.
Dhaka:
The chief justice of Bangladesh’s top court agreed to resign “in principle” following intense pressure from protesters surrounding the Supreme Court, broadcaster Jamuna TV reported.
Hassan, appointed last year and seen as a loyalist to ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, faced an ultimatum from demonstrators demanding his resignation. The protests, part of the wider unrest that led to Hasina’s departure, have resulted in over 450 deaths, including dozens of police officers.
The police union has declared a strike, refusing to return to work until their safety is assured, further complicating the situation.
Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus appealed for religious unityas he embraced the weeping mother of a student shot dead by police, a flashpoint in mass protests that ended Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule.
Hasina has been sheltering in New Delhi since Monday and plans to return to the country and take part in elections.
Many homes and businesses of the country’s minority Hindu community have also been vandalised this week, prompting hundreds of them in northwest Bangladesh to try and flee to neighbouring India.
