Bangladesh President Dissolves Parliament

Bangladesh President, Mohammed Shahabuddin, has on Tuesday dissolved the country’s parliament, a key demand of student protesters who led demonstrations that ousted longtime ruler Sheikh Hasina.

“The president has dissolved parliament,” Shiplu Zaman, press secretary of President Mohammed Shahabuddin, said in a statement.

The statement also said that Hasina’s arch rival, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson, Begum Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister, have been freed from house arrest.

Student protesters had threatened more demonstrations if the parliament was not dissolved.

The decision was taken following meetings with the heads of defence forces, leaders of political parties, student leaders and some civil society representatives, the presidential statement said.

Hasina fled the country on Monday, ending her 15-year second stint in power. She had ruled the country for 20 of the last 30 years, having inherited the political movement of her father, state founder Mujubur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1975.