Interim govt of Bangladesh to be sworn in today : Army Chief

The interim government of Bangladesh is expected to be sworn in this evening with Nobel Laureate Professor Dr Mohammad Yunus as its head, Army Chief General of Bangladesh Waker-Uz-Zaman told a media briefing at Dhaka Cantonment in the capital.

“The swearing-in ceremony is expected to be held tomorrow (Thursday) night at Bangabhaban,” he said adding Prof Yunus was set to return home on Thursday afternoon when “I will receive him” and the ceremony would be held at around 8 PM (BST) at Bangabhaban.

Zaman said the interim cabinet or council of advisers would be formed with around 15 members with Yunus being the Chief Adviser, a position equivalent to prime minister, but preferred not to elaborate on the issue as “it has not been formalised yet”.

The army chief said he had talks with Yunus over phone shortly before appearing before the media this afternoon as he was on his way back home from Paris in an Emirates airlines flight adding that “I felt very good” and expected the upcoming administration under him would carry forward Bangladesh to a brighter future.

Yunus, meanwhile, issued a statement calling upon everyone to refrain from violence and congratulated the “brave students who took the lead in making our Second Victory Day possible and to the people for giving your total support to them."

"Let us make the best use of our new victory. Let us not let this slip away because of our mistakes. I fervently appeal to everybody to stay calm. Please refrain from all kinds of violence," the statement issued by the Yunus Centre quoted him as saying.

He called on all students, members of all political parties and non-political people to stay calm as Bangladesh passed the third-day without any government in power after the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government amid a public outrage forcing her resignation and secretly leaving the country.

Zaman, meanwhile, acknowledged that there were incidents of looting and anarchy after the ouster of the Awami League government as the “police forces became totally dysfunctional” and it was not possible on the part of the military along with the navy and air force troops to “fill up the void”.

“But we will do everything possible to expose to justice the culprits,” he said adding that police force was being reorganized with appointed of a new inspector general who by now asked all policemen to report to their workplaces across Bangladesh.