Thursday, September 19, 2024

Bangladesh parliament dissolved, students say won’t accept army-led gov’t

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Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has told the Indian Parliament he will remain “deeply concerned till law and order is visibly restored” in neighbouring Bangladesh.

Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh on Monday by helicopter to India, arriving at a military airbase near New Delhi.

Jaishankar had given the first official confirmation Hasina was in India.

A top-level source told AFP said the toppled leader wanted to “transit” on to London, but calls by the British government for a UN-led investigation into “unprecedented levels of violence” put that into doubt.

“Our understanding is that after a meeting with leaders of the security establishment, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina apparently made the decision to resign,” Jaishankar said.

“At very short notice, she requested approval to come for the moment to India. We simultaneously received a request for flight clearance from the Bangladesh authorities. She arrived yesterday evening in Delhi.”

India shares a 4,096km (2,545-mile) border with Bangladesh.

“Our border guarding forces have also been instructed to be exceptionally alert in view of this complex situation,” Jaishankar said.

New Delhi has kept a wary eye on the fall of Hasina, who pursued a delicate balancing act of enjoying support from India while maintaining strong relations with China.

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