Dhaka: Bangladesh Supreme Court has scrapped most of the quota in the government jobs that sparked countrywide clashes between police and university students claiming over 100 lives. With this ruling, just five per cent of civil service jobs would remain for the relatives of veterans from the country's war for independence from Pakistan in 1971, instead of 30 per cent.
The Bangladesh government is expected to formally accept the ruling, even as it imposed a curfew and a shoot-on-sight order in the country. Student groups are protesting against a quota system that reserves up to 30 per cent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's 'War of Independence' in 1971 against Pakistan. They call it discriminatory.
In 2018, the government suspended job quotas due to mass student protests. However, in June, Bangladesh’s High Court overturned that decision and reinstated the quotas, triggering fresh unrest.
As police arrested over 1,000 people, including several senior opposition leaders, PM Sheikh Hasina blamed the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Jamaat-e-Islami and their student wings for the violence, saying her government will work to "suppress these militants and create a better environment". "We will lift the curfew whenever the situation gets better," she said.
The student group leading the demonstrations suspended its protests on July 22 for 48 hours, with its leader saying they had not wanted reform "at the expense of so much blood".
Top developments# The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal court in the UAE awarded 10-year prison terms to over 50 Bangladeshi nationals, including three who received life sentences, in connection with protests against their home government, state-owned WAM news agency said. # Over 4,500 Indian students have so far returned from the unrest-hit Bangladesh. In addition, Nepal's 500 students, Bhutan's 38, and one of Maldives have also arrived in India, the Ministry of External Affairs said. # Citing significant 'civil unrest', the US State Department raised its travel advisory for Bangladesh to level four, warning of demonstrations and violent clashes across Dhaka and other parts of the country. |
