DHAKA: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has cancelled plans to leave the country on Sunday for visits to Brazil and Spain. Sheikh Hasina’s Press Secretary Nayeemul Islam Khan said that the Prime Minister has cancelled her Spain and Brazil trips due to the current situation in the country.
The development takes place as Bangladesh has announced the imposition of a curfew and the deployment of military personnel following police completely failed to quell days of deadly unrest that has spread across the South Asian country.
This week’s deadly clashes between student protestors and police have killed around 105 people, according to western media count of victims reported by hospitals, and pose a crucial challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s autocratic administration following 15 years in office.
Hasina’s press secretary Nayeemul Islam Khan said that the government of Bangladesh took the decision to impose a curfew and deploy the army in aid of the civilian administration. He said that the curfew would take immediate effect.
UN human rights head Volker Turk stated that the attacks on student protesters were ” unacceptable and shocking”. In a statement, he said that there must be neutral, prompt and exhaustive probs into these deadly attacks, and those responsible held to answer.
Police earlier said protest demonstration had on Thursday torched, destroyed and carried out “destructive acts” on numerous government and police offices.
Among these offices was the Dhaka headquarters of official broadcaster Bangladesh Television, which remains offline following hundreds of incensed students attacked the premises and set fire to a compound.
