In a statement on August 5, the President's Press Office said the meeting chaired by Mr. Shahabuddin "unanimously decided to immediately release Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairwoman Begum Khaleda Zia."
The presidential meeting was attended by Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, along with the heads of the navy and air force and senior leaders of several opposition parties, including the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami party.
Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia - President of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Photo: Reuters
Ms Zia, 78, a two-time prime minister of Bangladesh, is in poor health and hospitalized after being sentenced to 17 years in prison for corruption in 2018.
She has a longstanding feud with Ms Hasina and is accused of abuse of power for embezzling about $250,000 in donations to an orphanage. The BNP says the cases are fabricated and aimed at keeping Ms Zia out of politics.
"The meeting also decided to release all those arrested during the student protests," the presidential statement added.
Since last month, more than 2,000 people have been arrested in street protests against state job quotas, which quickly turned into nationwide demonstrations demanding Ms Hasina's resignation.
Nearly 300 people have died in weeks of protests. A deadly night of violence on August 4 left nearly 100 dead and a curfew was imposed to quell the protests.
On August 5, General Waker-Uz-Zaman said an interim government would be formed. The Bangladesh Army also said it would lift the curfew at dawn on August 6 and open offices, factories and schools from 6 a.m. the same day.
Ngoc Anh (according to Al Jazeera)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tong-thong-bangladesh-ra-lenh-tha-cuu-thu-tuong-khaleda-zia-post306517.html
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