Courage under fire: A man looking at burnt vehicles after students set them on fire during protests over employment quotas which sparked widespread unrest in Dhaka. — AFP
The government is set to formally accept a court ruling to cut quotas for government jobs, the media said, meeting a key demand of students whose protests sparked one of the worst outbreaks of violence in years that killed over 150 people, including several police officers.
The number of arrests in days of violence passed the 2,500 mark.
Calm prevailed in Dhaka, the capital, and most major cities for a second day amid a curfew and an Internet and telecoms shutdown the government imposed after the protests erupted last week.
However, the security situation is still not entirely under control, the army chief, who toured the capital by helicopter yesterday morning, told reporters.
Officials said the curfew is to be relaxed for four hours in the afternoon, up from three on Monday, to allow people to buy essentials.
The protesters wanted authorities to overturn a high court decision last month that restored a quota system setting aside nearly 60% of government jobs for some people, such as families of those who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence.
The quotas had been scrapped in 2018 by the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who accepted late on Monday a Supreme Court ruling to scrap most of the quotas.
The acceptance is expected to be published in the government’s formal record, media said, meeting one demand made by protesters.
On Monday, Hasina blamed her political opponents for violence and said the curfew, imposed on Friday, would be lifted “whenever the situation gets better”.
The protesters have given the government 48 hours to meet eight demands, such as a public apology from Hasina and the reopening of university campuses shut when the violence began.
Malaysia yesterday became the latest nation to evacuate citizens from Bangladesh because of the violence, with the foreign ministry saying a flight bringing them home had arrived in Kuala Lumpur yesterday evening.
India also said at least 4,500 of its students had returned home.
There was a heavy military presence in Dhaka, with bunkers set up at some intersections and key roads blocked with barbed wire.
But more people were on the streets, as were hundreds of rickshaws.
“I did not drive rickshaws the first few days of curfew. But today I didn’t have any choice,” rickshaw driver Hanif said.
“If I don’t do it, my family will go hungry.” — Agencies
