ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch this week confirmed that all Pakistani students were safe in Bangladesh and had been shifted to safe locations in the country, following days of deadly clashes between protesters and law enforcers over the allocation of government jobs. 

The protests, led by students which began weeks ago but escalated sharply this week, represent the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina since she won a fourth consecutive term in office after elections in January.

Bangladesh media outlets have reported different figures over the number of people killed in the clashes, with some saying the riots caused the deaths of 17 people while others reported 23 dead. The government on Friday imposed a nationwide curfew and ordered the deployment of troops to maintain order. 

“Our mission in Dhaka is in contact with all students,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement on Saturday. “The deputy head of mission has visited Chittagong to meet the students there as well. All students are safe.”

Baloch said the Pakistani high commission in Bangladesh has shifted students to safe accommodations in the country. 

“These include the high commission, the ambassador’s residence and some other safe locations,” she said. 

The deadly protests in Bangladesh have highlighted cracks in the country’s governance and economy and the frustration of young graduates who face a lack of good jobs.

The protesters are demanding an end to a quota system that reserves up to 30 percent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971 against Pakistan.

They argue the system is discriminatory and benefits supporters of Prime Minister Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement, and they want it replaced with a merit-based system.

But Hasina has defended the quota system, saying that veterans deserve the highest respect for their contributions to the war regardless of their political affiliation.

The Bangladeshi leader is credited for bringing stable growth to Bangladesh, but rising inflation — thanks in part to the global upheaval sparked by the war in Ukraine — has triggered labor unrest and dissatisfaction with the government.