DHAKA: Bangladesh’s chief justice and central bank governor have resigned, officials said on Saturday, as student protests that forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee have widened to target more officials appointed during her time in office.
Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan resigned, the law ministry’s adviser Asif Nazrul said in a Facebook video post, after students warned him of “dire consequences” if he did not. Reuters could not immediately contact Hassan.
Nazrul, an adviser in the new caretaker government, urged protesters to remain peaceful. “Don’t damage any public property,” he said in the post.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder has also resigned but his resignation has not been accepted given the importance of the position, finance ministry adviser Salehuddin Ahmed told reporters. Reuters could not contact Talukder.
Days earlier, four deputy governors were forced to resign after about 300 to 400 bank officials protested against what they said was corruption by top officials.
The vice chancellor of Dhaka University, A.S.M. Maksud Kamal, has also resigned, the university said. Reuters was unable to contact Kamal.
The university has been the epicenter of deadly protests that escalated in July against quotas in government jobs before morphing into an oust-Hasina campaign.
Hasina has been sheltering in New Delhi since Monday following the uprising that killed about 300 people, many of them students, ending her uninterrupted rule of 15 years in the South Asian nation of 170 million people.
Since her departure, the country has also seen the appointment of a new police chief as part of a shake-up of the security top brass that also included a new head of the technical intelligence monitoring agency and changes among senior army officials.
Bangladesh chief justice, head of central bank resign amid protests
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Bangladesh chief justice, head of central bank resign amid protests
- Chief Justice Obaidul Hassan resigned after students warned him of “dire consequences,” says law ministry adviser
- Bangladesh uprising last month claimed around 300 lives, many of them students, forcing Sheikh Hasina to flee country
Pakistan police repel militant attack on Bannu checkpoint, five officers injured
- Police say several attackers killed or wounded in overnight assault in northwest Pakistan
- Incident comes amid surge in militant attacks Pakistan blames on Afghanistan-based groups
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani police said on Friday they repelled an overnight militant attack on a checkpoint in the northwestern district of Bannu, injuring five officers in an area that has seen a sharp rise in militant violence in recent years.
The attack took place late at night at the Sheikh Landak check post, located within the limits of Huweid police station in Bannu, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border. Police said officers responded swiftly, preventing the attackers from overrunning the post.
Militant attacks in Pakistan have surged since 2021, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan, with security forces frequently targeted. Islamabad says the violence is largely driven by groups it refers to as Fitna Al-Khawarij, a term Pakistani authorities use for militants they say are linked primarily to the Pakistani Taliban and allied factions operating from across the border in Afghanistan. Pakistan has also accused India of backing militant networks involved in attacks, allegations New Delhi denies.
“Late at night, terrorists of Fitna Al-Khawarij carried out a cowardly attack on Sheikh Landak check post,” police said in a statement, adding that officers “displayed full courage, bravery and a timely response, successfully foiling the attack.”
Police said effective retaliatory fire caused “heavy human and material losses” to the attackers, with reports of several militants killed or wounded.
Five police personnel sustained minor injuries during the exchange and were immediately shifted to hospital for treatment, where they are receiving medical care, the statement said.
Following the attack, additional police units were deployed to the area and a search operation was launched to locate any remaining attackers.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government of failing to prevent militant groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegation, saying it does not allow its soil to be used against any country.
The accusations have added to tensions between the two neighbors, who have also seen periodic border clashes over the past year.
