Zunaid Ahmed Palak was detained at Dhaka International Airport.
Bangladesh’s former information technology minister, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, was detained at Dhaka International Airport today as he was leaving the country. The army, which has set up a caretaker government in the violence-hit country, detained him a day after the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
According to reports, Ahmed was approached by airport officials while waiting in the VIP lounge at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, after which he was detained by air force personnel.
According to multiple reports, Hasina fled to India on Monday after protesters stormed the palace, but he was on his way to India.
Bangladesh saw scenes of chaos and anger yesterday, marking its deadliest day since anti-government protests began in early July, with police reporting that mobs launched retaliatory attacks on supporters of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The national office of her Awam League party was burned and looted.
Protesters stormed parliament and set fire to a television studio, and footage showed some destroying a statue of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father and the country’s independence hero.
Sheikh Hasina landed at a military airbase near New Delhi on Monday evening and sources said she wanted to transit to London, but there has been no confirmation of her schedule or whereabouts since then.
Meanwhile, the UK government has said its immigration rules do not allow people to travel to the country seeking asylum or temporary refuge. “Individuals seeking asylum must apply for asylum in the first safe country they arrive in,” the UK Home Office told NDTV.
The unrest in Bangladesh began last month over civil service quotas. What began as protests later escalated into calls for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign. Sources said the army gave Hasina a “45-minute ultimatum” to step down, forcing her to do so.
The army commander met with President Mohammed Shahabuddin along with key opposition leaders late on Monday and a presidential spokesman said it had “decided to immediately form a caretaker government.”
Shahabuddin also ordered the release of protest prisoners and the release of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, a former rival of Hasina.
