According to media reports, on Tuesday, July 23, the government of Bangladesh is anticipated to formally accept a court order lowering quotas for state jobs, fulfilling a significant demand of the students who had been protesting for days.
After the protests that broke out last week developed into one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence in recent memory, killing almost 150 people, the government enforced a curfew, as well as an Internet and telecoms shutdown. Despite these measures, calm returned to Dhaka and most major cities in Bangladesh for the second day.
The demonstrators demanded that the government reconsider a ruling made by a high court last month that reintroduced a quota system that reserved almost 60% of government positions for specific groups of individuals, including the relatives of those who participated in Bangladesh’s independence struggle.
In 2018, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration abolished the quotas.
Hasina accepted the decision late on Monday after the Supreme Court eliminated most of the quotas on Sunday.
According to media sources, the government is anticipated to officially record the court verdict on Tuesday, in accordance with one of the demonstrators’ requests.
On Monday, Hasina declared that the curfew, which has been in place since Friday, would be lifted “whenever the situation gets better” and accused her political rivals of inciting violence.
The protestors have granted the government 48 hours to accede to eight requests, including Hasina’s public apology and the reopening of the university campuses that were closed during the violence.
Due to the unrest in Bangladesh, Malaysia joined the list of nations on Tuesday attempting to evacuate its citizens. According to the foreign ministry, the plane was scheduled to land in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday afternoon.
Additionally, India said that during the past few days, at least 4,500 Indian students have left Bangladesh and returned home.
