DHAKA: Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and his newly named interim government set out on Friday to restore “law and order” after a student-led uprising and deadly mass protests forced predecessor Sheikh Hasina into exile.

A day after returning home from Europe and vowing to “uphold, support and protect the constitution” as he was sworn into office, 84-year-old Yunus began the tough challenge of returning the country to democracy.

“The number one challenge is law and order,” Touhid Hossain, who has taken over the foreign ministry portfolio, told reporters. “If it is ensured, the rest will be fine.”

Hasina, 76, accused of widespread human rights abuses, including the jailing of her political opponents, fled by helicopter to India on Monday as protesters flooded Dhaka’s streets in a dramatic end to her 15-year rule.

The military announced her resignation and then agreed to student demands that Yunus — who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his pioneering microfinancing work — lead an interim government.

Yunus, who has taken the title of “chief adviser” to the caretaker administration, comprised of fellow civilians bar one retired brigadier-general, has said he wants to hold elections “within a few months”. When polls might take place is not clear.

Officials of Hasina’s former ruling party, the Awami League, have gone into hiding after revenge attacks saw some of their offices torched, while former opposition groups such as the key Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are rebuilding after years of crushing repression.

Several of Yunus’s advisers are loosely affiliated with the BNP, led by Hasina’s longtime rival and former premier Khaleda Zia, 78, newly released after years of house arrest.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2024