EAM Jaishankar to brief all-party meet on Bangladesh situation

New Delhi: The Central government has called an all-party meeting on Tuesday regarding the situation in Bangladesh, in which External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar will brief leaders of all political parties about the situation in the violence-struck nation and the steps taken by the Indian government, according to sources.

Besides EAM Jaishankar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju will also participate in the meeting on behalf of the Central government.

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting at his official residence, during which he was briefed about the entire crisis in the neighbouring nation.

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval briefed the Prime Minister on his meeting with former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and informed him about the latest political situation in the neighbouring country.

Union Ministers Shah and Singh, EAM Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and several other senior officials were at the meeting to assess the situation.

On Monday, Hasina landed at the Hindon Air Base in Ghaziabad hours after resigning as the country’s Prime Minister and leaving Dhaka en route to Delhi.

Hasina arrived in India in a military transport plane of Bangladesh Air Force as thousands of protesters stormed and vandalised ‘Ganabhaban’ – the official residence of the Prime Minister in Dhaka.

Notably, India will offer comprehensive logistical support as Hasina pursues asylum in the UK. Her stay in India is approved only temporarily, pending her relocation to UK.

The house of Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal was also reportedly set on fire in Dhanmondi, an upscale area of the Bangladesh capital.

As Hasina left for India, Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman confirmed the news of her resignation and said that an interim government would be formed soon to run the country.

The Army chief also said he will meet President Mohammed Shahabuddin soon to chart the future course of action.

It was reported that over 100 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured in the clashes that took place between police and the protesters on Sunday.

The student-led non-cooperation movement put immense pressure on Hasina’s government over the past few weeks.

The students had been protesting against a 30 per cent reservation in government jobs for relatives of freedom fighters who wrested independence for Bangladesh from Pakistan in a bloody civil war in 1971 in which, according to Dhaka officials, three million people were killed in the genocide by Pakistani troops and their supporters.

–IANS