Bangladesh Protests Live Updates: As the anti-quota protests turn more violent with each passing day, the police imposes ‘shoot-on-sight-order’, according to an AP update. As the cops and military forces patrolled in Dhaka, the curfew in the city was relaxed between noon and 2 pm. The curfew is expected to continue till 10 am on Sunday, said lawmaker Obaidul Quader, the general secretary of the ruling Awami League party. Violence across 47 of Bangladesh’s 64 districts has now claimed a total of 105 lives, with over 1,500 injured, as quoted by AFP and local media. The news agency also reported Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s cancellation of a foreign diplomatic tour amid clashes.
What is the current situation? PM Hasina’s government has announced a nationwide curfew across Bangladesh and ordered the deployment of military forces to maintain order. The government has deployed police and paramilitary forces across the capital to lock down campuses and break up protests. 978 Indian students have returned home amid announcement of imposition of a nationwide curfew and the deployment of military forces to keep order, reported AFP.
What are the protesters demanding? The agitators demand an end to the quota system in Bangladesh which allocated 30% reservation for kin of veterans who fought in the country’s war of independence in 1971 against Pakistan. They are of the stance that the quota system is discriminatory and benefits supporters of Hasina, whose Awami League Party led the independence movement. They want merit-based system instead.