DHAKA: Bangladesh has witnessed escalating unrest with arrests surpassing 2,500 people as protests over government job quotas turned violent, resulting in at least 174 deaths including police officers, AFP reported on Tuesday.
What initially began as demonstrations against the politicization of job quotas for coveted government positions quickly spiraled into some of the most severe unrest seen during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s tenure.
In response to the protests, a nationwide curfew was imposed and military personnel were deployed across the country. An internet blackout was also enforced, severely limiting access to information and disrupting daily life for millions.
The student-led group at the forefront of the protests announced a suspension of demonstrations for 48 hours starting Monday, citing the high human cost incurred.
Despite claims from the army chief that the situation is under control, restrictions including curfews and limited internet access remained in place on Tuesday, with broadband services set to resume in the evening.
In Dhaka, the capital city, a heavy military presence was observed with checkpoints fortified and key intersections barricaded. Despite the curfew, more people were seen on the streets, with rickshaw drivers like Hanif expressing the dire economic necessity of defying curfew orders to work.
“I did not drive rickshaws the first few days of curfew. But today I didn’t have any choice,” Hanif told AFP. “If I don’t do it, my family will go hungry.”
The situation turned even more dire with reports of violence against protest leaders. The head of Students Against Discrimination, a key organizer of the protests, recounted being abducted and brutally beaten, expressing fear for his life. The group has reported that several leaders remain missing, demanding their safe return.
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Government officials have repeatedly blamed the protesters and opposition for the unrest.
More than 1,200 people detained over the course of the violence — nearly half the 2,580 total — were arrested in Dhaka and its rural and industrial areas, according to police officials.
Almost 600 were arrested in Chittagong and its rural areas, with hundreds more detentions, tallied in districts across the country.
With around 18 million young people in Bangladesh out of work, according to government figures, the June reintroduction of the quota scheme — halted since 2018 — deeply upset graduates facing an acute jobs crisis.
International reactions have been critical, with concerns raised over the disproportionate use of force against protesters and the reported misuse of state institutions to quell dissent.
Bangladesh’s Supreme Court recently intervened to reduce the quota reserved for certain job categories, a move that fell short of protesters’ demands for its complete elimination. Prime Minister Hasina has since endorsed the court’s decision.
Her government is also accused by rights groups of misusing state institutions to entrench its hold on power and stamp out dissent, including the extrajudicial killing of opposition activists.
