Bangladesh’s uncompromising ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia has been released from years of house arrest after her bitter enemy Sheikh Hasina was ousted as premier and fled as protesters broke into her palace.

The ferocious rivalry between the two women — born in blood and cemented in prison — has defined politics in the Muslim-majority nation for decades.

Zia, 78, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for graft in 2018 under Hasina’s rule.

Hasina, 76, was ousted on Monday after mass protests, with the army chief declaring the military would form an interim government.

Orders were then issued for the release of prisoners from the protests, as well as Zia.

Zia is chairperson of the key opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP). Party spokesman AKM Wahiduzzaman told AFP Tuesday that she “is now freed”.

She is in poor health, confined to a wheelchair with rheumatoid arthritis and struggling with diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver.

Decades-long feud

The enmity between Zia and Hasina is known popularly in Bangladesh as the “Battle of Begums”, with “begum” a Muslim honorific in South Asia for powerful women.

Their feud has its roots in the murder of Hasina’s father — the country’s founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman — along with her mother, three brothers and several other relatives in a 1975 military coup.

Zia’s husband Ziaur Rahman was then the deputy army chief and effectively took control himself three months later.

He kickstarted economic recovery in poverty-stricken Bangladesh with privatisations but was killed in another military coup in 1981.

The BNP mantle fell to his widow, then a 35-year-old mother of two young sons who was dismissed by critics as a politically inexperienced housewife.

Zia led opposition to dictator Hussain Muhammad Ershad, boycotting sham elections in 1986 and mounting street protests.

She and Hasina joined forces to push Ershad out in a wave of protests in 1990 and then faced off in Bangladesh’s first free polls.

Zia won and led from 1991-96, and again in 2001-2006, as she and Hasina alternated in power.

Mutual dislike

Their mutual dislike was blamed for a January 2007 political crisis that prompted the military to impose emergency rule and set up a caretaker government. Both were detained for more than a year.

Hasina won elections in December 2008 by a landslide and led uninterrupted until she fled to India in a helicopter on Monday.

She had tightened her grip on power by detaining tens of thousands of BNP members. Hundreds also disappeared.

Zia was convicted and jailed in 2018 on graft charges her party rejected as politically motivated.

She was later released into house arrest on condition she neither took part in politics nor went abroad for medical treatment.

Son in exile

Zia’s first cabinet was hailed for liberalising Bangladesh’s economy in the early 1990s, sparking decades of growth.

However, her second term as the premier of an Islamist-allied coalition was marked by graft allegations against her government and sons.

There was also a series of Islamist attacks, one of which killed more than 20 people and almost claimed Hasina’s life.

The anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion police unit Zia created has been accused of hundreds of extrajudicial killings.

Her eldest son Tarique Rahman led the BNP from exile in London while she was in jail but he was convicted in absentia and sentenced to life in prison over his alleged role in a bomb attack on a Hasina rally in 2004.

The BNP says the charges were a politically motivated attempt to expel Zia’s dynasty from politics.

Zia won respect for her resolute attitude, although her inability to compromise left her unable to cut deals with important allies at home or abroad.

That defiance extended even to the death of her youngest son from a heart attack in Malaysia in 2015.

Hasina went to her home to offer sympathy and condolences but Zia did not open the door.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

University students shout slogans during a protest to demand justice for the victims killed in the recent countrywide deadly clashes and ask for their campuses to be opened, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, July 31, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Police in Bangladesh fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse people who were demonstrating on July 31 against the excessive use of force by authorities during protests earlier in July that left at least 150 dead.

The unrest is the biggest test facing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, 76, since she won a fourth term in January elections boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which were also marred by deadly protests.

Ms. Hasina on July 31 sought cooperation from the United Nations and other international organisations to conduct a proper investigation into the recent nationwide violence during the anti-quota agitation to punish the real culprits involved in the attacks.

“We’re seeking UN and other international organisations’ cooperation for a fair and proper investigation into the matter,” Hasina said, adding that the people involved in the violence must be brought to justice.

“Because I know I have no negligence to this end,” she was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune newspaper.

Speaking at an event, she came down heavily on those who were involved in damaging public properties alongside killing many people and thus tarnishing the country’s image.

Police said they used force on July 31 when people in the northeastern district of Sylhet broke through barricades to march towards for the courts.

“We requested the protesters to move from the road, but they didn’t listen and instead attacked the police, forcing us to disperse them with tear gas and stun grenades,” said regional deputy commissioner Azbahar Ali Sheikh.

Police and protesters scuffled in Dhaka, the capital, and the southern port city of Chittagong, witnesses said. It was not immediately clear if there were any fatalities.

At least 10 persons, including four journalists, were injured in southern Barishal district, where police used batons to disperse protesters.

Police detained at least seven students in Dhaka near the high court, where lawyers and university teachers joined the demonstrators.

MARCH CALLED BY STUDENT GROUP

Wednesday’s nationwide “March for Justice” was called by the Students Against Discrimination group that was at the forefront of protests against quotas in government jobs.

That initial unrest earlier in July left thousands wounded as security forces fired rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades to disperse those gathered.

Although the students agreed to halt their protest after the Supreme Court scrapped most quotas on July 21, they returned recently to the streets to call out the dozens of deaths, arrests, and government intimidation.

“We will also demand a United Nations investigation into the violence,” Mohammad Mahin Sarkar, a coordinator of the movement, said in a statement.

International rights groups have condemned close to 10,000 arrests over the past two weeks on charges of involvement in clashes and destruction of government property.

They say Ms. Hasina has become increasingly autocratic during her last 15 years in power, which have been marked by arrests of political opponents and activists, allegations she denies.

Ms. Hasina, at an event in Dhaka, said Bangladesh had appealed to the United Nations and various international bodies for help

Bangladesh shut down the internet after the earlier unrest and imposed a nationwide curfew as the protests, which began in educational institutions in June, became more widespread.

JAMAAT BAN

Ms. Hasina’s government said it was set to ban the main Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and its student wing, both of which Dhaka blames for violence during the protests.

Dhaka has set up a judicial inquiry to investigate the violence, Law Minister Anisul Huq told Reuters.

In a statement, Jamaat condemned the proposed ban as “illegal, extrajudicial and unconstitutional.”

The party’s chief Shafiqur Rahman, along with the opposition, have denied they had stoked the violence.

Jamaat was effectively barred from elections after a court said in 2013 its registration as a political party conflicted with Bangladesh’s secular constitution.

The United Nations, global rights groups, the United States and Britain criticised Dhaka’s use of force against the demonstrators, asking it to uphold the right to peaceful protest.

Activists clash with the police during a song march to remember victims of the recent countrywide deadly clashes, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 30, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Bangladesh observed a day of mourning on July 30 in memory of more than 200 people killed in recent weeks during violence that evolved from student protests over the South Asian country’s quota system for government jobs.

After weeks of peaceful protests by students looking to change the system — which reserved 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans and those who were raped during the war of independence against Pakistan in 1971 — violence erupted on July 15 when activists of a student wing of the ruling party attacked demonstrators. Security officials opened fire, using tear gas and rubber bullets to try to quell the violence.

The quota protests posed the most serious challenge to Bangladesh’s government since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won a fourth consecutive term in January elections that the main opposition groups boycotted. The ruling Awami League party and opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party have often accused each other of fueling political chaos and violence, most recently ahead of the country’s national election, which was marred by a crackdown on several opposition figures.

Government officials — including those at the Bangladesh Secretariat, the top office containing most of the country’s ministers and bureaucrats — wore black badges on Tuesday to mourn those killed as the country crawls back to normalcy with the strict curfew being relaxed in recent days. Authorities also asked all mosques, temples and other religious installations to organize special prayers Tuesday for the dead.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan put the overall death toll at 150, while the country’s leading Bengali-language daily, Prothom Alo, said 211 people were killed since July 16. Thousands of others have been injured.

Media reports said about 10,000 people have been arrested over the past two weeks in relation to clashes at protests and other attacks on state properties. Rights groups have called for an end to arbitrary arrests, and critics accused the government of using excessive force to tamp down the fighting.

“The mass arrest and arbitrary detention of student protesters is a witch hunt by the authorities to silence anyone who dares to challenge the government and is a tool to further perpetuate a climate of fear,” Smriti Singh, regional director for South Asia at Amnesty International, said in a statement Monday. “Reports suggest that these arrests are entirely politically motivated, in retaliation for the exercise of human rights.”

The government has defended its position, saying that the arrests were being made on specific charges.

Six of the protest coordinators being held in custody by the Detective Branch of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police released a statement calling off the protests, but other demonstrators rejected the video statement, claiming it was coerced. They say they will protest until all nine of their demands are met, including a public apology from Ms. Hasina.

Police said the six coordinators were taken into custody for their safety, and their families met them on Monday. A video was posted showing the six coordinators having meals with the head of the Detective Branch in Dhaka.

Also on Monday, some student protesters briefly attempted to regroup, but police foiled their attempts.

Protesters said the 30% quota was discriminatory and benefited supporters of Hasina, whose Awami League party led the independence movement, and wanted it replaced by a merit-based system.

On July 21, the Supreme Court ordered that the 1971 war veterans’ quota be cut to 5%. Of the remainder, 93% of civil service jobs would be merit-based, while the remaining 2% would be reserved for members of ethnic minorities, transgender people and those with disabilities. Two days later, the government accepted the ruling and pledged to execute the decision.

Both broadband and mobile data services were restored Tuesday after a dayslong internet blackout, but social media platforms including Facebook remained blocked. Banks and offices opened under a relaxed curfew. Schools and other educational institutions were closed with no opening date yet set as police continued to grapple with protesters.

People take part in a protest march against the mass arrest and killing of protesters during last week’s violence amid anti-qouta protests, in Dhaka on July 28, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The mobile internet connection was restored in Bangladesh on July 28, 10 days after it was shut down by the authorities across the country to stop the spread of fake news on social media amidst the deadly nationwide violence over reforms in the quota system in government jobs.

Addressing a press conference in Dhaka, Minister of State for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Zunaid Ahmed Palak announced that 5GB internet will be given for free to all users for three days after the connection is restored, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

The mobile internet connectivity was restored at around 3 p.m. local time.

Users of Robi, Grameenphone, Banglalink and other operators in Dhaka said they could access the internet through their phones around 3 p.m., the report said.

On July 18, the government shut down mobile internet following the escalation of violence across the country.

At the time, Mr. Palak said the decision was made “in light of the current crisis in the country and to stop the spread of fake news on social media”, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

The next day, amid escalating violence, the Department of Disaster Management building was set on fire, adjacent to which was a data centre. While Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) officials said that the fire might cut 30-40% of the bandwidth supply, broadband internet connection for the entire country was disrupted within an hour.

Bangladesh stayed disconnected from both broadband and mobile internet between July 18 and July 23, when broadband internet was restored in stages.

However, mobile internet remained unavailable until Sunday.

Also read | Bangladesh student group vows to resume protests if demands not met

Regarding access to social media platforms, Mr. Palak said the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has sent letters to authorities of social media platforms, including Facebook, Tiktok and YouTube.

“Their representatives have to come to Dhaka by July 31 to give explanations. Then, after discussing it with them, we will make a decision,” he said.

The BTRC is responsible for regulating all matters related to telecommunications in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh witnessed violent clashes between the police and mostly student protesters demanding an end to a controversial quota system that reserved 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s War of Independence in 1971.

The internet and mobile services were snapped following the countrywide violence.

On Monday last, the apex court slashed the veterans’ quota to just 5%. Thus, 93% of civil service jobs will be merit-based while the remaining 2% reserved for members of ethnic minorities, transgender and physically challenged people.

The violence has reportedly killed more than 100 people, according to local newspapers. However, there are no official figures available for deaths.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday defended her decision to enforce a curfew with a shoot-on-sight order following the clashes, asserting that tough measures were taken to ensure the security of the lives and properties of the people.

Bangladesh crawled back to normalcy on Wednesday with rush hour traffic returning to streets in the capital, and limited reopening of banks, garment factories and internet services.

People take part in a protest march against the mass arrest and killing of protesters during last week’s violence amid anti-qouta protests, in Dhaka on July 28, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The mobile internet connection was restored in Bangladesh on July 28, 10 days after it was shut down by the authorities across the country to stop the spread of fake news on social media amidst the deadly nationwide violence over reforms in the quota system in government jobs.

Addressing a press conference in Dhaka, Minister of State for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Zunaid Ahmed Palak announced that 5GB internet will be given for free to all users for three days after the connection is restored, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

The mobile internet connectivity was restored at around 3 p.m. local time.

Users of Robi, Grameenphone, Banglalink and other operators in Dhaka said they could access the internet through their phones around 3 p.m., the report said.

On July 18, the government shut down mobile internet following the escalation of violence across the country.

At the time, Mr. Palak said the decision was made “in light of the current crisis in the country and to stop the spread of fake news on social media”, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

The next day, amid escalating violence, the Department of Disaster Management building was set on fire, adjacent to which was a data centre. While Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) officials said that the fire might cut 30-40% of the bandwidth supply, broadband internet connection for the entire country was disrupted within an hour.

Bangladesh stayed disconnected from both broadband and mobile internet between July 18 and July 23, when broadband internet was restored in stages.

However, mobile internet remained unavailable until Sunday.

Also read | Bangladesh student group vows to resume protests if demands not met

Regarding access to social media platforms, Mr. Palak said the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has sent letters to authorities of social media platforms, including Facebook, Tiktok and YouTube.

“Their representatives have to come to Dhaka by July 31 to give explanations. Then, after discussing it with them, we will make a decision,” he said.

The BTRC is responsible for regulating all matters related to telecommunications in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh witnessed violent clashes between the police and mostly student protesters demanding an end to a controversial quota system that reserved 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s War of Independence in 1971.

The internet and mobile services were snapped following the countrywide violence.

On Monday last, the apex court slashed the veterans’ quota to just 5%. Thus, 93% of civil service jobs will be merit-based while the remaining 2% reserved for members of ethnic minorities, transgender and physically challenged people.

The violence has reportedly killed more than 100 people, according to local newspapers. However, there are no official figures available for deaths.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday defended her decision to enforce a curfew with a shoot-on-sight order following the clashes, asserting that tough measures were taken to ensure the security of the lives and properties of the people.

Bangladesh crawled back to normalcy on Wednesday with rush hour traffic returning to streets in the capital, and limited reopening of banks, garment factories and internet services.

Nearly 200 are dead from violent student protests and firing by forces in Bangladesh – is PM Sheikh Hasina, who won elections just a few months ago, losing her grip on gen-next, and will the unrest India’s closest neighbour is grappling with, spill over?

But first, Bangladesh is taking a pause from days of brutal violence as forces took on student protestors demonstrating against the quota system. A look at the situation right now, although information remains restricted.

July 1: Protests by students began after the Supreme Court upheld an earlier government order maintaining about 56% of all government jobs would be reserved for freedom fighters – the mukti jodha/ mukti bahini of Bangladesh’s liberation in 1971, their children and even grandchildren. The students on the street said they were fighting what they saw as a move to make the bureaucracy politically aligned to the ruling Awami League.

There’s a lot more on the underlying social, historical and political tensions in this podcast at The Hindu with my colleague Kallol Bhattacherjee.

July 14: In a statement appealing for calm, PM Hasina actually fuelled protestors anger- by saying that those protesting were Razakars- a term used for those Bangladeshis who supported Pakistan in 1971, seen as traitors. The protests battled police, set fire to government buildings IT centres, vandalized a metro station.

Shoot at sight orders, a nationwide curfew, internet bans followed. The army and paramilitary Rapid Action Forces were called in, as the violence spiralled out of control.

July 21: The supreme court’s appellate bench struck down the earlier order, bringing down quotas for freedom fighters and families to 5%. The order helped restore calm, although students groups still demand an apology from PM Hasina, and the resignation of her ministers for the crackdown. In 3 weeks, nearly 200 had been killed, thousands injured – including hundred with eye injuries from pellets and bullets fired by the forces.

The worry now, that when the curfew is lifted and internet fully restored, the protests could recur, or continue to simmer, posing a threat to the Hasina government, that was once seen as the champion of students movements.

In fact there has been some concern internationally. The UN spokesperson said the UNSG was deeply concerned, particularly as UN marked vehicles were used by riot police in Dhaka.

At a congressional hearing, a senior U.S. official said that they were in touch with Bangladeshi authorities, to calm the violence and to rescind shoot at sight orders – of course PM Hasina has a tense relationship with the U.S. and has indirectly claimed that its sanctions against her during elections were to force her to allow a U.S. base in Bangladesh.

So is this the internal matter of Bangladesh, and why should India worry?

– Bangladesh is one of India’s closest neighbours, very strong ties between the leaders that were seen as PM Hasina made two visits to India in June- for the swearing in and for a bilateral visit.

– Protests hurt Bangladesh economically, and India is a strong partner on trade, energy and connectivity.

– The protests against 1971 related quotas carried a subtext that could turn anti-Indian- as India is not just connected to Muktibahinis in the past, but today is accused by the opposition siding with PM Hasina.

– About 10,000 Indian students are in Bangladesh- about 7,000 had to be evacuated already, and prolonged protests will disrupt their lives.

– Bangladesh’s problems quickly become a problem with West Bengal- the Hasina government protested this week when Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said that if innocent Bangladeshis fled across the border, she would have to give them shelter under UN laws. The MEA issued a sharp rebuke to the West Bengal govt after it received the letter.

– Bangladesh’s other major partner is China, which will not criticize PM Hasina for internal violence, and India would not want to give Beijing the advantage.

– Bangladesh has been sensitive to India on protests as well, for eg. Calling the CAA protests an internal matter, and the Modi government does not want be seen interfering in this matter.

Worldview Take:

The crackdown in Bangladesh on student protestors, and the extent of violence just six months after PM Sheikh Hasina began her fourth term in office, is a big challenge to the popularity of her government, and the conduct of forces, indiscriminate firing causing dozens of deaths is another undemocratic turn in the country. It is ironical that the 1971 liberation, and Hasina’s own return to politics and power in 1996 and 2008 all accrue to student movements – losing gen-next’s support over these protests will be a big blow. As a close partner of Bangladesh, not just PM Hasina’s, India can be discreet but not remain silent with such turmoil in its neighbourhood.

Reading recommendations:

Transformation: Emergence of Bangladesh and Evolution of India-Bangladesh Ties by Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty

India and the Bangladesh Liberation War by Chandrashekhar Dasgupta

Paradoxes of the Popular: Crowd Politics in Bangladesh by Nusrat Sabina Chowdhury

 Biden and Beyond: The United States Rethinks South Asia by Hernaikh Singh and C Raja Mohan

Routledge Handbook of Autocratization in South Asia by Sten Widmalm- Section on Bangladesh, towards One Party Rule

Sheikh Hasina: The Making of an Extraordinary South Asian Leader by Dr Abul Hasnat Milton

A WORLD OF THREE ZEROS by Muhammad Yunus

Production: Shibu Narayan and Kanishkaa Balachandran

A demonstrator gestures as protesters clash with Border Guard Bangladesh and the police, as violence erupted across the country after anti-quota protests by students, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina imposed a nationwide curfew last week and used the Army to quell protests against job quotas that killed nearly 150 people, but anger against her government does not seem to have abated.

The protests, which started in universities and colleges earlier this month, turned into a more widespread agitation against Ms. Hasina and her government.

Police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and lobbed sound grenades to disperse tens of thousands of protesters who came out on the streets. The government denied any live rounds were fired, but hospital sources said dead and injured people had wounds from bullets and shot gun pellets.

Rights groups and critics say Ms. Hasina has become increasingly autocratic during her last 15 years in power and her rule has been marked by mass arrests of political opponents and activists, forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, the charges she denies.

Badiul Alam Majumdar, the secretary of Shushahoner Jonno Nagorik, a Dhaka-based civil society platform for good governance, said the protests were “just the tip of the iceberg” and the use of force against students will breed further discontent against Ms. Hasina’s government.

On the student protests in Bangladesh | Explained

“People are being deprived of their basic rights, with a significant lack of human rights and justice. They can’t cast their votes freely,” he said. “This widespread frustration and anger among the people is evident in the protests.”

Government official were not immediately available for comment. But officials have said previously no students were involved in arson or violence, and instead blamed Opposition parties.

Ms. Hasina (76), first led her Awami League party to victory in elections in 1996, serving one five-year term before regaining power in 2009, never to lose again. She won a fourth straight term in office in January elections that were boycotted by the main opposition party and also marred by deadly protests.

While Ms. Hasina managed to overcome discontent and return the country towards some normalcy this week, it will not be “business as usual” going forward, said Zafar Sobhan, the editor of English daily Dhaka Tribune.

“This crisis shows that the government needs to listen to the young people of the country and take their concerns seriously,” said Mr. Sobhan, adding that the quota issue served as a proxy for several other key issues.

“The government has been put on notice that enough is enough and it needs to address the legitimate concerns of the public,” he said.

“Murders must be investigated”

Asif Mahmud, a student leader, told Reuters that he was abducted and abused by authorities for four days and then dumped on the road this week. His allegations could not be independently verified and government officials could not be immediately reached for comment on a holiday.

“There have been killings, nobody is addressing that,” Mr. Mahmud said. “These murders should be investigated. Those who ran this massacre, we will demand their prompt punishment.”

The United Nations, international rights groups, the U.S. and Britain have criticised the use of force and asked Dhaka to uphold the right to peaceful protests.

Ms. Hasina said she was forced to impose the curfew to protect citizens and state property, blaming the main Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Jamaat-e-Islami party for the violence, charges they denied.

Tarique Rahman, the exiled acting chairman of BNP, said that Ms. Hasina was involved in “mass murder” during the protests.

The daughter of the country’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan, Ms. Hasina has been credited with turning around the economy and the massive garments industry.

But the economy has also slowed sharply since the Russia-Ukraine war pushed up prices of fuel and food imports, forcing Bangladesh to turn last year to the International Monetary Fund for a $4.7 billion bailout.

Experts have blamed the latest unrest on stagnant job growth in the private sector and high rates of youth unemployment that have made government jobs, with their regular wage hikes and other privileges, more attractive.

“Failing to tame inflation, which currently hovers around 10%, and unemployment was not due to a dearth of options but rather due to a lack of political will,” the experts said.

“One critical policy approach could have been to increase investment into the services sectors such as health and education where it would be possible to create more decent jobs, especially for the educated and relatively young people,” said Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, chairman of Dhaka think tank Research and Policy Integration for Development.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visits a vandalized metro rail station at Mirpur 10, in Dhaka.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wept on July 25 as she surveyed the destruction wrought by days of deadly unrest, as student leaders weighed the future of the protests that sparked the disorder.

Last week’s violence killed at least 193 people, including several police officers, according to an AFP count of victims reported by police and hospitals, in one of the biggest upheavals of Ms. Hasina’s 15-year tenure.

The unrest was precipitated by protests against a public jobs quota scheme that critics say gives preference to allies of Ms. Hasina’s ruling party.

Thousands of troops are still patrolling cities and a nationwide internet shutdown remains largely in effect, although clashes have subsided since protest leaders announced a temporary halt to new demonstrations.

Ms. Hasina, 76, spent the morning surveying destruction in the capital Dhaka, where the commuter rail network connecting the sprawling megacity of 20 million people was shut down after mob attacks.

“Over 15 years, I’ve built this country,” she told reporters, condemning protesters for damaging city infrastructure. “What didn’t I do for the people?

“Who has benefitted from what we have done?” she said. “Do I ride on the metro? Does the government only ride? Do our ministers only ride? Or is it in fact the general public that rides?”

Pictures released by Hasina’s office showed her flanked by an entourage and weeping at the sight of a vandalised metro station in an outlying Dhaka suburb.

The station was among several government buildings and dozens of police posts torched or vandalised during the unrest.

With calm returning to cities around Bangladesh, Ms. Hasina’s government ordered another relaxation to the curfew it imposed at the weekend to allow free movement between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Streets in Dhaka were choked with commuter traffic in the morning, days after ferocious clashes between police and protesters had left them almost deserted.

Banks, government offices and Bangladesh’s economically vital garment factories reopened on July 24 after they were closed last week.

Student leaders were set to meet later on July 25 to decide whether to again extend their protest moratorium, which is due to expire on July 26.

Students Against Discrimination, the group responsible for organising this month’s rallies, said it expected the government to make some concessions.

“We demand an apology from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the nation for the mass murder of students,” Asif Mahmud, one of the group’s coordinators, told AFP.

“We also want the sacking of the home minister and education minister.”

Youth jobs crisis

Police told AFP they had arrested at least 4,000 people since last week, including 2,500 in Dhaka.

U.N. rights chief Volker Turk urged Bangladesh to conduct “an impartial, independent and transparent investigation” into the violence.

“We understand that many people were subjected to violent attacks by groups reportedly affiliated with the Government, and no effort was made to protect them,” he said in a statement.

Protests began after the reintroduction in June of a scheme reserving more than half of government jobs for certain candidates, including nearly a third for descendants of veterans from Bangladesh’s independence war.

With around 18 million young people in Bangladesh out of work, according to government figures, the move deeply upset graduates facing an acute jobs crisis.

Critics say the quota is used to stack public jobs with loyalists to Ms. Hasina’s Awami League.

The Supreme Court cut the number of reserved jobs on July 21 but fell short of protesters’ demands to scrap the quotas entirely.

Ms. Hasina has ruled Bangladesh since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.

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.