Bangladesh's Crisis: Government to Reform Job Quotas After Deadly Protests

Bangladesh is set to officially accept a court ruling to reduce government job quotas following violent student protests that resulted in nearly 150 deaths. Calm reigned in major cities under a curfew and telecommunications shutdown. The government plans to publish the acceptance formally on Tuesday.

Bangladesh is poised to formally acknowledge a court ruling to reduce quotas for government jobs, a significant concession to students whose protests led to one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence in years, claiming almost 150 lives. Relative calm prevailed in Dhaka and other major cities, maintained by a curfew and telecom shutdown imposed since the unrest began last week.

Although order has largely been restored, the situation remains delicate, warned the army chief, who conducted an aerial tour of the capital on Tuesday morning. Officials announced that the curfew would be extended to four hours in the afternoon, compared to three on Monday, to allow residents to purchase essentials.

Protesters demanded the reversal of a high court decision from last month, which reinstated a quota system reserving nearly 60% of government jobs for certain groups, including families of those who fought in Bangladesh's independence war. The quotas had previously been abolished in 2018 by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government, which late on Monday officially accepted a Supreme Court ruling to abolish most of them.

The formal acceptance of the court ruling is expected to be recorded on Tuesday, a key demand from the protesting students. Hasina has accused her political rivals of inciting the violence and stated that the curfew, imposed since Friday, would be lifted once the situation improves.

The protesters issued an ultimatum for the government to meet eight demands within 48 hours, including a public apology from Hasina and the reopening of universities that shut down due to the violence. On Tuesday, Malaysia evacuated its citizens from Bangladesh amid the unrest, with a flight scheduled to arrive in Kuala Lumpur. India also reported that at least 4,500 Indian students had returned home from Bangladesh.