Bangladesh continues curfew amid mass arrests of protesters

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – Bangladesh announced that a curfew will continue Friday and Saturday with a nine-hour pause amid an intensified crackdown against those involved in violence during student protests.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan made an announcement at a news conference early Friday after meeting with law enforcement that the curfew, which came into effect last Saturday, will continue in Dhaka and three other cities.

There will be a pause in the curfew from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in those cities, he added.

The decision on the curfew in other cities will be taken by the authorities there, he said.

Protesting students announced that they will continue their campaign until a nine-point list of demands is met that includes the banning of the Chhatra League, the prosecution of those responsible for killings of protesters, and an apology from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The death toll has risen to at least 204 since July 16, according to the local newspaper Prothom Alo. The government, however, has yet to release an official casualty report.

Meanwhile, police have arrested more than 5,500 people across the country, including 1,100 on Thursday, said the newspaper, adding that many of those arrested are members of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.

Khan also said the arrests would continue.

The government imposed a complete blackout last Friday, cutting internet services as the protests became violent. Broadband internet service has been restored on a limited scale across the country, but mobile internet service has not yet returned.

Students launched the protests in early July, calling for reform of the country’s quota system for government jobs. The protests turned into a massive movement after Sheikh Hasina labeled the protesters “razakar,” a term that refers to traitors who fought for Pakistani forces during Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971. ​​​​​​​