Bangladesh President Dissolves Parliament, Releases Former PM Zia

President Mohammed Shahabuddin’s office also said Hasina’s main rival, Begum Khaleda Zia, chairwoman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and a former prime minister, had been released from house arrest.

Student protesters threatened further demonstrations if parliament was not dissolved.The decision was made after meetings with defence chiefs, political party leaders, student leaders and some civil society representatives, the presidential statement said.

Hasina’s flight on Monday ended her second 15-year stint in power. She had ruled the country for 20 of the past 30 years, inheriting the movement from her father, the state’s founder, Mujubur Rahman, who was assassinated in 1975.

Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman was due to meet with student leaders to discuss forming a caretaker government to hold elections soon after taking power.

Zaman announced Hasina’s resignation on Monday. Hasina flew to India and stayed at a safe house outside New Delhi.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai and Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Writing by Shivam Patel; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, YP Rajesh, Peter Graff)