Dhaka, July 26: Bangladesh has further relaxed a nationwide curfew as tensions from recent violent protests begin to subside. Last week’s clashes, which resulted in at least 191 deaths—including several police officers—marked some of the most intense unrest during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s time in office.
Although thousands of troops remain deployed across cities and a nationwide internet shutdown is still largely in place, the government has eased curfew restrictions. Movement is now permitted between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., allowing Dhaka’s streets to return to normal traffic levels after days of emptiness.
Following the relaxation, banks, government offices, and key garment factories reopened on Wednesday. Student leaders are expected to meet today to decide whether to extend their temporary halt on protests, which is set to end on Friday.
The group “Students Against Discrimination,” which led the recent demonstrations, is demanding an apology from Prime Minister Hasina for the violence and the resignation of both the home and education ministers. They also challenge the government’s reported death toll, claiming it understates the actual number of casualties.
Since the unrest began, police have detained around 2,500 individuals. The protests erupted in response to a policy reintroduced in June, which reserves over half of government jobs for specific groups, including nearly a third for descendants of independence war veterans. With about 18 million young people in Bangladesh struggling to find work, this quota system has intensified dissatisfaction among graduates facing severe job shortages.
Critics argue that the quota system is a tactic to place loyalists in public positions. Although the Supreme Court reduced the reserved quotas on Sunday, it did not fully address the protesters’ demands to abolish them.
Prime Minister Hasina, 76, who has governed since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive term in January’s election, faces criticism for her administration’s handling of dissent and allegations of using state resources to solidify her power, including accusations of extrajudicial killings of opposition members.