Indian envoy attends swearing-in ceremony of Bangladesh's interim government

Yunus was sworn in as the head of Bangladesh's interim government on August 8 night, three days after Sheikh Hasina resigned from the position of Prime Minister and left the country amid widespread unrest.

Seventeen members of Bangladesh's interim government took their oath at a ceremony in Dhaka on Thursday, Bangladesh-based daily, Dhaka Tribune reported. Nobel laureate economist Muhammad Yunus, 84, was sworn in as the country's chief advisor.

The members of the interim government are - Muhammad Yunus, Salehuddin Ahmed, Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain, Md Nazrul Islam (Asif Nazrul), Adilur Rahman Khan, AF Hassan Ariff, Md Touhid Hossain, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Supradip Chakma, Farida Akhter, Bidhan Ranjan Roy, Sharmeen Murshid, AFM Khalid Hossain, Farooq-e-Azam, Nurjahan Begum, Nahid Islam, and Asif Mahmud, as reported by Dhaka Tribune.

Bangladesh's President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath to Yunus for his role as chief advisor, which is the equivalent to a Prime Minister.

The ceremony was attended by foreign diplomats, civil society members, top businessmen, and former opposition party members at the presidential palace in Dhaka. Notably, no representatives from Sheikh Hasina's party, the Awami League, were present.

Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur and founder of Grameen Bank, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his efforts to create economic and social development through microcredit.

Upon arrival in Bangladesh on Thursday, the Nobel laureate made a heartfelt appeal to his supporters and urged the people of Bangladesh to maintain calm and end chaos, stressing that it is the "first responsibility" to ensure that no attack is carried out against anyone in the country, The Daily Star reported.

He further stressed that Bangladesh has tremendous potential but the first priority is to save the country from chaos so that the country can proceed on the "path shown by students."

"If you have faith in me and trust me, then ensure that there will be no attack anywhere in the country. This is our first responsibility," Yunus told a press briefing at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport upon his arrival on Thursday.

"What I would like to stress first is to save the country from chaos. Save the country from violence so that we can move forward on the path that the students have shown us," he added.

Bangladesh is facing a fluid political situation with Sheikh Hasina, tendering her resignation from her post on August 5 in the wake of mounting protests. The protests, led majorly by students demanding an end to a quota system for government jobs, took the shape of anti-government protests. (ANI)