Bangladesh
Former Bangladesh IT minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak detained at Dhaka airport
Bangladesh's former IT minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak, who was part of the now ousted Awami League government, was detained at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Tuesday.
According to local media reports, he was trying to escape to India.
An official at the airport told Dahaka Tribune that he had been detained by staff and workers.
Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Tuesday made way for the formation of the interim government after officially dissolving the Parliament, a day after ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and escaped to India amid anti-government demonstrations in the country.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh's key opposition leader and Sheikh Hasina's longtime political rival Khaleda Zia has been released from prison.
BNP Media Cell member Shairul Kabir Khan told Dhaka Tribune: "President Shahabuddin has ordered the release of Begum Zia. This joy is beyond words."
Khaleda Zia was sent to prison On Feb 8, 2018 after a Bangladeshi court sentenced her to five years in prison in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.
Later in the same year, the court raised her punishment to 10 years.
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday informed the Rajya Sabha that Sheikh Hasina requested approval to come to India at a 'very short notice' in the wake of the anti-government violence in Bangladesh which led to her ouster and escaping from the South Asian nation.
Hasina resigned and arrived in India after running away from her country where she served as the longest Prime Minister and even returned to power for another term by winning the general polls in January.
Sources told The Indian Express she was taken to a “safe house”, and is likely to travel to the United Kingdom (UK).
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