Yunus made Chief of Bangladesh interim govt

Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus took the oath as the chief adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh along with 13 other advisers on Thursday, four days after long-time ruler Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country amid a student-led mass uprising, reported New Age, a leading English language newspaper published from Dhaka.

President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath ceremony at Bangabhaban in Dhaka in the presence of political leaders, journalists, and members of civil society, among others.

No authorities from the government announced the duration of the interim government formed in extraordinary circumstances.

The 16-member advisory panel includes Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud, two key organisers of the Student Movement Against Discrimination, a platform of students that led the protests in July and August.

The other advisers who took oaths are former Bangladesh Bank governor Salahuddin Ahmed, Dhaka University law teacher Asif Nazrul, human rights activist Adilur Rahman Khan, former attorney general AF Hassan Ariff, former foreign secretary Md Touhid Hossain, environment lawyer Syeda Rizwana Hasan, non-profit Brotee chief Sharmeen Murshid, retired brigadier general M Sakhawat Hussain, former Hefazat-e-Islami leader AFM Khalid Hossain, human rights activist Farida Akhter, and one of the early associates of Yunus, Nurjahan Begum.

Cabinet secretary Mahbub Hossain said freedom fighter Faruk-E-Azam, former ambassador Supradip Chakma, and former director of the National Institute of Mental Health Bidhan Ranjan Roy Podder will take oaths later.