Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took oath on Thursday (August 8) as the head of an interim government, replacing Sheikh Hasina.Yunus, 84, was administered the oath of office by President Mohammed Shahabuddin at a ceremony at the presidential palace 'Bangabhaban'. A 16-member council of advisers was announced to assist Yunus in running the state's affairs. Md. Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud, two key organisers of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, were also part of the advisory council. "As the first call of duty, we will control the conspirators...who have created an anarchic situation and panic to upset our freedom," Yunus said in a televised address shortly after taking oath. He was sworn in as the chief advisor - a position equivalent to prime minister.Leaders of political parties, judges, representatives of various organizations, chiefs of the three services, inspector general of police, senior military and civil officers, diplomats including Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pranay Verma, freedom fighters, senior journalists and other dignitaries were present at the ceremony. Women's rights activist Farida Akhtar, right-wing party Hefazat-e-Islam's deputy chief AFM Khalid Hossain, Grameen Telecom trustee Nurjahan Begum, freedom fighter Sharmeen Murshid, chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board Supradip Chakma, Prof Bidhan Ranjan Roy and former foreign secretary Touhid Hossain are among the advisory council members. Roy, Chakma and Bir Pratik Faruk-e-Azam could not take the oath as they were outside Dhaka. Follow this space for more live updates
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took oath on Thursday (August 8) as the head of an interim government, replacing Sheikh Hasina.Yunus, 84, was administered the oath of office by President Mohammed Shahabuddin at a ceremony at the presidential palace 'Bangabhaban'. A 16-member council of advisers was announced to assist Yunus in running the state's affairs. Md. Nahid Islam and Asif Mahmud, two key organisers of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, were also part of the advisory council. "As the first call of duty, we will control the conspirators...who have created an anarchic situation and panic to upset our freedom," Yunus said in a televised address shortly after taking oath. He was sworn in as the chief advisor - a position equivalent to prime minister.Leaders of political parties, judges, representatives of various organizations, chiefs of the three services, inspector general of police, senior military and civil officers, diplomats including Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pranay Verma, freedom fighters, senior journalists and other dignitaries were present at the ceremony. Women's rights activist Farida Akhtar, right-wing party Hefazat-e-Islam's deputy chief AFM Khalid Hossain, Grameen Telecom trustee Nurjahan Begum, freedom fighter Sharmeen Murshid, chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board Supradip Chakma, Prof Bidhan Ranjan Roy and former foreign secretary Touhid Hossain are among the advisory council members. Roy, Chakma and Bir Pratik Faruk-e-Azam could not take the oath as they were outside Dhaka. Follow this space for more live updates