Bangladesh unrest LIVE | US revokes Hasina’s visa: Reports

Forty-five Bangladeshi citizens returning from Kolkata had to get off a Dhaka-bound bus at Petrapole, as bus services between the two countries were suspended.

“Amid the disruption and curfews, we had been making every effort to run the service whenever possible for the benefit of people of both countries. We had been expecting the services to normalise from today.

“However, as one of our buses, ‘Souhardya’, reached the border point at Petrapole in Bongaon, we were told the inter-country bus services have been stopped till further notice,” Abani Ghosh, owner of Shyamali Paribahan, which operates bus services from the Indian side in collaboration with the West Bengal Transport Corporation, told PTI.

The AC Volvo bus ‘Souhardya’, popular among tourists of both countries, was filled to capacity with 45 passengers on board on Tuesday.

“We operate two Volvo buses from here, while similar buses are also run by the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) in collaboration with a private operator from their end... The Dhaka-Kolkata bus service from Bangladesh is also not operational from today as per our knowledge,” he said.

All the passengers of ‘Souhardya’ were Bangladeshi citizens, who came to Kolkata mostly for medical treatment. “We are getting anxious queries from Bangladeshis putting up in central Kolkata hotels and pockets of south Kolkata. We want to resume the services as early as possible,” Ghosh said.

A Bangladesh Deputy High Commission official said, “We don’t have any update about resumption of services as of now.” Meanwhile, all train services between India and Bangladesh have also been suspended indefinitely, Railway officials said on Monday.

According to the Railway Ministry, the Maitree Express, Bandhan Express, and Mitali Express operated their last trips in mid-July this year, and have been cancelled since then due to violent protests in Bangladesh.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has stressed that it is vital that the transition of power in Bangladesh is peaceful, transparent, conducted in an accountable way, and open to the meaningful participation of all the people of the country. In a statement, he noted that the transition of power in Bangladesh should be guided by human rights in line with the country’s international obligation, and those responsible for the Killing of hundreds and injuring thousands should be held accountable.

At least 24 people, including an Indonesian national, were burnt alive by a mob in Bangladesh at a starred hotel owned by a leader of Awami League, PTI reported quoting local journalists and hospital sources.

The victims, mostly boarders, were burnt alive late on Monday night as the mob set on fire Zabir International Hotel owned by district Awami League general secretary Shahin Chakkladar in Joshor district.

“The dead included an Indonesian national,” a local journalist told PTI over phone.

He added the doctors at Joshor General Hospital confirmed they counted 24 bodies while surviving hotel staff feared more bodies could be found inside the debris.

Media reports suggested unidentified mob, opposed to the Awami League regime, set the ground floor of the hotel on fire which quickly spread to the upper floors.

There were almost identical reports from across the country where mobs simultaneously vandalised residences and business establishments of many Awami League leaders and activists, including its central office in Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has urged the government to take “every possible” step to ensure the safety of Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities in Bangladesh, claiming that “fundamentalists” are targeting them in several districts of the neighbouring country.

Addressing a press conference, VHP president Alok Kumar called for strict security vigil on the Indo-Bangladesh border, saying that attempts could be made to “orchestrate infiltration” into the Indian territory taking advantage of the prevailing situation in the neighbouring country.

He also asked the world community to take “effective action” for the safety of minorities and protection of human rights in Bangladesh which he said is “trapped in a strange uncertainty, violence and anarchy”.

“In the recent past, religious places, business establishments and houses of Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities have also been rampaged in Bangladesh. Till last night, 22 houses in Panchgarh district alone, 20 houses in Jhenaidah and 22 shops in Jessore became targets of the fundamentalists and in many districts even crematoriums were vandalised,” he said.

There is “hardly” any district left in Bangladesh which has not become a target of their “violence and terror”, he added.

“In Bangladesh, the houses, shops, offices, business establishments of Hindus and women, children and even the centres of their belief, faith and worship such as temples and gurudwaras are not safe. It can be said that the condition of the oppressed minorities there is going from bad to worse,” Kumar said.

He claimed that a lot of damage has been done to ISKCON temple in the neighbouring country.

“The Vishva Hindu Parishad urges the government of Bharat to take every possible step for the safety of minorities in Bangladesh,” he said, adding, “It is appropriate to point out that Hindus, who were once 32 per cent in Bangladesh, are now less than 8 per cent and they too are victims of continuous jihadi persecution.”

Kumar said it is possible that taking advantage of the prevailing situation, a “big attempt” may be made to orchestrate infiltration into the Indian territory through the 4,096-km-long Indo-Bangladesh border.

“We have to be extremely cautious about this. Therefore, it is necessary for our security forces to keep strict 24x7 vigil on the borders and not allow any kind of infiltration,” he added.

The VHP president said after the resignation of the Hasina government and her leaving the country, the process of formation of interim government in the neighbouring country is underway.

“In this hour of crisis, Bharat stands firmly with the entire society of Bangladesh as a friend. We wish that democracy and a secular government be re-established in Bangladesh as soon as possible. The society and government of Bharat will continue to support Bangladesh in this matter,” he added.

The British government has called for a United Nations-led investigation into the violent incidents of the past few weeks in Bangladesh, which led Sheikh Hasina to resign as Prime Minister and flee to India “for the moment” before reportedly seeking asylum in the UK.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy issued a statement on Monday to condemn the “unprecedented levels of violence and tragic loss of life” over the last two weeks in Bangladesh and said the UK wanted to see action towards a democratic future for the country.

The government has made no official comment on reports of Hasina seeking political asylum in the UK, with Home Office sources only indicating that the country’s immigration rules don’t specifically allow individuals to travel to the UK to seek asylum.

“The last two weeks in Bangladesh have seen unprecedented levels of violence and tragic loss of life. A transitional period has been announced by the Chief of the Army Staff,” reads David Lammy’s statement.

“All sides now need to work together to end the violence, restore calm, deescalate the situation and prevent any further loss of life. The people of Bangladesh deserve a full and independent UN-led investigation into the events of the past few weeks,” the foreign minister said.

“The UK wants to see action taken to ensure Bangladesh a peaceful and democratic future. The UK and Bangladesh have deep people-to-people links and shared Commonwealth values,” he added.

According to UK government sources, while the country has a “proud record” of providing protection for people who need it, there is no provision within the Immigration Rules for someone to be “allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge”.

Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach as the fastest route to safety, officials indicated with reference to the asylum procedures.

London is believed to be the preferred final destination of Sheikh Hasina, whose niece — Tulip Siddiq, the daughter of UK passport holder Sheikh Rehana — is based in north London as a Labour Party member of Parliament from Hampstead and Highgate and junior minister in the Treasury department.

Strategic experts believe the situation is a complicated one for the UK, which has previously offered Hasina’s late father — Sheikh Mujibur Rahman — refuge on his release from a Pakistani jail in January 1972 following the country’s freedom struggle.

“Sheikh Hasina’s desire to relocate to the UK, where her sister and niece live, puts the UK government in a dilemma. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has called for a UN-led investigation into the violence of the past few days. If this is held, it will likely hold Sheikh Hasina accountable to some degree and would look bad for the British government if she were then in the UK with the grant of ‘political asylum’,” said Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London.

“But, at the same time, the UK’s long-standing links with Sheikh Hasina’s family makes it difficult to ignore her request. A possible solution would be to give Sheikh Hasina leave to enter the UK where she could live in ‘self-exile’. But, with Sheikh Hasina’s niece being a Labour MP and minister, the optics of this will be challenging,” he said.

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah has said that all dictators must remember they will face the “same things as Bangladesh faced”.

“Now the eastern front has opened. We should be extremely careful and we should watch the situation with great care,” Abdullah told reporters.

Abdullah said there has been an unrest for many years in Bangladesh and unemployment has been one of the major factors.

“Secondly, the economic condition of the country was also very bad. Putting all these things together really led to a situation whereby the government had to fall,” he said, adding “all dictators must remember they will face the same things as Bangladesh faced”.

The Bangladesh crisis poses “significant concerns” for India’s textile and apparel sector, particularly for companies operating factories in the neighbouring country, the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) said on Tuesday.

The domestic textile industry body believes that any supply disruption in Bangladesh will have an immediate impact on the supply chain, potentially affecting production schedules and delivery timelines of Indian firms.

“The situation in Bangladesh is indeed concerning, and we are closely monitoring the developments. Bangladesh’s growth in the textile sector has been inspiring and has lent strength to the trade flows in the entire subcontinent.

“While we are concerned about the impact on the supply chain and the potential delays and disruptions it might cause, we are hopeful that the situation will improve soon,” Chandrima Chatterjee, Secretary General, CITI, said.

According to CITI, Indian companies with manufacturing operations in the country are likely to face challenges in maintaining their production flow, leading to delays and potential shortages in the market. This disruption could affect the availability of products and might force companies to seek alternative manufacturing solutions to mitigate the impact.

“Amid the uncertainties in Bangladesh, there is already a noticeable shift towards alternative manufacturing hubs such as a strategic move by companies to diversify their production bases and reduce dependency on a single market,” CITI stated.

It observed that Indian textile hub Tirupur, known for its robust textile and apparel manufacturing capabilities, may emerge as a key beneficiary of this shift.

“Several major global brands that rely on Bangladesh for their sourcing needs will also be affected by these disruptions. Brands with significant portions of their supply chain rooted in Bangladesh may experience delays and a decrease in the availability of their products. This, in turn, could lead to a ripple effect across the global retail market, affecting inventory levels and sales,” CITI said.

Bangladesh is a crucial market for Indian textiles, serving as both a manufacturing hub and a significant export destination.

“The Indian industry is deeply concerned about the current events and hopes for the swift restoration of normalcy. Stability in Bangladesh is vital for maintaining the smooth operation of cross-border trade and production,” CITI said.