In Dhaka, Bangladesh, a wave of protests against job quotas has led to clashes, resulting in the detention of at least 532 people, including opposition leaders.
The arrests, which include senior leaders from the Bangladesh National Party and the Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, come after days of unrest.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesman Faruk Hossain confirmed the detentions, stating, “They include some BNP leaders.”
Among those arrested are BNP leaders Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed, as well as former national football captain Aminul Huq, who is also a senior BNP figure. Mia Golam Parwar, the general secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami, was also taken into custody.
The clashes have resulted in significant casualties, with at least three policemen killed and around 1,000 injured, 60 of them critically. BNP spokesman A.K.M Wahiduzzaman reported that “Several hundred BNP leaders and activists were arrested in the past few days” nationwide.
The protests began as a response to the government’s job quota system, which reserves a certain percentage of positions for specific groups. The opposition parties argue that this system is unfair and limits opportunities for others.
The situation remains tense, with the government cracking down on dissent and the opposition demanding reform.
