DHAKA – Bangladesh is grappling with severe unrest and a government-imposed blackout of internet and mobile services following intense protests over job allocations. The violence, which has claimed 32 lives this week, intensified after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s re-election for a fourth consecutive term.
The unrest erupted as students protested a controversial job allocation system that awards a third of public sector jobs to the relatives of 1971 war veterans. They argue this practice is unfair and call for a merit-based recruitment system.
On Thursday, protests turned violent, with demonstrators attacking the state broadcaster BTV in Dhaka. They vandalized the building, smashed windows, and set parts of it on fire, trapping several workers inside and prompting urgent calls for fire services.
In response, the Bangladeshi government has imposed a near-total internet blackout and disrupted phone lines in an attempt to control the situation. PM Sheikh Hasina has made a public appeal for calm, urging an end to the violence as the country struggles to restore order.