Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Sunday scaled back, but did not abolish, most of the quotas in government jobs that had triggered deadly protests last week, Reuters reported.

The appellate division of the country’s top court directed 93% of the government jobs to be open to candidates without quotas, setting aside a ruling by a lower court, Reuters quoted the Attorney General AM Amin Uddin as saying.

In 2018, the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government scrapped the quota system for government jobs. However, a lower court had reinstated it in June.

The ruling had significantly increased reserved government jobs, triggering student-led protests. Last week, the stir snowballed into one of the largest agitations against the Hasina government.

The government responded by cracking down on the protestors. At least 150 persons were killed in the South Asian country in the past week, according to AFP. The toll is hard to assess because of a communications blackout in the country.

The Supreme Court was scheduled to decide on the legality of the quota system in August. But it brought forward its ruling in the matter amid the unrest.

The top court retained 5% reservations in government jobs for the family members of “freedom fighters” from the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, according to AFP. This had become 30% after the lower court’s ruling. Tribal communities and persons with disabilities or identifying as third gender under Bangladeshi law will each get 1% reservation.

The top court also urged protesting students “to return to class”, AFP quoted Shah Monjurul Hoque, a lawyer involved in the case, as saying.

Also read: Will Bangladesh student protests be a catalyst for change or prelude to greater authoritarianism?

Anti-quota stir and crackdown

On Friday, Bangladesh imposed a nationwide curfew after the anti-reservation protests in the capital Dhaka grew violent. The Army was also deployed in Dhaka to restore order. A day later, the police also imposed a “shoot-on-sight” order across the country, reported the Associated Press.

Internet services and mobile data have remained down in Dhaka.

On Wednesday, the government ordered the indefinite closure of schools and universities amid the demonstrations. Hasina also said that the government will form a judicial committee to investigate the killings.

The Hasina-led Awami League government has been in power uninterrupted since 2009. In January, the party won 222 out of the 300 elected parliamentary seats in the general election amid violence.

With the main Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party boycotting the polls, the Awami League did not face any significant competition in the seats it contested.

Dhaka has been accused by countries such as the United States and rights groups of political violence, human rights violations and election manipulation.

The Hasina government has for long denied allegations of involvement in human rights abuses and election rigging.

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