Former ministers in the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government Hasan Mahmud and Zunaid Ahmed Palak were detained at Bangladesh’s Dhaka airport on Tuesday, reported the Dhaka Tribune.

This came a day after Hasina resigned from the post of prime minister and fled the country amid violent protests against her government.

Mahmud was the foreign minister in Hasina’s government, while Palak was the minister of telecommunication and Information and Communication Technology.

“He [Mahmud] was trying to catch a flight en route Delhi,” an unidentified Airport Aviation Security official told reporters, according to the newspaper.

The civil aviation authority also detained the general secretary of Bangladesh Chattra League’s Dhaka University unit Tanbir Hasan Shaikat and Dhaka North unit president Riaz Mahmud, reported the Daily Star.

The detained ministers and student leaders have been handed over to the Bangladesh Army, reported the newspaper.

Former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury and local government, rural development and cooperatives minister Mohammed Tazul Islam have already left the country.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Army on Tuesday carried out a major reshuffle in the top positions, reported the Daily Star.

Major General Ziaul Ahsan, the director general of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre was removed from service. Ahsan is believed to be a close confidant of Hasina.

He has been replaced by Major General ASM Ridwanur Rahman, the newspaper reported, quoting a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations Department, the media wing of the army.

Lieutenant General Mohammed Saiful Alam has been posted to the country’s foreign ministry, the press release said.

Lieutenant General Muhammed Mojibur Rahman has been appointed as the general commanding officer at the Army Training and Doctrine Command, reported PTI.

Lieutenant General Ahmad Tabrez Shams Chowdhury will be the new Quartermaster General of the Army. Lieutenant General Mizanur Rahman Shamim has been appointed as Chief of General Staff of the Army.

The Hasina-led Awami League government in Bangladesh had been in power since 2009.

However, its downfall came after the student-led protests against a controversial quota scheme for government jobs, which started in July, evolved into a broader agitation against her administration. The protests also saw several alleged extrajudicial killings of the protestors.

After Hasina left the country, the Bangladesh army said that it would form an interim government. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has been appointed as the head of this new government.

Curfew in two Manipur districts

Two Manipur districts bordering Assam and Mizoram on Tuesday imposed a curfew as a precautionary measure to prevent any influx of undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh, reported The Times of India.

“Due to the prevailing law and order situation in Bangladesh, there is a likelihood of illegal migrants entering Manipur,” said the joint secretary of the state home department in a letter to the district administration of Jiribam, bordering Assam’s Cachar.

The joint secretary added: “It is hereby directed to impose night curfew and also take other precautionary measures such as maintenance of strict vigil by the district police and other security forces along the border at all times to prevent influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh into the state.”

Similar directions were also issued to the district administration of Pherzawl.

On Monday, the Meghalaya government had decided to impose a curfew along the international border with Bangladesh, reported PTI.

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