Bangladesh police end strike after safety assurances; Operations resume nationwide

In Bangladesh, after a work absence for a week, members of the police have started to return to their workplaces on Monday. There were attacks on many police stations across Bangladesh following the fall of the Awami League-led government. Since then, police members were abstaining from work, citing safety concerns. 

Students were seen managing traffic on the roads in Dhaka and other parts of the country in the last few days. Police officers, who had been on strike, called off their strike after a meeting with the Interim Government’s Home Advisor, Brigadier General (Retd.) M. Sakhawat Hossain. The meeting also resulted in a decision to change the police uniform and logo. The meeting took place on Sunday afternoon at the Ministry of Home Affairs, where a delegation of striking police officers met with the advisor.

During the meeting, several of the 11 demands put forward by police officers were assured to be met in the short term, while others would be addressed over a longer period. It was decided that any attack on police officers would no longer be tolerated, and complaints against any police official must be reported to higher authorities.

Earlier on Sunday, the Home Affairs Adviser warned police to return to their respective police stations within Thursday; otherwise, they will be deemed unwilling to continue working. Operations of 599 police stations, out of 639, resumed across the country as of 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, according to Police Headquarters.