Bangladesh students, who were at the forefront of last year’s protests who expelled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, will launch a political party this week, two sources said with direct knowledge of development.
The group of students against discrimination (SAD) headed the protests that began as a movement led by students against public sector work quotas, but quickly became a broader uprising in the entire country that forced Hasina to flee India as the riots reached their maximum point in early August.
The group of students is finishing plans to launch the new party during an event probably on Wednesday, said sources that did not want to be named, since they are not authorized to talk to the media.
Nahid Islam, a student leader and advisor to the interim government who took over Bangladesh after Hasina’s departure, is expected to lead the party as coordinator, the sources said.
Islam has been a key figure to advocate the interests of students within the interim government, led by the Nobel Muhammad Yunus Prize, which has been in charge of Bangladesh since August 2024.
It is expected to resign from its current role to focus on leading the new political party.
Islam did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Yunus has said that elections could be held at the end of 2025, and many political analysts believe that a party led by young people could significantly remodel the country’s political landscape.
Yunus has said he was not interested in running.
Yunus’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comments on the launch of the political party led by students.
The nation of southern Asia has been dealing with political disturbances since Hasina left after weeks of protests during which more than 1,000 people were killed.
Officials of the former government and security apparatus of Hasina systematically committed serious violations of human rights against protesters during the uprising, the UN Human Rights Commission said this month.
