Bangladeshi student protest leaders to launch political party this week

(Reuters): Bangladeshi students behind last year's protests that ousted then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, are set to launch a political party this week, confirmed two sources with direct knowledge of the development.

The Students Against Discrimination (SAD) group spearheaded the protests that began as a student-led movement against public sector job quotas but quickly morphed into a broader, nationwide uprising that forced Hasina to flee to India as the unrest peaked in early August 2024.

The student group is finalising plans to launch the new party during an event likely on Wednesday, said the sources who did not want to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

Nahid Islam, a student leader and adviser to the interim government that took charge of Bangladesh after Hasina's exit, is expected to lead the party as convener, the sources said.

Islam has been a key figure in advocating for student interests within the interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which has been at the helm of Bangladesh since August 2024. He is expected to resign from his current role to focus on leading the new political party.

Islam did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Yunus has said that elections could be held by the end of 2025, and many political analysts believe that a youth-led party could significantly reshape the country's political landscape. Yunus has said he was not interested in running.

Yunus' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the launch of the student-led political party.

The South Asian nation has been grappling with political unrest since Hasina left following weeks of protests during which more than 1,000 people were killed.

Officials from Hasina's former government and security apparatus systematically committed serious human rights violations against the protesters during the uprising, the United Nations Human Rights Commission said this month — however, Hasina and her party deny any wrongdoing.