Bangladesh top court scraps most job quotas that triggered deadly protests

DHAKA — Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Sunday scrapped most of the quotas on government jobs that had sparked student-led protests in which at least 114 people have been killed in the South Asian country.

Dismissing a lower court order, the Supreme Court's Appellate Division directed that 93% of government jobs should be open to candidates on merit, without quotas, Bangladesh Attorney General AM Amin Uddin told Reuters.

He said the protesting students had said they were not involved in the violence and the government would find those responsible for it.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government had scrapped the quota system in 2018, but the lower court reinstated it last month, pegged total quotas at 56%, sparking the protests and an ensuing government crackdown.

Streets near the Supreme Court were quiet immediately after the decision and army teams were deployed throughout the capital Dhaka, a Reuters witness said. A military tank was stationed outside the Supreme Court gate, television footage showed.

Local media had reported scattered clashes earlier in the day between protesters and security forces.

The government had extended a curfew as authorities braced for the Supreme Court hearing on the job quotas. Soldiers were on patrol on the streets of capital Dhaka, the center of the demonstrations that spiraled into clashes.

The curfew ordered late on Friday had been extended to 3 p.m. (0900 GMT) on Sunday and was to resume for an "uncertain time" after a two-hour break for people to gather supplies, local media reported.

Reuters could not immediately determine what would happen to the curfew after the ruling.

Internet and text message services in Bangladesh have been suspended since Thursday, cutting the nation off as police cracked down on protesters who defied a ban on public gatherings.

Nationwide unrest broke out following student anger against quotas for government jobs that included reserving 30% of positions for the families of those who fought for independence from Pakistan.

The Supreme Court directed the government to cut the job quotas for families of independence fighters to 5%, the attorney general said. The remaining 2% of jobs still subject to quotas are for people from so-called backward groups and the disabled, he added.

The demonstrations—the biggest since Hasina was re-elected for a fourth successive term this year— have also been fueled by high unemployment among young people, who make up nearly a fifth of the population.

Universities and colleges have been closed since Wednesday.

The US State Department on Saturday raised its travel advisory for Bangladesh to level four, urging American citizens not to travel there. — Reuters