With just six days remaining before Bangladesh’s general elections, clashes broke out on Friday outside the official residence of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka. Violence erupted when government employees protesting for higher wages confronted police.
Protesters demand pay scale implementation
The demonstrators were calling for the implementation of the Ninth National Pay Scale. According to NDTV, they gathered at Shaheed Minar in the morning before marching toward Jamuna, demanding the immediate publication of a government gazette based on the pay commission’s recommendations.
Visuals shared on social media showed large crowds and a heavy police presence outside the Nobel laureate’s residence. Police reportedly deployed water cannons and sound grenades to disperse the protesters.
Government employees were marching towards the #Jamuna (Muhammad Yunus's residence) demanding the publication and implementation of the #gazette in light of the Ninth National Pay Commission report. At that time, the police stopped them. At one stage, the police fired water… pic.twitter.com/jJw88klo5t— Battalion71 🇧🇩 (@ImbusyWarrior) February 6, 2026
It remains unclear whether Yunus was at his residence during the protest, and officials have yet to issue a statement.
Election tensions heightened
The unrest comes at a politically sensitive moment, just days before Bangladesh is set to hold its first general election since deadly violence in August 2024 forced then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee to India.
The upcoming election, scheduled for February 12, is being conducted under the interim government led by Yunus.
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