Bangladesh to Form Interim All-Party Cabinet on Nov 18

Bangladesh will form an all-party cabinet tomorrow to oversee the next parliamentary election, even as the opposition continued their protest for a neutral non-party government.

The new cabinet will be sworn in at 3 pm at the presidential palace, Bangababhan, said Cabinet Secretary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan.

The news came after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today met with President Abdul Hamid, where submitted the resignation letters of the current ministers and state ministers, who would not get positions in the new cabinet.

Bhuiyan said Hasina has informed the President the structure and functions of the 'all-party' cabinet during the polls. She also told him that the interim cabinet will be smaller than the incumbent one.

Hasina's cabinet ministers had resigned on November 11.

"The President welcomed her idea and wished its success," said the Cabinet Secretary.

However, the main opposition BNP and its 17 allies are adamant on their demand for a caretaker government to organise the elections and demanded the resignation of Hasina.

A number people killed in nationwide clashes in the past 21 days went up to 29 today as two more activists died of burn injuries.

Opposition parties recently enforced a 84-hour strike following two back-to-back 60-hour shutdowns since October 27 to mount pressure for a "non-party" caretaker government to oversee an election by January 25, 2014 under a constitutional deadline.