(Image source from: Instagram.com/shaki_b75)
Five weeks ago, there were huge protests in Bangladesh demanding the resignation of their prime minister Sheikh Hasina, where the protests were started by the students agitation against the reservation bill for the freedom fighters' heirs. The political unrest in the country resulted in ousting the prime minister. Rafiqul Islam, Bangladesh Awami League politician and a former Jatiya Sangsad member alleged and registered a murder case on Shakib, former PM Sheikh Hasina and former ministers and lawmakers for his son Rubel's killing on August 7th, which plunged Bangladesh into political turmoil. According to local media, Rubel was part of the rally in Adabor Ring Road, where he was shot in the chest and abdomen. The case was registered at the Adabor Police Station in Dhaka on many people, who were involved in the previous government. Shakib was the 28th accused and also popular Bangladeshi actor Ferdous Ahmed was named as the 55th accused. Shakib and Ferdous served as the members of parliament of the Awami League.
These two were named along with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and also 154 others, additionally 400-500 unidentified individuals. Leaving all the allegations made on the former cricketer Shakib, on Wednesday Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) appointed Faruque Ahmed as the President of the BCB. He was appointed after the resignation of Nazmul Hassan, who served as the sports minister in Hasina’s tenure. Besides this, Shakib Al Hasan played matches against Pakistan, where he played a crucial role in getting the historic 10-wicket victory for the Bangladeshi cricket team against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. As a support for Shakib, former cricketers and also activists showed their support through social media. His own teammate Mushfiqur Rahim wrote that these were tough times and believed these were false accusations against the cricketer as he knew that Shakib would never get involved in such inhuman activities. Even Bangladesh cricket team captain Najmul Hossain Shanto showed his support for the cricketer by dedicating the win. He dedicated the first-ever win of the Bangladeshi team against Pakistan in a Test match to those who lost their lives in the protest.
Shakib did not respond to the allegations made against him. He is still in Pakistan playing for his team. Following their maiden win against Pakistan in a test match, Bangladesh is getting ready to play their second test match in Rawalpindi, which is scheduled to start on Friday. Besides all these, the unrest in Bangladesh is still continuing. With the current crisis, the business sectors have been seriously affected. The floods have also destroyed many. Mainly the textile industry and manufacturing were affected severely, which will show impact on the economic growth in near future.
