Opposition party leaders on Friday said president Mohammed Shahabuddin's resignation was not enough, insisting he should now face legal action over his alleged role during and after the deadly 2024 crackdown on the anti-Sheikh Hasina uprising.
Shahabuddin, 76, submitted his resignation letter on Friday afternoon, citing Autonomic Neuropathy, a condition that has reportedly caused episodes of temporary loss of consciousness.
Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad accepted the resignation at 5:01pm.
His departure comes nearly two years before the end of his five-year term, following months of pressure from opposition parties and student leaders. It also comes amid reports that he remained in contact with former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is living in exile in India and has said she intends to return to Bangladesh around December.
Under the Constitution, the Speaker of the National parliament will discharge the president's duties until a new head of state is elected within 90 days.
NCP: Resignation should have been impeachment, not an exit route
National Citizen Party (NCP) Member Secretary Akhter Hossain said Shahabuddin should have been removed through impeachment rather than allowed to resign.
He alleged that the president tacitly supported the killings during the 2024 crackdown by failing to intervene and by empowering those responsible.
Hossain also cited Shahabuddin's controversial remarks after Hasina's ouster—including his statement that he had not seen her resignation letter—and what he described as a series of unconstitutional actions during his presidency.
Now that Shahabuddin no longer enjoys presidential immunity, Hossain said there is no legal barrier to prosecuting him. He called for a fair trial, saying accountability was essential to erase what he described as a "stain" on the nation.
The NCP, formed by student leaders of the 2024 uprising, has long campaigned for Shahabuddin's removal, accusing him of acting as a collaborator of the ousted Awami League government. The party contested the recent general election as part of an alliance led by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
Jamaat: He failed as the nation's constitutional guardian
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman said Shahabuddin had failed in his constitutional duty as the guardian of the state.
He alleged that the president never condemned the killings during the crackdown, never called for an end to the violence, and never described the actions as unjust or oppressive. According to Shafiqul, Shahabuddin's silence amounted to tacit support for the crackdown.
Background
Shahabuddin had served as Bangladesh's largely ceremonial president since April 2023, overseeing one of the country's most turbulent political periods, including the aftermath of Sheikh Hasina's ouster during the student-led uprising in 2024.
A UN report said nearly 1,400 people were killed in the crackdown on the uprising. Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal later sentenced Hasina to death in absentia over the violence, a verdict she has rejected while in exile.
Following Hasina's removal from power, Shahabuddin came under sustained pressure from student groups that spearheaded the uprising, which accused him of siding with the former regime and demanded both his resignation and arrest.
Reuters reported on Thursday that Shahabuddin's resignation was imminent, days after Hasina announced plans to return to Bangladesh and surrender following her conviction.
The government led by Tarique Rahman took office in February after winning a landslide victory in the general election, ending 18 months of interim administration under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. Shahabuddin's departure leaves Awami League without an ally in the country's highest constitutional office ahead of Hasina's planned return.
